ONE CAN ONLY imagine the lonely path Siti Zuraina Abdul Majid has travelled as Malaysia’s first archaeologist, and one with considerable academic gravitas under her belt. A returning graduate from the UK, she was only 24 years old when she excavated her first site in the late 1960s.

Initially, Zuraina Majid faced scepticism, and the lack of professional archaeologists in the country was disheartening. Yet, where others saw barren ground, she saw opportunity. Penang, with its rich history as a trading hub combined with the academic vigour provided by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), became her base in 1988, when she established the first Archaeology Unit in Malaysia. The Centre for Global Archaeological Research was set up in 1995 at USM, paving the way for more young history buffs to dive into the past and setting the stage for the field of archaeology to be recognised as a discipline in Malaysia.

“It was a mission,” Zuraina Majid describes it. “Not an ambition. There were no archaeologists in Malaysia when I started. I had to build the discipline from the ground up.”

Before pursuing her doctorate in archaeology in 1973, Zuraina Majid studied Chinese and Oriental Studies at Cambridge. Her early interest in Chinese language, art and history was what ignited her curiosity in archaeology.

“I was fascinated by Chinese archaeology, especially the rich collection of bronzes and objects discovered from the graves of emperors,” she recalls.

Penang’s Indiana Jones

Referring to Zuraina Majid as Penang’s Indiana Jones would not fully capture the depth and dedication she has contributed to the field. Unlike the fictional adventurer who chased relics for glory and whose portrayal romanticised archaeology, Zuraina Majid devoted her life to the field to advance human knowledge, preserve history and uphold truth. Still, the release of the Indiana Jones films in the 1980s undeniably helped push archaeology into Malaysian consciousness.

“Because that was when the movies came out, right? In the 1980s? That was when I was trying to encourage people to fill this archaeologist vacuum in the country. For the first time, through the Indiana Jones movies, they had an understanding of what an archaeologist does,” she chuckles.

Although the cinematic portrayal was exaggerated and far from the academic rigour required of real-life excavations, the pop culture moment opened a critical portal, and Zuraina Majid seized that opportunity to further the cause of archaeology in the country. Currently, the pioneer proudly works with homegrown archaeologists at Lenggong Valley, including Nasha Rodziadi Khaw, Velat Anak Bujeng and Nisa Khalil.

Continuing Her Legacy

Whether it is Penang’s George Town, the ancient caves of the Lenggong Valley or Balambangan Island in Sabah, Zuraina Majid seems to have the innate ability to inject adventure and life into what many would have dismissed as mundane.

Archaeology being a multidisciplinary field, Zuraina Majid says that collaboration is needed across subjects, such as biology, chemistry and the other sciences.

“It is truly teamwork with scientists from many other disciplines depending on the kind of sites we are working on. Archaeology is problem-orientated, and we work together with whichever discipline can help us investigate specific sites and construct a reliable narrative of our deep past,” she explains.

Zuraina Majid started archaeological research at the Bujang Valley in 1968, and then in 1977 at Gua Niah. In 1987, she led an excavation team to Kota Tampan in Lenggong Valley, Perak and uncovered a prehistoric stone tool workshop that dates back to 74,000 years, filling a huge vacuum on the historical timeline. The enormity of the discovery recalibrated our understanding of human migration patterns, placing Malaysia as a key human migratory route from Africa to Australia.

“What we found was a piece of the jigsaw puzzle in the early history of mankind,” she says.

In another groundbreaking discovery at Gua Gunung Runtuh, also at Lenggong Valley, Zuraina Majid unearthed the Perak Man, an ancient skeleton estimated to be around 11,000 years old. The oldest and most complete human remains found in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, Perak Man bears traces of a rare congenital deformity, Brachymesophalangia Type A2. The hunter-gatherer was laid to rest in a deliberate Paleolithic burial—the first-ever documented in the region—in a foetal position, with Brotia shells strewn around and some food in his right hand as well as around his body. This discovery—including the careful positioning of the skeleton—offers a rare peek into the burial rituals and customs of those times.

After decades of meticulous fieldwork, documentation and public engagement, Zuraina Majid’s vision bore fruit. In 2012, during her tenure as Malaysia’s Head of Delegation to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (2011–2015), Lenggong Valley earned the UNESCO World Heritage Site recognition. She was also instrumental in securing the same recognition for Melaka and George Town in 2008.

Such is the scale of Zuraina Majid’s legacy—boldly venturing into uncharted territories, making pioneering discoveries and unearthing the forgotten lives of prehistoric communities. In recognition of her lifelong and significant contributions to archaeology and national heritage, Zuraina Majid was appointed Penyandang Kursi Za’ba (Za’ba Chair) at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in April 2024. The role, named after renowned scholar Zainal Abidin Ahmad (Za’ba), is awarded to those dedicated to advancing Malay language, literature and civilisation.

Her contributions have also earned her the 50WomenAtYale150 Award in 2020, the Merdeka Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement in 2022, an honorary PhD from Universiti Malaysia Kelantan in 2012, and an honorary Doctor of Humanities from WOU in 2023. She was also conferred the title “Dato” by the Sultan of Perak and “Datin Paduka” by the Sultan of Selangor.

Women in Archaeology

While historically, archaeology has been a male-dominated industry, Zuraina Majid points out that more women are now entering the field, and they are thriving.

“I also think that it is untrue that women are less interested in archaeology. You know, there are several women archaeologists now who are up and coming in USM. And they are tough, they are good— not necessarily because they are women, but they just happened to be women,” she says. Zuraina Majid describes women she has worked with in the field as “very meticulous, very cautious and ethical”.

“In fact, the next generation of archaeologists will likely be dominated by women,” she adds.

She highlights that supportive families are critical for aspiring women to pursue fieldwork; this is due to the physical and personal demands of the profession.

“You will be leaving your family when you do fieldwork... and that is a non-negotiable.”

Reflecting on her journey, she says, “I am just so pleased. I thank God that I’ve achieved what I set out to do. I can close my eyes quite happily in terms of my career. But through all of this, there is one person I should thank—my husband. Without him, I couldn’t have achieved what I did. He passed away five years ago, but I still want it to be known that he was behind so much of my success. I couldn’t have done it alone.”

Her husband, the late Professor Vincent Salih Lowe, was not an archaeologist, but he was a pillar of strength and support nevertheless. He once served as Dean of Postgraduate Studies at USM.

“He was a wonderful man who really supported me in my career,” she reminisces. “Right till the end, he was there for all of it.”

At 80, her advice and code of conduct to young archaeologists is enduring: “Archaeologists write a nation’s history. Hence, they should excavate meticulously, record honestly and always be grounded in archaeological ethics.”