6 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Malaysian rock art found to depict Ruling class and Indigenous tribes conflict

Researchers discovered that two anthropomorphic figures of indigenous warriors were created amid geopolitical tensions with the ruling class and other tribes in what is believed to be the first age study of Malaysian rock art.

New radiocarbon dating of rock art in the Gua Sireh cave complex is helping shed light on a tumultuous period for the Indigenous Bidayuh people of the Sarawak region, in what is now Malaysian Borneo.

Approximately 55 km southeast of Sarawak’s Capital, Kuching, the site is managed by the Bidayuh (local Indigenous peoples) in collaboration with The Sarawak Museum Department, with the drawings depicting Indigenous resistance to frontier violence in the 1600s and 1800s AD.

While the Bidayuh did not keep a written record of their history, they were among the Indigenous peoples who adorned the cave walls of Gua Sireh and elsewhere with rock art, using simple pigments to produce various motifs and drawings, depicting more than 300 images.

A team of Australian scientists recently used radiocarbon dating to complete the first chronometric age study of Malaysian rock art, as reported in an article published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.

The team of researchers focused on the two largest charcoal drawings in the cave complex. One, identified as GS3, is a round-bodied human-like figure, with accoutrements including a cloak, headdress and knives in each hand. The other, GS4, is described as a large anthropomorphic figure with an infilled triangular body holding a sheathed knife.

New radiocarbon dating detailed in the article gives researchers a timeline for when the art was made: the GS3 figure was likely produced between 1670-1710 while the GS4 figure dates to 1800-1830.

These findings allow researchers to place the drawings in historical context.

“When the older anthropomorph was drawn, the Bidayuh were dominated by Malay elites, whereas the second large anthropomorph would have been made during a period of increasing conflict between Bidayuh and both Iban and Brunei Malay rulers,” the team said. “During this period many Indigenous Sarawakians moved into the upland interior, including the Gua Sireh area, to escape persecution.”

The dated rock art. Image by Andrea Jalandoni. Credit: Andrea Jalandoni

Though the two drawings are separated by as much as 160 years, they share characteristics including size, embellishment and possession of weaponry, indicating they were produced during periods of conflict.

GS3 has “a round body and is more embellished than most other anthropomorphs at the site with a large circular head, a mouth indicated and a defined penis, hands and feet. He also has an unusual outline with jagged edges around the body, five triangular shapes on either side of the body, and a rounded top above the head, giving the impression that it is wearing a cloak and/or headdress.”

Both drawings are surrounded by smaller human figures, suggesting they may represent “big and/or powerful warriors.”

The researchers’ work adds fresh details to the history of the region and its peoples.

“Black drawings in the region have been made for thousands of years,” study co-lead, Dr. Jillian Huntley said.

“Our work at Gua Sireh indicates this art form was used up to the recent past to record Indigenous peoples’ experiences of colonization and territorial violence.”

The researchers’ work adds fresh details to the history of the region and its peoples.

“The radiocarbon age determinations reported here sit neatly alongside other recently published numeric ages for the distinctive black drawings associated with the migration of Austronesian people across Southeast Asia,” the researchers wrote.

“In conjunction with detailed recording work and regional rock art analyses taking place, additional radiocarbon dating of black drawn rock art is poised to provide further insights into the Austronesian/Malay Diasporas, as well as the complexity of human history at Gua Sireh and broader Southeast Asia,” the authors said.

Although their ancestors’ presence on the northern side of the island can be traced back around 20,000 years and historical records indicate they often enjoyed autonomy, from the 17th through 19th centuries, the area was governed by the Brunei Sultanate, the Malay ruling class. Indigenous peoples, although considered allies, were often exploited and enslaved.

In simultaneous geopolitical conflicts with another Indigenous group known as the Iban, Bidayuh were occasionally tortured and killed over territory and resources.

Some published accounts detail turbulent centuries for the Bidayuh.

