West Mouth Research Articles

Archaeological Investigations at the Trader's Cave,Niah National Park: Reports on the Second and Third (2018 & 2019) Field Seasons

In November 2017, 50 years after Tom and Barbara Harrisson completed their excavations in the West Mouth of the Niah Great Cave Complex (NGCC), we began archaeological excavations in the Trader's Cave (Fig.1). While the area containing the Niah Caves was privately owned land at the time the Harrissons undertook their research it was gazetted as a National Park in 1974 and today comprises 3,138 hectares of forest and karst areas including many largely unexplored caves. Our research project, underway since 2011, aims to assess the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental potential of the caves in Niah National Park beyond the areas subject to research previously by the Harrissons. The Trader's Cave (3°49’1.16”N, 113°46'54.42”E) is the second largest cavern in Nia National Park and is located approximately 150 m north of the West Mouth within the same karst tower (Bukit Bekajang) as the NGCC. As noted previously (Curnoe et al. 2017), the Harrissons excavated a small trial excavation in the northern tourist entrance of the cave during 1956, but never published the results or returned to the locality for further archaeological research. Until our project began, there had been no archaeological activities within the main cavern of the Trader's Cave despite its size: the cave being ~200 m in maximum length, ~30 m at its widest point and with a maximum height >15 m. Similarly, while Hazelbroek and Morshidi (2000) provided a brief description of the geology of the cave, the only detailed speleological investigation of the Trader's Cave was published in 2017 (Dodge-Wan 2017). Since our first field campaign (Curnoe et al. 2017), we have completed a further two field seasons with a total duration of 16 weeks of field research 2017 - 2019 in this cave, with further excavations planned for 2020 - 2022.

Femur associated with the Deep Skull from the West Mouth of the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Malaysia)

The skeletal remains of Pleistocene anatomically modern humans are rare in island Southeast Asia. Moreover, continuing doubts over the dating of most of these finds has left the arrival time for the region's earliest inhabitants an open question. The unique biogeography of island Southeast Asia also raises questions about the physical and cultural adaptations of early anatomically modern humans, especially within the setting of rainforest inhabitation. Within this context the Deep Skull from the West Mouth of the Niah Caves continues to figure prominently owing to its relative completeness and the greater certainty surrounding its geological age. Recovered along with this partial cranium in 1958 were several postcranial bones including a partial femur which until now has received little attention. Here we provide a description and undertake a comparison of the Deep Skull femur finding it to be very small in all of its cross-sectional dimensions. We note a number of size and shape similarities to the femora of Indigenous Southeast Asians, especially Aeta people from the Philippines. We estimate its stature to have been roughly 145–146 cm and body mass around 35 kg, confirming similarities to Aeta females. Its extreme gracility indicated by low values for a range of biomechanical parameters taken midshaft meets expectations for a very small (female) Paleolithic East Asian. Interestingly, the second moment of area about the mediolateral axis is enlarged relative to the second moment of area about the anteroposterior axis, which could potentially signal a difference in activity levels or lifestyle compared with other Paleolithic femora. However, it might also be the result of sexual dimorphism in these parameters as well as possibly reflecting changes associated with aging.

Rare Late Pleistocene-early Holocene human mandibles from the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Borneo).

The skeletal remains of Late Pleistocene-early Holocene humans are exceptionally rare in island Southeast Asia. As a result, the identity and physical adaptations of the early inhabitants of the region are poorly known. One archaeological locality that has historically been important for understanding the peopling of island Southeast Asia is the Niah Caves in the northeast of Borneo. Here we present the results of direct Uranium-series dating and the first published descriptions of three partial human mandibles from the West Mouth of the Niah Caves recovered during excavations by the Harrissons in 1957. One of them (mandible E/B1 100") is somewhat younger than the ‘Deep Skull’ with a best dating estimate of c30-28 ka (at 2σ), while the other two mandibles (D/N5 42–48" and E/W 33 24–36") are dated to a minimum of c11.0–10.5 ka (at 2σ) and c10.0–9.0 ka (at 2σ). Jaw E/B1 100" is unusually small and robust compared with other Late Pleistocene mandibles suggesting that it may have been ontogenetically altered through masticatory strain under a model of phenotypic plasticity. Possible dietary causes could include the consumption of tough or dried meats or palm plants, behaviours which have been documented previously in the archaeological record of the Niah Caves. Our work suggests a long history back to before the LGM of economic strategies involving the exploitation of raw plant foods or perhaps dried and stored meat resources. This offers new insights into the economic strategies of Late Pleistocene-early Holocene hunter-gatherers living in, or adjacent to, tropical rainforests.

