Prehistoric Malaysia
Prehistoric Malaysia started from East Malaysia, Sarawak's Niah Caves, the world's largest limestone caves, which has evidences of the oldest human remains in Malaysia, dating back some 40,000 years ago. Perak Man of Kota Tampan, Lenggong is the earliest in Peninsular Malaysia dating back 11,000 years. One of the most popular prehistoric evidences is the Tambun Cave paintings.
Chronology
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40,000-35,000 years ago- Paleolithic (Early Stone Age)
Early peoples lived a simple lifestyle of hunting, eating, fighting and procreating. Paleolithic Malaysia has no border, no definition of countries, no government, no religion, no money, no costume, no moral, no education, no passport, no visa, no currency, no supermarket, etc.
35,000-10,000 years ago - Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
Anthropologists traced a group of newcomers Proto-Malay seafarers who migrated from Yunnan to Malaysia. Negrito and other Aborigines were forced by Proto-Malay into the hills. In this period, people learnt to dress, to cook, to hunt with advance stone weapons. Communication techniques also improved.
10,000-5,000 years ago- Neolithic (New Stone Age)
People learnt to build simple houses and to have families. Simple moral and simple society concept germinated.
2,500 years ago - Bronze Age
More people arrived, including new tribes and seafarers. The Malay Peninsula became the crossroads in maritime trades of the ancient age. Seafarers who came to Malaysia's shores included Indians, Egyptians, peoples of the Middle East, Javanese and Chinese. Ptolemy named the Malay Peninsula, Golden Chersonese.
Early Hindus Settlers
Hindu traders began to settle down and built their cultures, architectures, languages, writings, words, foods, costumes, religions, government system, moral education and many more to set up the first local Malay Kingdom, also known as Srivijaya, which lasted 1400 years.
Mekong River Migration
Mekong river approximately 4180km in length, originated from Tibet and runs through Yunnan province of China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Anthropologist traced Proto-Malay began as seafarer some 10,000 years ago sailed by boat along the Mekong river from Yunnan to the South China Sea and settled down a various places.
Khmer civilization
According to history of Khmer, the earliest known civilisation was the 1st century Indianised-Khmer culture of Funan, in the Mekong Delta. The Khmer empire of Angkor was the last where the kingdom fled to various places seeking refuge, Palembang and later Malacca were among the places. Archeological evidences found that inhabitants of early Cambodians were peoples of Neolithic culture, they possessed good technical skills while the more advanced groups lived near the coast and in the lower delta of Mekong, cultivated irrigated rice. It is believed they were ancestors of inhabtants of insular Southeast Asia and islands of Pacific Ocean. Knowledged in iron, bronze works and possessed good navigational skills. (Source: Based on information from John F. Cady, Southeast Asia: Its Historical Development, New York, 1964.)
References
- The ENCYCLOPEDIA of Malaysia : early history, Volume 4 / edited by Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman http://wildasia.net/main/product.cfm?productID=427