In her 1965 book “Sarawak,” photographer and historian Hedda Morrison recounted that “rulers not only bullied and enslaved the people but also had no compunction in allowing expeditions of the Ibans to attack … . [T]he Ibans kept the heads of the people they slaughtered and handed over the slaves they captured to the Brunei authority as their share of the loot.”

Another historical account written 102 years earlier by British Consul Spenser St. John describes a “very harsh” Malay chief who demanded possession of Bidayuh children. When they refused and the chief sent a 300-man force to exact revenge, the Bidayuh took up a defensive position in the Gua Sireh cave complex.

The conflict was only resolved after several days of Bidayuh resistance. The Malay chief never penetrated the cave entrance, instead retreating after killing two Bidayuh and taking another seven as prisoners.

The drawings of Gua Sireh have been studied before. During an archaeological excavation in 1959, the drawings were classified into four categories: “pinmen,” “birdmen,” “large” and “animals.” GS3 and GS4 were both classified as “large,” with one archaeologist describing GS3 as “supernatural in some way.”

Griffith University

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288902

Cover Photo: Digital tracings of the two large human figures dated in a radiocarbon study of rock art on the cave walls of Gua Sireh in Borneo. The figures are identified as GS3 (left) and GS4. Photo: Huntley et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 via Courthouse News Service

Related Articles

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

Magnificent Romanesque and Peasant war fury in the lost Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt

18 August 2023

18 August 2023

From the 12th to the 16th century, the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt was a religious, cultural, and economic center of...

Human Relief Found at Million Stone Excavation Site in İstanbul

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The Milion Stone (also known as the Million Stone) from the Eastern Roman period is one of important the historical...

4,400-Year-Old Jade Cylinder Seal Found in Western Türkiye

6 December 2024

6 December 2024

A cylindrical seal made of jade stone dating back to 4,400 years ago was found in Kütahya Seyitömer Höyük (Seyitömer...

Possible Location of Medieval Knight Zbylut’s Manor Identified Alongside Discovery of Unknown Burial Crypts

26 April 2025

26 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers have uncovered previously unknown burial crypts within the Gothic Church of St. James the...

The earliest known depiction of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah was discovered at a Jewish synagogue in Israel

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

The earliest known depiction of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah was discovered at a Jewish synagogue at Huqoq in Israel,...

Archaeologists Found Probable Evidence of the Existence of Amazons in Azerbaijan

27 March 2024

27 March 2024

Archaeological research carried out in Azerbaijan recently likely confirmed the existence of Amazons, female warriors from Greek mythology. During excavations...

1800-year-old statue head found in Ancient Smyrna Theater in western Turkey

30 July 2022

30 July 2022

A statue head dated to the 2nd century AD was unearthed during the excavations at the Ancient Smyrna Theater, located...

Archaeologists have found a previously unknown Roman city with buildings of monumental proportions in Spain’s Aragon Region

17 July 2022

17 July 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Zaragoza in Spain have discovered a previously unknown Roman city with buildings of monumental proportions....

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

Archaeologists find the largest bronze beast of Sanxingdui ruins

4 September 2022

4 September 2022

The largest and only one of its kind discovered in China to date, the bronze beast was discovered by archaeologists...

8,000-year-old Cave paintings found in Türkiye’s İnkaya Cave depict life and death

10 September 2023

10 September 2023

A number of cave paintings dating back some 8,000 years have been found in İnkaya cave in the Marmara province...

Archaeologists find the earliest evidence Maya sacred calendar in the Guatemalan pyramid

14 April 2022

14 April 2022

Archaeologists identified two plaster fragments depicting a date that the Maya civilization called ‘7 deer’ and was part of the...

Secrets of the Ancient Walls: 1,700-Year-Old Roman Altar Unearthed at Vuçak Castle in Kosovo

19 April 2025

19 April 2025

Excavations at Vuçak Castle in the Kosovo countryside have led to a remarkable discovery: a Roman altar dating back to...

Archaeologists discover 7,000-year-old tiger shark-tooth knives in Indonesia

29 October 2023

29 October 2023

Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have yielded an incredible find: two tiger shark teeth that were fashioned into...