Post-depositional alteration of humid tropical cave sediments: Micromorphological research in the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak, Borneo

The post-depositional alteration of cave sediments is of critical importance for the recognition, identification and investigation of geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence. There have been relatively few studies of tropical cave sediments using micromorphology and this work represents one of the most detailed with 26 samples taken from deposits in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah that cover the last >∼55,000 BP, and contain the earliest known evidence for the remains of modern humans in Southeast Asia. Cave sediments situated in the humid tropics are subject to relatively high temperatures and moisture conditions that promote high rates of chemical alteration and geomorphic change. This paper outlines those post-depositional features that occurred in situ in the West Mouth and include: translocation and concentration; bioturbation; excrement; bone alteration; plant alteration; clast alteration and guano decomposition. It examines their implications for recognising past human activities (e.g. fire-altered materials), the preservation of archaeological remains, the nature of palaeoenvironments and of localised physical and bio-geochemical processes.

EARLY HOLOCENE BURIAL PRACTICE AT NIAH CAVE, SARAWAK

The West Mouth of Niah Cave, Sarawak, contains one of the largest series of stratified prehistoric burials in Southeast Asia. Initial classification grouped up to 39 burials as ‘Mesolithic’ or pre-Neolithic (B. Harrisson 1967), including ‘flexed’, ‘seated’ and ‘mutilation’ burials, and subsequent radiocarbon dates on human bone produced a date range for these burials of 15,121-5659 cal. BC (Brooks et al. 1977; T. Harrisson 1975). However, due to the technical infancy in dating bone samples at that time, these dates are now generally discredited (Spriggs 1989). In light of renewed investigation of cave stratigraphy and new radiocarbon dates, this paper reviews the classification and date range of early Holocene burials at Niah Cave. The spatial and temporal patterning in burial practice at the site is discussed and compared to the regional data. It is proposed that the commencement of discrete burial in the early Holocene forms a horizon across the Indo-Malay Archipelago which reflects a broad cultural shift in the perception of dead and cultural attitudes to their appropriate treatment, one result of which was the creation of tangible ancestral identities. Early Holocene burial practice was varied both at a local and regional level, including primary as well as secondary burial. One widespread element is the use of fire, either represented as fully cremated remains or physically present within the grave structure itself.

The West Mouth Neolithic Cemetery, Niah Cave, Sarawak

Excavations between 1954 and 1967 in the West Mouth, Niah Cave (Sarawak) uncovered the largest Neolithic cemetery in South-east Asia with over 150 burials. Subsequent work at the site in the 1970s and most recently by the Niah Caves Project (2000–2004) brought the total to 170, comprising 89 primary burials and 79 secondary burials, and two ‘multiple’ burials. The size of cemetery and the scale of the archaeological data are unprecedented in South-east Asian Neolithic archaeology and offer a unique opportunity to investigate the cemetery's origins, development, and history in detail. Analysis of the demographic structure of discrete spatial burial groups within the cemetery and their short term burial sequences are combined to interpret the history of changing burial practice in terms of different social/settlement groups using the cave as a communal place of burial. A new suite of radiocarbon dates are used to date the West Mouth Neolithic cemetery to between 1500 and 200bc. Six phases of burial are defined and the associated transitions of ritual practices are discussed. In particular, a transition from primary to secondary burial occurred aroundc.1000bc, which subsequently intensified into the practice of cremation. This process was likely associated/fuelled by an intensification of economic activity to support more elaborate secondary burial funerals. Two further cycles of primary and secondary burial followed, before the main cemetery ceasedc.200bc. A Post-Neolithic phase of possibly 14 burials (five primary flexed burials and nine secondary burials) is proposed to follow, which while continuing aspects of Neolithic mortuary behaviour, is considered on isotopic data to represent a group of hunter-gatherers living in a closed-canopy environment

Drip water Geochemistry of Niah Great Cave, NW Borneo, Malaysia: a base line study

