Metal age

The Metal Age, as attested in the archaeological record of the Niah Caves in Sarawak, refers to a funerary phase dating approximately 1300–1600 A.D., characterised by imported Chinese stoneware, metal ornaments, glass beads, and secondary burials accompanied by ritual pig bone deposits. The evidence derives from a single site—Magala, a limestone cave system on the southern fringe of the Subis formation—excavated by the Sarawak Museum in 1964 and reported by Barbara and Tom Harrisson in 1968 [1]. The Metal Age phase at Magala is separated from an earlier Neolithic burial phase (c. 1,130 B.C.) by a gap of over two millennia, with no apparent continuity between the two [1, pp. 150–151].

Chronological Framework and Material Assemblage

The Metal Age assemblage at Magala comprises 1,477 imported ceramic sherds reconstructed into 53 original vessels: 32 jars and 21 saucers, bowls, or plates [1, pp. 157]. The ceramics are of south Chinese and Indochinese provenance, the majority belonging to the late Sung and Ming periods [1, p. 164]. Twelve main typological groups (A–L) were identified, the most numerous being Group H (fifteen jars with a distinctive temmoku glaze—dark olive brown to black, speckled with lighter brown) and Group A (twelve wide, shallow bowls with thin transparent glaze) [1, pp. 165–167].

A striking feature is the deliberate, type-specific damage to the jars. All fifteen Group H specimens had their necks and rims chiselled away to enlarge the opening, while all seven Group F jars retained intact rims, indicating that particular vessel types were reserved for particular ritual functions [1, pp. 166–168]. Three metal objects were recovered: a small iron knife, 9.8 cm long, and two bangles of a metal alloy including iron, copper, and probably tin [1, p. 172]. Over 5,184 glass beads were collected, all but four being monochrome seed beads between 0.1 and 0.6 cm in diameter, with an estimated 20 per cent showing heat distortion [1, p. 170]. Two wooden images of Melanau type, one 26 cm high with ornate ear-pieces, were also preserved [1, p. 169].

Funerary Practice and Spatial Distribution

The skeletal remains—15,206 grammes of bone, an estimated 90 per cent human—were distributed in close spatial correlation with the ceramics: 96 per cent of both bone and imported ceramic sherds concentrated in Area B of the cave system [1, pp. 172–173]. The association of pig jaws and skulls alongside human remains indicates ritual deposition rather than food consumption, a pattern also documented at the nearby Upiusing cave [1, p. 173]. The Harrissons identified the site as a burial ground of Melanau-type people, a group known to have resided in the Niah river area for several centuries [1, p. 169]. Scatter analysis revealed that ceramics were originally fragmented in Area B and subsequently dispersed into Area A, likely through guano-digging operations and possible looting of exceptional vessel types [1, pp. 162–163].

Research and Documentation

The Magala excavation of November 1964 was undertaken by the Sarawak Museum to recover what remained of the archaeological deposits after large-scale guano extraction had destroyed much of the original material [1, p. 148]. Harrisson and Harrisson’s 1968 report introduced systematic sherd reconstruction and spatial scatter analysis to Bornean burial archaeology, demonstrating both ritual intentionality and post-depositional disturbance within a single site [1, pp. 157]. The study was supported by the Museum’s reference collection of over 3,000 non-archaeological ceramic pieces accumulated from native informants across Borneo [1, p. 164]. The record is limited to a single cave system; broader generalisations about the Metal Age across the Malay Peninsula or Borneo cannot be drawn from this source alone.

MBRAS Sources

• Harrisson B and Tom Harrisson (1968). Magala – a series of Neolithic and Metal Age burial grottos at Sekaloh, Niah, Sarawak. JMBRAS 41(2): 148–175
• O’Connor, S.J. A metal mould for making clay Buddhist votive stupas. MB 48(2)

References

1. Harrisson B and Tom Harrisson (1968). Magala – a series of Neolithic and Metal Age burial grottos at Sekaloh, Niah, Sarawak JMBRAS 41(2): 148–175. Read on JSTOR