"Unveiling Malaysia's Historical Struggles: Rock Art Reveals Elite-Indigenous and Colonial-Era Conflicts"

Researchers have dated drawings in Gua Sireh Cave in Sarawak, Malaysia, revealing a story of conflict between Indigenous peoples and Malay elites in the 1600s and 1800s AD. The charcoal drawings, depicting Indigenous resistance to frontier violence, were dated between 1670 and 1830 AD. This is the first chronometric age determination for Malaysian rock art. The art at Gua Sireh is part of a wider distribution of black drawings found across Southeast Asia, associated with the diaspora of Austronesian speaking peoples. The findings shed light on Indigenous experiences of colonization and territorial violence.