A base line study was conducted to understand the geochemical variations of drip waters in Niah Great Cave, Sarawak, NW Borneo of Malaysia. Drip waters were collected at three different sites within the cave (D6: SW entrance enroute to painted Cave; D5: centre of the Great Cave, and D8: west mouth Great Cave entrance). The collected samples were analysed for temperature, pH, EC, major elements, non purgeable organic carbon, δ13C and δ18O. Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios, ionic strength, partial pressure of CO2 and saturation indices of carbonate minerals have been used to dictate the geochemical signatures of drip water compositions. The data reveal a wide range of major ion chemistry at three different sites within the cave. The δ13C values in drip waters range from −10.58 to −10.09 ‰. The enriched and the depleted δ13C values are noted at the entrances of the cave due to degassing of water CO2 and warmer air results in lighter fractions of δ13C. The δ18O values range from −6.89 to –6.16 ‰. Minor δ18O deviation in the drip waters are due to the variation in drip rates as faster drip rates show depleted isotopic composition and vice versa. The spatial variability of drip water chemistry results due to water–rock interaction at various conditions of subsurface flow path. This study gives a basis for interpreting the varying controls on drip water chemistry in the cave.

앵강만 정치망 어장의 멸치 어황변동 특성

In order to elucidate the mechanism of fishing condition variation of anchovy in the set net fisheries of Anggang Bay, the monthly catch of anchovy was analyzed and examined based on the data acquired from 2006 to 2010 in 13 different fishing grounds. Anchovy consistently appeared from April to December and reached the production of 840 to 1,424 t (average : 1,228 t), with a big annual variation. However, anchovy production in this area accounts for approximately 75% of the production by set net in Anggang Bay whereas it holds 6.8% of the nationwide production (=18,034 t) by set net. The school of anchovy starts to appear in April at the west mouth of the bay and move north-eastward. Afterward, having three of clockwise turns in the middle of the bay, they scatter to swim into the deep place of the bay and finally go out to turn back to their coming way. These behaviors of anchovy are likely related to thermal fronts as well as distributions of food. The production of anchovy (y, kg) relied greatly on frequencies of effective northeasterly (<TEX>$x_1$</TEX>) or northwesterly (<TEX>$x_2$</TEX>) wind (<TEX>${\leq}$</TEX>3.5m/s) which blow between April and June. Their relationships are as follows: <TEX>$y=1086.27+21.499x_1-15.16x_2$</TEX> (r=0.901). Consequently, we concluded that the northeasterly wind, which appears in the breeding season of spring, played a role to retard the movement of anchovy school to the eastern sea, while the northwesterly wind inhibits the invasion of anchovy school into the bay.

Distinguishing species of geoemydid and trionychid turtles from shell fragments: evidence from the Pleistocene at Niah Caves, Sarawak

AbstractFragments of chelonian carapace and plastral dermal plates are well‐represented from archaeological sites in the world's dry and wet tropics. However, although these bones are easily identified at an element level, few archaeological reports have explored the potential of using features of form and surface sculpturing as a way to refine that identification to genus or species. The ability to achieve such a refinement would benefit environmental and human subsistence strategy models alike. The objective of the current paper was to isolate recurrent and readily visible surface characteristics on the dermal plates from a selection of commonly occurring Southeast Asian hard‐ and soft‐shelled turtles. Using these criteria, analysis is made of the chelonian assemblage from pre‐ and post‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) cultural deposits in the West Mouth of Niah Cave. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Composite hunting technologies from the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene, Niah Cave, Borneo

Renewed archaeological investigation of the West Mouth of Niah Cave, Borneo has demonstrated that even within lowland equatorial environments depositional conditions do exist where organic remains of late glacial and early post-glacial age can be preserved. Excavations by the Niah Cave Research Project (NCP) (2000–2003) towards the rear of the archaeological reserve produced several bone points and worked stingray spines, which exhibit evidence of hafting mastic and fibrous binding still adhering to their shafts. The position of both gives strong indication of how these cartilaginous points were hafted and gives insight into their potential function. These artefacts were recovered from secure and 14C dated stratigraphic horizons. The results of this study have implications for our understanding the function of the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene bone tools recovered from other regions of Island Southeast Asia. They demonstrate that by the end the Pleistocene rainforest foragers in Borneo were producing composite technologies that probably included fishing leisters and potentially the bow and arrow.

