THE LONG HISTORY and practice of archaeology in Malaysia—spanning over 180 years—began from the colonial era in the mid-19th century. This period of antiquarian interest (1840– 1900) saw British amateurs undertaking random explorations and reconnaissance in search of history and antiquities. In Peninsular Malaysia, the first-known archaeological dig was undertaken by G.W. Earl in 1860 at Guar Kepah in Seberang Prai (formerly Province Wellesley), where he discovered a shell mound containing many human burials. In Sarawak, between 1873 and 1878, an expedition in search of early human fossils and the “missing link” in human evolution was conducted in the Niah and Bau caves by naturalist Alfred Hart Everett, and organised by Charles Darwin, Alfred R. Wallace and Thomas H. Huxley.

Archaeological interest increased during this period with the establishment of museums in the Malay Peninsula (1900- 1940), beginning with the Perak Museum, founded by Hugh Low (1883-1903), and the Raffles Museum in Singapore in 1887. These museums carried out ethnographical and archaeological explorations to collect artefacts and objects for exhibition and reference. The British officers who undertook the work, however, were not trained archaeologists, but mostly ethnographers such as Leonard Wray and I.H.N. Evans. Consequently, the archaeological work done in this period was primarily reconnaissance or laymen diggings. Nevertheless, their pioneering works provided useful information on the location of archaeological sites and findings.

During World War II, when Japan invaded and occupied the country, archaeological work stopped, and was only resumed in Peninsular Malaysia in the 1950s by returning British officers at several cave sites in Perak, Kelantan and Perlis. After Malaya gained independence on 31 August 1957, followed by the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, a few British officers remained in the country to continue their archaeological work. In Sarawak and Sabah, from the 1950s to 1960s, Tom and Barbara Harrisson, along with their collaborators, undertook archaeological research at the Niah Caves and other sites in East Malaysia.

It was not until the 1960s that archaeology was offered as an undergraduate course at the History Department in University Malaya, KL, and archaeological research continued there under Alastair Lamb in the Bujang Valley and B.A.V. Peacock in prehistoric sites in Peninsular Malaysia. Due partially to the prolific work of British curators and colleagues at the Raffles Museum in Singapore, the Federated Malay States Museums and the Sarawak Museum, Malaysia was one of the most active countries doing archaeological research in Southeast Asia from the 1930s to 1960s.

The mid-1970s to 1980s was a watershed moment as Malaysians began to enter the field of archaeology. Among the first few Malaysians who went overseas for postgraduate training and study were Zuraina Majid, the late Nik Hassan Shuhaimi, the late Adi Haji Taha, Leong Sau Heng and Ipoi Datan.

In 1976, the Malaysian government passed a federal law known as the Antiquities Act, which provides for the control and preservation of and research into ancient and historical monuments, prehistoric sites and artefacts, as well as matters related to the trade and export of prehistoric and historic artefacts. The late 1980s witnessed a tremendous increase in archaeological activities and research in the country, spurred by the zeal of many first-generation Malaysian archaeologists attached to local universities and museums.

The Archaeological Centre at USM

In 1987, Zuraina Majid, while working as a lecturer at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, started the Malaysian Archaeology Project dedicated to archaeological research in new sites, and the teaching and training of future archaeologists. The early 1990s saw the birth of the second generation of Malaysian archaeologists, trained under Zuraina—Mokhtar Saidin (1997), myself (1997) and Zolkurnian Hassan (1998).

After nearly a decade of systematic research, discoveries and publications, the Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia was established in 1995 at USM, with Zuraina as the founding Director. Its primary goals are to plan and intensify systematic research programmes in building new knowledge, not only on Malaysian and Southeast Asian prehistory, but also in contributing to the global archaeological data; to offer undergraduate and postgraduate training and research degrees in archaeology; to train and upgrade the knowledge and technical skills of the National Heritage Department and museum staff, both national and international; and to provide advisory and consultancy services in the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage through research, the establishment of exhibitions and museum, and Heritage Impact Assessments. The archaeology centre at USM has a multi-disciplinary team of scholars and scientists who use their expertise to answer archaeological questions and to fill gaps in the prehistoric culture sequence of Malaysia. This knowledge is then disseminated to the public via social media, television programmes and documentaries, as well as to schools, museums and relevant educational institutions.

