Abstract
This research was conducted to determine the origin of votive tablets found in prehistoric and proto-historic site of Chawas Cave in Hulu Kelantan. The votive tablets found in Chawas Cave showed several Buddhist images which are associated with the Srivijaya Kingdom which existed from 7th century AD until 12th century AD. To determine if the votive tablets were produced by communities that lived in Hulu Kelantan, hence the study of the chemical composition of the votive tablets should be carried out. Two techniques were employed in this research, namely the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) techniques. The techniques will determine the mineral content as well as the major and trace element content of the votive tablets. Analysis showed that all the votive tablet samples have mineral known as clinochlore. Clinochlore is one of the chlorites, namely a group of phyllosilicate minerals. Chlorite is commonly found in igneous rocks as an alteration product of mafic minerals such as pyroxene, amphibole and biotite. The votive tablets were found in a cave which consisted of limestone cave formation and it showed that the votive tablets were not produced by the local community of Hulu Kelantan. Major elements also showed that the chemical composition of the votive tablets is not similar to the composition of clay samples taken from several rivers in Hulu Kelantan.
Highlights
Chawas Cave is one of the rock shelters that exists in Hulu Kelantan valley
More than a thousand votive tablets have been found in this area which indicated that maybe some of the communities living in Hulu Kelantan had been influenced culturally by the Srivijaya Empire and practised Mahayana Buddhism
Several pottery shards from prehistoric sites in Hulu Kelantan have been analyzed and the results showed that most of the shards did not originate from Hulu Kelantan and probably originated from the coastal area (Chia, 1997; Ramli et al, 2011b)
Summary
Chawas Cave is one of the rock shelters that exists in Hulu Kelantan valley. The first archaeological excavation was conducted in 1994 which unearthed several findings; these were mostly stone tools and animal remains which are associated with the Hoabinhian, Neolithic and proto-historic culture (Adi, 2007). Apart from the stone tools and animal remains, several cord mark pottery shards which are associated with the Neolithic culture were found in this area. The most interesting finding in Chawas Cave was the Mahayana Buddhism votive tablet made from clay. More than a thousand votive tablets have been found in this area which indicated that maybe some of the communities living in Hulu Kelantan had been influenced culturally by the Srivijaya Empire and practised Mahayana Buddhism. Several scholars have associated the finding with the kingdom of Chih-tu where in the Sui Dynasty had sent their ambassadors to this area in 607 to 610 CE (Wheatley, 1961; Zulkifli, 2003)
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