Recent archaeological discoveries in Malaya (1954
G. de G. Sieveking, Curator of Museums for the Federation of Malaya, published this fourth annual report on archaeological discoveries in 1955, documenting fieldwork and finds from 1954 across the Malay Peninsula. The article spans the full depth of Malayan prehistory and early historic periods, from Lower Paleolithic river-terrace industries to a sixteenth-century hoard of Chinese imperial porcelain and Moslem bronze wares at Johore Lama, presenting a comprehensive snapshot of the state of Malayan archaeology at mid-century.
Summary
The report is organised geographically and chronologically, covering four major categories of discovery. The most significant prehistoric work was the large-scale excavation at Gua Cha rock shelter in Kelantan, where a combined National Museum and Raffles Museum expedition uncovered a clear cultural stratigraphy separating Neolithic and Hoabinhian occupations. The Neolithic deposits contained extended burials associated with cord-impressed pottery, polished stone tools, and two distinctive T-section bracelets (one nephrite, one marble), while the underlying Hoabinhian levels yielded flexed burials, abundant pig bone, and evidence interpreted as possible cannibalism. The physical anthropology of the two groups was notably different: Neolithic skeletons were of small stature resembling present-day Temiar and Senoi, whereas Hoabinhian individuals were taller with heavy brow ridges and massive jaws suggestive of a Melanesian affinity.
In the Paleolithic section, Sieveking reports on the Kota Tampan site in the Kinta Valley, where a flake industry of quartzite points and choppers was recovered from an old river terrace. Geological investigation by Dr. Donald Walker of Cambridge correlated the terrace with a first interglacial sea-level stand of approximately 230 feet above present sea level, providing a geological date for the industry and placing it in the Lower Paleolithic, analogous to the Soan cultures of India.
The historic archaeology section is dominated by the discovery at Johore Lama of a carefully buried hoard comprising thirty-three pieces of Chinese underglaze blue porcelain and approximately twenty-five Moslem bronze vessels. Two signed pieces bearing reign marks of Lung Ching (1567–72) and Wan Li (1573–1619) anchor the collection to the early part of the Wan Li reign, and the circumstances of burial—near a tributary river used as a trading disembarkation point—suggest hurried concealment during the recurrent Portuguese attacks on the city, with the 1587 sack providing a likely terminus ante quem. The report also documents a nineteenth-century Mexican dollar hoard from Kedah, bronze fish hooks from the Tui Gold Mine in Pahang, and scattered Chinese trade porcelain finds from the Ulu Tembeling region.
Key Findings
- Gua Cha stratigraphy: Three soundings covering at least 70% of the excavable area revealed a clear sequence from Chinese historic hearths through Neolithic cord-impressed pottery and burials to Hoabinhian deposits in chocolate-brown cave earths, confirming a considerable time gap between the two prehistoric occupations (pp. 192–193).
- Gua Cha physical types: Neolithic skeletons seldom exceeded five feet in height and resembled Temiar/Senoi Aborigines; Hoabinhian individuals were seldom under 5’6” and sometimes considerably taller, with heavy brow ridges and massive jaws resembling present-day Melanesian populations (pp. 195–196).
- Johore Lama hoard dating: Two signed porcelain pieces bear six-character Nien Hao marks for Lung Ching (1567–72) and Wan Li (1573–1619), fixing the collection’s formation between 1573 and 1600; the hoard was likely buried during or just before the Portuguese sack of Johore Lama in 1587 (pp. 204, 210–211).
- Kota Tampan geological correlation: The river terrace containing the Paleolithic flake industry was laid down during a sea-level rise to approximately 230 ft MSL, a level documented elsewhere in Malaysia and attributed to the first interglacial period (pp. 190–191).
- Kedah coin hoard: Originally 94 coins, of which 34 were recovered for examination; all but one are late nineteenth-century Mexican silver dollars (dates ranging 1859–1878), with a single Spanish dollar of 1798 bearing the head of Carolus III (pp. 212–213).
- Tui Gold Mine fish hooks: A collection of 32 bronze fish hooks classified into four shank types (fish-tailed, flattened, ringed, and jagged/barbed), provisionally assigned to the 17th or 18th centuries and attributed to early Chinese miners (pp. 214–215).
Conclusion
Sieveking’s report establishes that 1954 marked a significant advance in Malayan archaeology, particularly through the Gua Cha excavations which provided the first well-defined stratigraphic sequence separating Neolithic and Hoabinhian cultures in the peninsula, and the Johore Lama hoard which offered a firmly dated assemblage of Chinese imperial porcelain and Moslem bronze wares for the sixteenth-century Malay world. The article underscores the value of systematic excavation and the integration of geological, physical anthropological, and numismatic evidence in building a chronological framework for Malayan prehistory and early history.
Context
- The report draws on collections held by the Perak Museum, Pahang Museum, Raffles Museum (Singapore), and the National Museum, Kuala Lumpur, reflecting the institutional infrastructure of the Federation Museums Department under Sieveking’s curatorship.
- As the fourth in an annual series, the article serves as a cumulative record of Malayan archaeological progress and explicitly defers detailed publication of major sites (Gua Cha, Kota Tampan) to separate papers, positioning itself as a preliminary summary rather than a full monograph.