PREHISTORIC MALAYSIA
Prehistoric
Malaysia may be traced back as far as
200,000 years ago from stone tools found at Bukit Jawa, an archaeological site in Lenggong Perak. The earliest human
skeleton in Peninsular Malaysia, Perak Man, dates back 11,000 years
and Perak Woman dating back 8,000 years, were also discovered in Lenggong. The
site has an undisturbed stone tool production area, created using equipment
such as anvils and hammer stones.
The Tambun Cave paintings are also situated in Perak. From East Malaysia, Sarawak's Niah Caves, there is evidence of the oldest human remains in Malaysia, dating back 40,000 years.
The Tambun Cave paintings are also situated in Perak. From East Malaysia, Sarawak's Niah Caves, there is evidence of the oldest human remains in Malaysia, dating back 40,000 years.
CHRONOLOGY
60,000-35,000 years ago- Paleolithic (Early Stone Age)
Early peoples, probably from
the first wave humans as postulated in the 'Out
of Africa' theory, lived a simple lifestyle of
hunting-gathering.
Paleolithic Malaysia had no defined border or countries, no known government, religion, money, etc. Descendants of these early inhabitants still live in the hills of Malaysia, some of their villages are accessible, they are known as Orang Asli, meaning 'the original people' or aborigines.
Today the Orang Asli, together with the Malays and indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, are known as Bumiputera ('the sons of the soil'). The Bumiputera make up 65% of the population.
35,000-10,000 years ago - Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
Anthropologists traced a group of newcomers Proto Malay seafarers who migrated from Yunnan to Malaysia. Negrito and other Aborigines were forced by late comers into the hills. In this period, people learned to dress, to cook, to hunt with advanced stone weapons. Communication techniques also improved.
Paleolithic Malaysia had no defined border or countries, no known government, religion, money, etc. Descendants of these early inhabitants still live in the hills of Malaysia, some of their villages are accessible, they are known as Orang Asli, meaning 'the original people' or aborigines.
Today the Orang Asli, together with the Malays and indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, are known as Bumiputera ('the sons of the soil'). The Bumiputera make up 65% of the population.
35,000-10,000 years ago - Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
Anthropologists traced a group of newcomers Proto Malay seafarers who migrated from Yunnan to Malaysia. Negrito and other Aborigines were forced by late comers into the hills. In this period, people learned to dress, to cook, to hunt with advanced stone weapons. Communication techniques also improved.
10,000-5,000 years ago- Neolithic (New Stone Age)
Archaeological
finds from the Lenggong valley in Perak show that people were making stone
tools and using jewellery.
2,500 years ago - Bronze Age
More people
arrived, including new tribes and seafarers. The Malay Peninsula became the
crossroads in maritime trades of the ancient age. Seafarers who came to
Malaysia's shores included Indians, Egyptians, peoples of the Middle East,
Javanese and Chinese. Ptolemy named the Malay Peninsula the Golden
Chersonese.
MEKONG RIVER MIGRATION
Mekong
River, approximately 4180 km in length,
originated from Tibet and runs through Yunnan province of China,
Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam. Anthropologists traced the
migration of Proto Malays,
who were seafarers, to
some 10,000 years ago when they sailed by boat (canoe or perahu) along the
Mekong River from Yunnan to the South
China Sea and
eventually settled down at various places.
Yunnan
Inhabitants of
early Yunnan may be traced
back into prehistory from a homo erectus fossil, 'Yuanmou Man', which was unearthed in the
1960s. In year 221 BC, Qin Shihuang conquered Yunnan
and unified China. Yunnan has since become a province of China. They were the
ancestors of rice eating peoples, with their culture of cultivating rice spread
throughout the entire region. The native name of the Mekong River peoples' home
in Yunnan is Xishuangbanna (Sipsongpanna) which literally means
"twelve thousand rice fields", it is the home of the Dai minority. Xishuangbanna sits at a lower
altitude than most of the Yunnan mountainous ranges.
Yunnan migration theory
The theory of
Proto Malay originating from Yunnan is supported by
R.H Geldern, J.H.C Kern, J.R Foster, J.R Logen, Slametmuljana and Asmah Haji
Omar. The Proto Malay (Melayu asli) who first arrived possessed agricultural
skills while the second wave Deutero Malay (mixed blood) who joined in around
1500 BC and dwelled along the coastlines have advanced fishery skills. During
the migration, both groups intermarried with peoples of the southern islands,
such as those from Java (Indonesian), and also with aboriginal
peoples of Australoid, Negrito and Melanesoid origin.
Other evidences that support this theory include:
§ Stone
tools found at Malay archipelago are analogous to Central Asian tools.
§ Similarity
of Malay customs and Assam customs.
§ Malay
language & Cambodian
language are
kindred languages because the
ancestral home of Cambodians originated from the
source of Mekong River.
Kedah and Melaka
According to Kedah Annals, Kadaram (Kedah
Kingdom 630-1136) was founded by Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gemeron, Persia around 630 CE,
and also alleged that the bloodline of Kedah royalties coming from Alexander The
Great. The other Malay literature, Sejarah Melayu too alleged that they were the
descendants of Alexander The Great.
Deutero Malays
Combination of
the colonial Kambujas of Hindu-Buddhism faith, the Indo-Persian royalties and traders as well as traders from
southern China and elsewhere
along the ancient trade routes, these peoples
together with the aborigine Negrito Orang Asli and native seafarers and Proto Malays
intermarried each others and thus a new group of peoples was formed and became
to be known as the Deutero Malays, today they are commonly known as the Malays.
MEKONG DELTA
According to Khmer history,
the earliest known civilisation was the 1st century Indianised-Khmer culture of Funan, in the Mekong
Delta. The Khmer empire of Angkor was the last before
the kingdom fled to various places seeking refuge. Palembang and later Malacca were among the
places. Archeological evidences found that inhabitants of early Cambodia were
peoples of Neolithic culture. They
possessed good technical skills while the more advanced groups, who lived near
the coast and in the lower delta of Mekong, cultivated irrigated rice. It is
believed that they were the ancestors of the people living in insular Southeast
Asia and islands of Pacific Ocean. They were also knowledgeable in iron and
bronze works as well as possessing good navigational skills. (Source: Based on
information from John F. Cady, Southeast Asia: Its Historical Development, New
York, 1964.)
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