Malayan perforated stone disks
W. Linehan’s 1951 catalogue compiles all known Malayan perforated stone discs into a single reference, drawing on scattered publications from the 1920s through the late 1940s to document at least twenty-eight specimens across Pahang, Perak, and Negri Sembilan. The paper situates these objects within the broader South and East Asian disc-cult tradition, arguing for their probable transmission from China via Indo-China, likely in association with the Dong-son culture, while maintaining that the Malayan examples were predominantly of local manufacture.
Summary
Linehan’s primary aim is consolidatory: the provenance and physical descriptions of Malayan perforated stone discs had been published piecemeal across multiple JMBRAS and JFMSM articles over two decades, and this paper gathers them into a single inventory supplemented by new finds. Five objects had not previously been recorded, including the distinctive “wheel” from Mantin in Negri Sembilan and a disc from Sungai Korbu in Perak. The Tembeling-Jelai river region in Pahang dominates the distribution, accounting for over half of all recorded specimens, a concentration Linehan links to the density of prehistoric sites in that area.
The typological discussion draws on Chinese jade terminology—pi, huan, yuan, and chueh—as established by Andersson and Siren, to classify the Malayan objects. Most approximate the huan or huan-yuan type, while the slit disc from the Kenaboi mine in Jelebu resembles the chueh ring common in protohistoric Indo-China. The “wheel-like” objects (S and V) with flanged perforation rims are noted as unique to Malaya, though reminiscent of a type illustrated by Andersson. Linehan raises the functional question explicitly: were these club-heads, ornaments, or ritual insignia? He favours a ritual or status-related interpretation, noting that several specimens are too fragile for percussive use, while the heavy wear on others suggests secondary use by later populations who had lost knowledge of their original purpose.
The unfinished disc from the Tui river, described by Tweedie (1947), is highlighted as particularly significant because it demonstrates the manufacturing technique—flaking, grinding, and drilling with a bamboo bit and sand abrasive—and confirms the Neolithic association of these objects, which Heine-Geldern had previously regarded as uncertain.
Key Findings
- At least 28 Malayan perforated stone discs are catalogued, with the Tembeling-Jelai region (Pahang) yielding over half the total (18 from Pahang alone: 9+ Tembeling, 6+ Jelai, 3 Raub) (p. 77).
- The “wheel” from Mantin (Raffles Museum No. 35.3) measures 22.4 cm in total diameter with a 6 cm perforation and flanged rims on both sides; it was found with two Neolithic adze-heads during tin-dredging preparation in 1935 (p. 76).
- The unfinished disc from the Tui river (Tweedie, 1947) was recovered from an alluvial gold mine alongside quadrangular adzes and “Tembeling” type stone knives, from an ancient land surface buried under fifteen feet of alluvium, confirming Neolithic manufacture by flaking, grinding, and bamboo-bit drilling (p. 75).
- The slit disc from the Kenaboi Hydraulic Mine (Jelebu) is of sheared argillaceous rock, 17 cm in diameter with a 5 cm perforation, and approximates the Chinese chueh type (p. 76).
- The finest complete specimen is the disc from Sungai Korbu, Perak (Raffles Museum No. 50.12), 18.5 cm in diameter, of indurated shale, obtained from a Temiar tribesman (p. 75).
- A postscript by the Acting Director of Museums records an additional incomplete stone ring from Bukit Tengku Lembu, Perlis, found in association with a late Neolithic burial containing large ceremonial adzes, fine jasper axes, and three complete pottery vessels (p. 79).
Conclusion
Linehan concludes that the Malayan perforated stone discs represent a local manifestation of a disc-cult that percolated from China through Indo-China, probably accompanying the Dong-son culture. While their precise function remains unresolved, the evidence of wear patterns, fragility, and context of find suggests a ritual or insignia role rather than a utilitarian one, with some objects subsequently repurposed by later communities unfamiliar with their original significance.
Context
- The paper draws on collections in the Perak Museum, Raffles Museum (Singapore), and the Selangor Museum, with material identifications by the Department of Geological Survey and photographic assistance from the Raffles Museum directorate.
- Historiographically, the article serves as a consolidating inventory that brings together findings from Evans, Tweedie, Swan, and Linehan’s own earlier publications, and it engages directly with the ongoing debate (initiated by Heine-Geldern, 1945) over the chronological and cultural attribution of these objects to the Neolithic.