This had great impact on the development of archaeology in Malaysia, where many new and significant discoveries have been made. As a result, estimated dates of early human occupation in Malaysia were pushed back from 40,000 years ago in the Niah Caves to several hundreds of thousands of years ago in the Lenggong Valley, consequently rewriting hypotheses and theories on Malaysia’s early history. By that time, archaeological research in the country was no longer piecemeal; more systematic research programmes had been designed and carried out, especially in the Lenggong Valley in Perak, where significant discoveries were made, e.g. in Bukit Jawa (a 200,000-year-old site) and Kota Tampan (a 74,000-year-old site), two in-situ Palaeolithic stone tool workshop sites, as well as the Perak Man (a 10,000-year-old skeleton) excavated from Gua Gunung Runtuh.

Later, archaeological research was also extended to the Bujang Valley, Kedah as well as to sites in Sabah and Sarawak, e.g. Tingkayu, Bukit Tengkorak, Samang Buat, Kinabatangan Valley, the Niah Caves, Bukit Sarang and Bau Caves. The Centre also has international linkages and does joint research with international and national research institutions, universities and museums, such as the Conservation Analytical Lab in Washington DC, the University of Western Australia, the Tokyo National Science Museum, Silpakorn University in Thailand, Universitas Indonesia, and the University of the Philippines. After a proven track record, including exciting new discoveries that added to the understanding of regional and global archaeology, the Centre was upgraded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia in 2009 to the Centre for Global Archaeological Research.

The Centre, now headed by me, has produced more than 70 PhD and MA postgraduates in archaeology from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan and China, as well as hundreds of undergraduate minor students. Many of them are now working in universities, and heritage and museum departments in Malaysia and overseas.

One of the biggest challenges Malaysian archaeology faces is the need to protect, conserve and manage our archaeological heritage from the consequences of rapid economic development, especially within the last 25 years or so. Developing and promoting archaeotourism, particularly in some of the best-known and richest archaeological areas in the country, such as the Lenggong Valley, the Bujang Valley, the Niah Caves and the east coast of Sabah, have created site preservation and conservation challenges. Although federal and state museums are responsible for the protection of archaeological sites in the country prior to 2005, sites continue to be threatened or damaged in major construction works of highways, roads, buildings and dams as well as from guano digging, quarrying, agricultural, land reclamation and treasure hunting activities.

In 2005, the Antiquities Act of 1976 was replaced by the National Heritage Act 2005 to provide better protection of archaeological sites and cultural heritage. The Department of National Heritage, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, was commissioned to use this new act to protect, preserve and manage the archaeological and cultural heritage of the country. States like Penang, Sabah and Sarawak now have their own heritage ordinance or enactment to protect their archaeological heritage.

In recent years, archaeological practice in Malaysia has also begun to take into consideration the involvement of indigenous peoples to study, preserve and protect their heritage values and rights. This is because archaeological sites often hold deep cultural and spiritual importance for indigenous peoples, and represent their ancestry, history and cultural identity, which can help enrich archaeological research and interpretations. To further safeguard important cultural sites, Malaysia now has two archaeological areas inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List—the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley, Perak in 2012 and the Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex, Sarawak in 2024.

The history and practice of archaeology in Malaysia over the past 180 years or so have witnessed a gradual but significant change from a speculative-descriptive approach to one that is scientific and interdisciplinary. This has resulted in tremendous growth in research and in knowledge on Malaysian prehistory. I am hopeful that future archaeological research will continue to unravel more of the peninsula’s history, and that this will be preserved and safeguarded, not only for sustainable economic interest, but also for future generations.

*Note: For more information, see Chia, S (2017). “A History of Archaeology in Malaysia”, in Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology (Eds Junko Habu, Peter V. Lape, John W. Olsen, pp 125-141), Springer. New York.