LATE PLEISTOCENE AND EARLY HOLOCENE FORAGER ORGANIZATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA] Using community, composition and structural variation in terminal Pleistocene vertebrate assemblages to identify human hunting behaviour at the Niah caves, Borneo

Variation in the temporal and spatial composition of large vertebrate communities is often used as a proxy for identifying local or regional differences in palaeoenvironment and/or hominid hunting strategy. Differences in the structure of vertebrate communities, however, are rarely identified in the archaeological record, and the relevance that any observed variation might have for our understanding of human foraging behaviour is rarely considered. In this paper we discuss the possible reasons for the significant differences in the population structure of the dominant taxa from two almost contemporaneous Terminal Pleistocene vertebrate assemblages that are the product of human hunting activities from the West Mouth and Lobang Hangus entrances to Niah Cave, Borneo. The results indicate that hunting strategy might have been determined by the vertical location of the two cave mouths and local variation in the ecology and topography of the surrounding environment.

Post-Pleistocene evolution of Bornean shrews Crocidura foetida (Mammalia, Soricidae)

Fossil mandibles of the Bornean shrew Crocidura foetida recovered from excavations at the west mouth of Niah cave, Sarawak, Malaysia, show that the late Pleistocene population at this lowland location was comparable in size with the large subspecies Crocidura foetida doriae, presently occurring at inland, upland locations. Two Holocene specimens fall in the size range of the smaller lowland subspecies C. f. foetida. Comparable post-Pleistocene size-reduction is known among other mammals of Borneo, but this is the first instance of dated examples. The evolutionary trend conforms with Bergmann's ‘rule’ but, other than climate change, no selective agent is apparent. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 94, 413–419.

Reconstructing Neolithic groups in Sarawak, Malaysia through lead and strontium isotope analysis

Heavy stable isotope analysis of mid-late Holocene Neolithic burials from Sarawak (Malaysia) identifies groups not apparent in mortuary treatment or inferred subsistence. Isotope ratios of strontium ( 87Sr/ 86Sr) and lead ( 208Pb/ 204Pb, 207Pb/ 204Pb, 206Pb/ 204Pb) from adult tooth enamel show distinct groups at Niah Cave's West Mouth organized by dietary catchment. Two roughly contemporary sites, Gua Sireh and Lobang Angin, are included to assess regional heterogeneity in northern Borneo. Heavy stable isotope ratios for humans differ from sampled modern plants and archaeological fauna from West Mouth, and suggest a non-local origin for some of the West Mouth human remains. Distinct heavy isotope ratios characterize all three sites and show regional differentiation broadly consistent with geological expectations. Results supplement paleodiet and morphological analyses and have implications for clarifying Niah Cave mortuary use during the mid-late Holocene. Further and more precise geographic placement will follow through additional landscape sampling for strontium and lead isotope values.

Mass movements in cave sediments: investigation of a ∼40,000-year-old guano mudflow inside the entrance of the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak, Borneo

The West Mouth of the Great Cave at Niah in Sarawak, northwest Borneo and the North Passage that leads to the West Mouth contain large deposits of guano. The main deposit, several metres thick in places, forms the sloping floor of the entire North Passage. A mass movement deposit identified in the West Mouth, having a volume of 600 m3, originated as a guano mudflow up the North Passage in the order of 40,000 years ago. This failure of the guano slope was investigated to determine whether particular conditions or events could be identified as the most likely causes. The physical, hydrological and geotechnical properties of samples of the material were determined so that the stability of the slope could be assessed. Stability analyses showed that shearing failure of the slope would require inputs of water to the slope in quantities for which no feasible explanation can be suggested. However, the properties of the guano are similar to those of loess, indicating a high susceptibility to ‘hydrocollapse’. Very shallow failure of the slope, possibly as several smaller mudflows, could therefore have occurred due to additional water in quantities that could realistically be supplied as rainwater spray, possibly with a seismic trigger. The climate must therefore have been wetter than it is at present. These findings have implications for the interpretation of sediment deposits in other relict caves.

The ‘human revolution’ in lowland tropical Southeast Asia: the antiquity and behavior of anatomically modern humans at Niah Cave (Sarawak, Borneo)

