Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia
Includes	Bukit Bunuh – Kota Tampan Bukit Jawa Bukit Kepala Gajah Bukit Gua Harimau
Criteria	Cultural: (iii)(iv)
Reference	1396
Inscription	2012 (36th Session)
Area	398.64 ha (985.1 acres)
Buffer zone	1,786.77 ha (4,415.2 acres)
Coordinates	5°4′4.47″N 100°58′20.38″E / 5.0679083°N 100.9723278°E / 5.0679083; 100.9723278
Location of Lenggong in Malaysia

Lenggong or Lenggong Valley (Malay: Lembah Lenggong) is a geographical area defined by the mountain ranges of Bintang in the west and Titiwangsa to its east. It is a rural area, with small kampongs surrounded by green vegetation and limestone hills with numerous caves.

The Lenggong Valley is one of Peninsular Malaysia's most important areas for archaeology, as excavations have revealed many traces of Malaysia's prehistory, with finds such as cave drawings, jewellery, pottery, weapons and stone tools. It is the site of one of the oldest known place of human activity in the Peninsula. The Lenggong Valley was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site on 30 June 2012.^[1]

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History of Malaysia
Prehistoric period Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2,000,0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial period Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative period BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo/Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Baling Talks 1955
Independence period Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Sarawak Insurgency 1962–1990 North Borneo self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989
Modern period 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Federal Territory of KL 1974 1977 Kelantan Emergency 1977 Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea dispute (Spratly) 1980–present Dawn Raid 1981 Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Memali incident 1985 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989 Royal Immunity Amendments 1993 Asian financial crisis 1997–1998 Reformasi Movement 1998–2022 2008 Malaysian Opposition Wave 2008 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009–2010 Sedition Dragnet 2014 1MDB scandal 2015–present Pakatan Harapan takeover 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022 Political crisis 2020–2022 Bornean Amendment 2021–2023 Green Wave 2022–present
Incidents Brunei revolt 1962–1966 North Borneo dispute (Philippine militant attacks) 1962–present Singapore race riots 1964 Brunei's Limbang claim 1967–2009 Penang Hartal riot 1967 13 May Incident 1969 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Kuala Lumpur flash floods 1971 Malaysian haze crisis 1972–present AIA building hostage crisis 1975 National Monument bombing 1975 Campbell Shopping Complex fire 1976 Sabah Air GAF Nomad crash 1976 Japan Airlines Flight 715 incident 1977 MH653 incident 1977 1985 Lahad Datu ambush 1985 Memali Incident 1985 Sabah Emergency 1986 Ming Court Affair 1987 Penang terminal bridge collapse 1988 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire 1989 Bright Sparklers disaster 1991 Highland Towers collapse 1993 Genting landslide 1995 MH2133 incident 1995 Pos Dipang mudflow 1996 Tropical Storm Greg 1996 1998–1999 Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak 1998–1999 2000 Sipadan kidnappings 2000 Al-Ma'unah incident 2000 Sauk Siege 2000 2001 Kampung Medan riots 2001 2002 Taman Hillview landslide 2002 Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 2006–2007 Southeast Asian floods 2006–2007 Bukit Gantang bus crash 2007 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide 2008 2009 swine flu pandemic in Malaysia 2009 Attacks against places of worship 2010 Cameron Highlands bus crash 2010 Hulu Langat landslide 2011 Genting Highlands bus crash 2013 MH370 incident 2014 MH17 incident 2014 2014–15 Malaysia floods 2014–2015 Sabah earthquake 2015 2015 Plaza Low Yat riot 2015 Movida Bar grenade attack 2016 Kim Jong-nam's Assassination 2017 Darul Quran madrasa fire 2017 2018 Subang Temple riot 2018 2020-21 Malaysia floods 2021 LRT train collision 2021 2021-22 Malaysia floods 2021–2022 2022 Batang Kali landslide 2022 2023 Elmina plane crash 2023 2024 Lumut helicopters crash 2024 2024 Ulu Tiram police station attack 2024
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In Malaysia, the earliest remains is a human skull found in the Niah Caves in Sarawak and dates back some 40,000 years.^[2][3] Almost all of the archaeological remains found in Lenggong have been associated with caves.^[4] The two exceptions are the Kota Tampan and Bukit Jawa sites, which are Peninsular Malaysia's only Palaeolithic sites.^[5]

Kota Tampan is the earliest known site of human inhabitants. Excavations at Kota Tampan which began in 1938 revealed an undisturbed stone tool production area. Pebble tools were made using equipment such as anvils and hammer stones. Some 50,000 pieces of stone have been found and recorded. The culture at Kota Tampan is referred to as Tampanian. The workshop was initially dated at 30,000 years old, but this figure has now been revised to 75,000 years. Although the Kota Tampan workshop site is currently on a hillside, and in an oil palm plantation, the original site was on a lake shore. It is thought that the workshop was disbanded roughly 75,000 years ago due to a volcanic eruption at Lake Toba in Sumatra, approximately 250 kilometres away. There is a large gap of 17,000 years between Kota Tampan and the next archaeological site, Gua Gunung Runtuh, which has been attributed to the devastating effects of the Toba eruption.^{[citation needed]}

