Gua Sile Cave in Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia, is known for the hundreds of charcoal paintings that line the walls of its main chambers. A team of researchers from Griffith University in Australia Sarawak Museum Authority, and the Bidayu people have formally dated several paintings within the caves that tell a sad true story. For more information on our findings, please visit The study was published in the journal on August 23 pro swan.
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The researchers date the drawing to between 1670 and 1830 AD, which is Conflicts intensifying within the region. By the early 19th century, Sarawak was a loosely governed area under the rule of the Brunei Sultanate. The Brunei Empire had authority only over the coastal areas of Sarawak. These regions were ruled by semi-independent Malay leaders. The ruling Malays who ruled the area inflicted heavy casualties on the region’s indigenous hill tribes. Bidayu.
“The Bidayu recall the use of Gua Sire as a refuge during territorial violence in the early 1800s when a very tough Malay chief demanded the children be handed over,” Bidayu said. Mohammad Sherman Sawfi William, a descendant of the tribe, curator of the Sarawak Museum, and co-author of The Bidayu Tribe.the study said in a statement. “They refused and retreated to Gua Sile, where they initially held off a group of 300 men trying to enter the cave from the valley at about 60 meters.” [196 feet] Under.
After two Bidayu were shot dead and seven were taken as prisoners and/or slaves, most of the tribesmen found the largest entrance to the cave through the Gunung Nambi limestone hill, according to Saufi William. I escaped through the corridor at the back of the room.
“The figures include the Pandat, which was used only for combat or protection, and the two short-edged Palang Irans, the main weapons used during the wars that marked the first decades of white rule in Borneo. He is depicted holding his signature weapon in his hand,” said Souffy William. He said.
Gua Sile’s art is just one of many paintings that are widely distributed from the Philippines to Southeast Asia, Borneo, Sulawesi, and beyond to Peninsular Malaysia. They are believed to be related to the Austronesian-speaking diaspora. Dating work so far In the Philippines, similar paintings have been proven to have been painted in southern Sulawesi around 3500 BC and 1500 BC.
[Related: Cave drawings from 20,000 years ago may feature an early form of writing.]
To their knowledge, the latest radiocarbon dating is the first chronometric dating of rock art in Malaysia. Their first step in this process was to establish what materials were used to create the cave paintings.
“The area has been painted black for thousands of years,” said study co-author Gillian Huntley, an archaeologist at Griffith University. said in a statement. “Since the amount of material that can actually be carbon dated is limited, we wanted to make sure that the images were drawn in charcoal.”
To do this, the research team looked at the decay of carbon isotopes. This means the material must be organic or contain carbon. Analysis has revealed that charcoal made from different types of bamboo was used in their manufacture, and they are well preserved, partly thanks to the limestone walls of the cave.
also dated Information from Bidayu’s Oral History It was used to document the experience of territorial violence and colonization in the region. The research team knew from previous studies that rock art in northwestern Borneo is dominated by animals, human figures, ships, and abstract geometric/linear designs.
“In Gua Sire, scenes showing activities such as hunting, slaughtering, fishing, fighting and dancing depict people wearing headdresses, some armed with shields, knives and spears,” he said. Griffith University anthropologist and archaeologist Paul Tusson, co-author of the study, said: said in a statement. “We had clues about their ages based on the subjects such as the animals that were introduced, but we didn’t really know how old they were, so it was difficult to interpret what they meant. did.”
Future research may apply similar techniques to other drawings, revealing further insights into the Austronesian-Mairy diaspora and the region’s complex human history.