Recent research in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia suggests that we can no longer assume a direct and exclusive link between anatomically modern humans and behavioral modernity (the ‘human revolution’), and assume that the presence of either one implies the presence of the other: discussions of the emergence of cultural complexity have to proceed with greater scrutiny of the evidence on a site-by-site basis to establish secure associations between the archaeology present there and the hominins who created it. This paper presents one such case study: Niah Cave in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, famous for the discovery in 1958 in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of a modern human skull, the ‘Deep Skull,’ controversially associated with radiocarbon dates of ca. 40,000 years before the present. A new chronostratigraphy has been developed through a re-investigation of the lithostratigraphy left by the earlier excavations, AMS-dating using three different comparative pre-treatments including ABOX of charcoal, and U-series using the Diffusion-Absorption model applied to fragments of bones from the Deep Skull itself. Stratigraphic reasons for earlier uncertainties about the antiquity of the skull are examined, and it is shown not to be an ‘intrusive’ artifact. It was probably excavated from fluvial-pond-desiccation deposits that accumulated episodically in a shallow basin immediately behind the cave entrance lip, in a climate that ranged from times of comparative aridity with complete desiccation, to episodes of greater surface wetness, changes attributed to regional climatic fluctuations. Vegetation outside the cave varied significantly over time, including wet lowland forest, montane forest, savannah, and grassland. The new dates and the lithostratigraphy relate the Deep Skull to evidence of episodes of human activity that range in date from ca. 46,000 to ca. 34,000 years ago. Initial investigations of sediment scorching, pollen, palynomorphs, phytoliths, plant macrofossils, and starch grains recovered from existing exposures, and of vertebrates from the current and the earlier excavations, suggest that human foraging during these times was marked by habitat-tailored hunting technologies, the collection and processing of toxic plants for consumption, and, perhaps, the use of fire at some forest-edges. The Niah evidence demonstrates the sophisticated nature of the subsistence behavior developed by modern humans to exploit the tropical environments that they encountered in Southeast Asia, including rainforest.

Progress in optical dating of guano-rich sediments associated with the Deep Skull, West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak, Borneo

The West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah is one of the major archaeological sites in Southeast Asia; the radiocarbon chronology of this site currently places the earliest presence of Homo sapiens (a Deep Skull find) in Southeast Asia at about 45 ka BP. An optical dating programme using sand-sized quartz was initiated in the West Mouth to complement the radiocarbon chronology. This paper reports on the progress in dating a key sample (sample 376r) that was taken from deposits containing the Deep Skull. A somewhat novel procedure was developed to separate and clean quartz grains from the unusual guano-rich deposits. From this, only a small quantity of quartz grains could be recovered and 36 aliquots (1 mm in diameter) were prepared, each consisting of ∼80 grains. This sample was dated by means of the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) method using the protocols of Murray and Wintle [2000. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, 57–73], and of Choi et al. [2003. Luminescence dating of well-sorted marine terrace sediments on the southeastern coast of Korea. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, 407–421]. The results showed a wide distribution of equivalent doses; this distribution is inferred to be due to bioturbation, variable bleaching at deposition, and to local variations in the dose rate within the sample site. Dose rates were measured using both field (in-situ γ-ray spectrometry, IGRS) and laboratory (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry/atomic emission spectrometry, ICP-MS/AES; and isotope dilution, ID) methods. There was significant disagreement between the concentrations of radioisotopes found using laboratory and field measurements, indicating sediment heterogeneity and also possible disequilibrium in the 238U decay chain. Future work in the West Mouth should therefore concentrate on taking sediment samples of at least 500–600 cm 3, improving the dose rate estimates (e.g. by high-resolution γ-ray spectrometry) and investigating other luminescence signals (e.g. red thermoluminescence) as potential geochronometers.

Reconstructing Human Subsistence in the West Mouth (Niah Cave, Sarawak) Burial Series Using Stable Isotopes of Carbon

The human burial series from the West Mouth of Niah Cave (Sarawak) offers a unique opportunity to explore prehistoric subsistence patterns in lowland tropical rainforest. Over 200 primary and secondary burials, classified as pre-Neolithic and Neolithic, have been recovered since preliminary excavations began there a half-century ago. Stable isotope ratios of carbon (13C/12C, reported as δ13C values) derived from human tooth enamel provide a quantitative measure of individual food consumption during the time of enamel formation. Such data provide a robust and independent assessment of total diet that complements other subsistence information recovered from the archaeological record. West Mouth human tooth enamel examined shows a broad range of δ13C values ( 15.70 to 11.30), consistent with a C3-based subsistence regime as would be expected in rainforest habitats dominated by C3 vegetation. Pre-Neolithic individuals have more negative δ13C values on average (N = 15, X = -14.3%) than Neolithic individuals sampled (N = 28, X = -13.1%). This isotopic shift is statistically significant and suggests a fundamental change in human subsistence between the late Pleistocene/early Holocene and later Holocene inhabitants at Niah. Pre-Neolithic δ13C values suggest broad spectrum rainforest foraging, whereas less negative Neolithic δ13C values, on average, suggest a more coordinated regime of food production and/or collection. Studies of δ13C variation in rainforest habitats contribute to this interpretation, particularly with respect to the "canopy effect," whereby closed-canopy foraging predicts more negative δ13C values, while food resources consumed by exploiting more open settings (such as fields, gaps, and swamps) predict less negative δ13C values. These data have important implications for interpreting the nature of human subsistence in a rainforest setting prior to and after the potential adoption of agriculture by the inhabitants represented in the West Mouth burial series.