Gua Gunung Runtuh is situated in Bukit Kepala Gajah or Elephant's Head Hill. In the same hill other caves have yielded archaeological remains such as stone tools and food remnants. The caves were probably used as temporary shelters as seasonal or hunting camps, whereas Gua Gunung Runtuh was lived in for longer periods. Gua Harimau, or Tiger Cave, is a site about 3 kilometres away from Gua Gunung Runtuh which was probably used as a burial ground about 3,000 – 5,000 years ago as seven human skeletons have been found at the site along with bronze axes and various articles of jewellery. The bronze axes show that there was an early Bronze tradition in Malaysia, as well as in north Thailand and China. It is the earliest use of metal in south-east Asia. Porcelain containers of various shapes and sizes were also found containing meat and snail shells. Archaeological digs in other caves have revealed pottery, axes stone tools and flakes. Food also remains, and in some sites, human bones. Unfortunately, some caves have been disturbed by guano diggers and any remains have been lost.^{[citation needed]}

More recently, a team excavated Bukit Jawa, which has been dated at 200,000 years old. Bukit Jawa is therefore far older than the Kota Tampan workshop, which is just 6 km away.^{[citation needed]}

Negrito cave drawings have been found at various sites but are not prehistoric, as they are only about 100 years old. Gua Badak is one of the main places for these drawings, situated about 10 kilometres north of Lenggong. The Lanoh Negrito made the illustrative recordings of their every life. The charcoal drawings were first discovered and documented in the 1920s by Ivor Evans. They were then thought to have been lost by quarrying, but were rediscovered in 1992. Modern graffiti covers some of the original drawings. The Negritos used the caves as shelters during hunting trips. The sketches depict things such as animals, people, trees, mats, bicycles and cars. Apart from the charcoal drawings, they made white pictures by scrapping away the limestone rock.^{[citation needed]}

Most of the old troglodytes or cave dwellers of the Malay Peninsula temporarily lived in caves and rock shelters. They lived mainly by hunting, evidence shown by the remains of animal bones and molluscs. The people may have painted their bodies using red iron oxide. They used stones and slabs for grinding up substances such as salt, and all their tools were made of stones. Flakes were used as knives or scrappers. So it can be seen that the Lenggong area is very important as it contains much evidence relating to the prehistory of Malaysia. It is the oldest area where remains have been found, and all the sites are situated conveniently within a small area.^{[citation needed]}

Gua Puteri is a natural tunnel which pierces Bukit Kajang. There are no archaeological findings here, but the cave is known for its legends. Two stalagmites are believed to be a prince and princess who guard the cave. Locals say that if children climb up the stalagmites they will fall sick.^{[citation needed]}

The oldest human skeleton found in Malaysia was at Gua Gunung Runtuh in the state of Perak in Peninsular Malaysia. The cave was his final resting place situated in Bukit Kepala Gajah or Elephant's Head Hill in the Lenggong Valley of Ulu Perak. The skeleton was a male with a height of approximately 157 cm, estimated to have been in his 50s. The skeleton was discovered in 1991 and has been dated to around 11,000 years old. It is one of the most complete skeletons for this time period in this region.^{[citation needed]}

He was buried in the fetal position, with deposits of animal bones at his right shoulder, to his left and to his bottom, and deposits of stone tools around the body. There were no other burials in the cave. The Perak Man had a malformed left hand, his left arm and hand were much smaller compared to his right arm and hand. This deformity could be from a genetic disorder known as brachymesophalangia. This evidence is further supported by the fact that his spine is curved towards the right due to living with only one good hand.^{[citation needed]}

The bones that were found deposited near him were identified to have come from wild boar, monkey, monitor lizard and deer and are thought to have been food deposits. There were about ten stone tools scattered around the body, and most of them were pebble tools and some hammer stones.^{[citation needed]}

One conclusion that the study made was that he must have been an important member of society because his burial was very elaborate and labour intensive. The Perak Man was put into the pit with food offerings, covered with small shells, then more offerings and tools, and then another shell layer, followed by a final dirt layer. Furthermore, he was estimated to have been in his 50s which was very old for a person from that era with a disability. People had to take care of him – and people would not take it upon themselves unless he was respected or highly ranked in some sort of social hierarchy.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, another skeleton was found at Gua Teluk Kelawar in Lenggong, Perak by a team of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) archaeologists. This skeleton was dubbed the 'Perak woman', who was 148 cm in height and was believed to have been in her 40s. The Perak Women is believed to have died 8,000 years ago.^{[citation needed]}

Lenggong is accessible by trunk roads connecting it with neighbouring towns and cities. The town of Lenggong is situated some 100 kilometres north of Ipoh on the Kuala Kangsar to Grik road (highway 76). The road to Lenggong is surrounded mostly by oil palm estates and jungles.

To visit Lenggong, from the North–South Expressway take Exit No.143 at Kuala Kangsar – that's about 3 hours away from Kuala Lumpur. Then take Route 76 to Lenggong.

• Perak Man and the Lenggong Archaeological Museum
• Fish dishes of Lenggong
• Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia
• https://web.archive.org/web/20051223085446/http://www.museum.gov.my/english/perakman.htm
• http://allmalaysia.info/news/story.asp?file=/2003/10/4/state/6340195&sec=mi_perak

5°06′N 100°58′E / 5.100°N 100.967°E / 5.100; 100.967