Pollen taphonomy and airfall sedimentation in a tropical cave: the West Mouth of The Great Cave of Niah in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

This paper investigates the taphonomy of predominantly biogenic sediments and pollen in the key archaeological site in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak. Strong spatial patterning of sediments and pollen were found, with a zonation related to distance into the cave. Near the cave mouth, sedimentation is silty and derived from waters running down the cliff outside the cave, with leaves from external vegetation. Pollen assemblages are similar to forest floor samples outside the cave, and thus are of airfall or wash origin. In the interior of the West Mouth, sedimentation is highly organic and composed largely of bird droppings. Pollen assemblages in the interior are strongly but regularly biased, with ‘over-representation’ of mangrove and riverine taxa resulting from the recruitment of pollen by bats and swiftlets foraging preferentially in these zones, over 7 and over 2 km from the cave, respectively. The significance of these findings for the understanding of humid tropical cave sequences and particularly for the current reassessment of Niah Cave is discussed.

The Archaeology of Foraging and Farming at Niah Cave, Sarawak

This paper reports on the principal archaeological results of a renewed program of fieldwork in the Niah Caves (Sarawak) by an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and environmental scientists. The paper focuses on two main themes: (1) the evidence for the changing nature of the human use of the cave and the implications of this evidence for wider debates in Southeast Asia regarding the foraging behaviors of the modern human populations who colonized the region in the later Pleistocene, and (2) the character of the later transition from foraging to farming. The first foragers visiting the caves ca. 45,000 years ago encountered much more varied landscapes than the present-day equatorial evergreen rainforest around Niah, though they were ones in which rainforest probably remained a component. A remarkable array of organic evidence indicates that the Pleistocene foragers using the caves exploited such landscapes with a combination of hunting, fishing, mollusk collection, and plant gathering, the latter including tuberous forest plants such as aroids, taro, yam, and sago palm. In the mid Holocene, when the landscape surrounding the cave was more similar to that of today, the primary use of the caves was for burials: the West Mouth of the Great Cave in particular was the location for an elaborate Neolithic cemetery that was characterized by a considerable degree of formal planning through its ca. 2500-year life. However, Neolithic people may also have used the West Mouth for habitation, as they certainly used other entrances of the cave complex. Based on present evidence, their subsistence base appears to have been forest foraging, though they were in contact with rice farmers. The remarkable antiquity and longevity of rainforest foraging knowledge and technologies at Niah appear to be among the most important conclusions emerging from the project, findings that may provide further support for arguments against the foragerfarmer dichotomy that underpins the currently dominant model of agricultural origins in Southeast Asia.

Micromorphology of Cave Sediments in the Humid Tropics: Niah Cave, Sarawak

This is the first detailed study of the micromorphology of archaeologically important cave sediments in the Great Cave of Niah, in the humid tropics of Sarawak, Borneo. Micromorphology is used to describe the sediments and post-depositional alteration, reconstruct the palaeoenvironments, and refine the environmental history of late Pleistocene deposits associated with the human remains (the so-called Deep Skull dated to ca. 43,000-42,000 B.P.). Micromorphology provides details of the shape, roundedness, arrangement, and chemistry of grains, aggregates, precipitates, and sedimentary structures that make up the cave sediments. The dominant processes in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah are guano sedimentation, fluvial and shallow pond deposition interrupted by desiccation, mass movement, and chemical weathering. Also important is post-depositional alteration by bioturbation, mineral translocation and reprecipitation, and diagenesis. Micromorphology also provides evidence for short periods of soil development, burnt surfaces, and deposition of small fragments of bone within the sediment. Together this information indicates the fine details of the environment occupied by humans, the scale and effects of the mass movement processes that deformed the beds in which the human remains are preserved, and the taphonomic processes that reworked and redistributed archaeological material within this part of the cave.