Cave Art From the Past 350 Years Tells of Colonial Strife

THE SCIENCES
Cave Art From the Past 350 Years Tells of Colonial Strife
The Bidayuh of Borneo took refuge in a grand cave and covered the inside with charcoal art.
By Matt HrodeyAug 29, 2023 11:00 AM
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The two carbon-dated figures. (Credit: Andrea Jalandoni)

The extensive charcoal cave art at the Gura Sireh Cave on the island of Borneo appears to reflect decades of frontier violence, according to a new analysis.

Cave art continued in Southeast Asia until the relatively recent past, the new paper says. Scientists carbon-dated some of Gura Sireh’s drawings to a period between 1670 and 1830. At the time, the indigenous hill tribes, the Bidayuh, suffered at the hands of the local Malay elites, who ruled the countryside.

The cave art at Gura Sireh is only the tip of the iceberg for cave art in Southeast Asia, experts say. A similar tradition extends back about 3,500 years, while island cave art in the region dates to more than 45,500 years ago. That rivals the earliest examples ever found in Europe.
The extensive charcoal cave art at the Gura Sireh Cave on the island of Borneo appears to reflect decades of frontier violence, according to a new analysis.
Cave art continued in Southeast Asia until the relatively recent past, the new paper says. Scientists carbon-dated some of Gura Sireh’s drawings to a period between 1670 and 1830. At the time, the indigenous hill tribes, the Bidayuh, suffered at the hands of the local Malay elites, who ruled the countryside.
The cave art at Gura Sireh is only the tip of the iceberg for cave art in Southeast Asia, experts say. A similar tradition extends back about 3,500 years, while island cave art in the region dates to more than 45,500 years ago. That rivals the earliest examples ever found in Europe.

What Did the Drawings Signify?
Gura Sireh contains about 100 feet of cave art, which also includes scenes of hunting, butchering, fishing and dancing. There are also long spears and shields and abstract geometric patterns.
The new paper zeroed in on two very large drawings, each greater than 30 inches long, that appear to show tall warriors holding weapons. The first figure represents a man wielding two traditional, knife-style Borneo Parang Ilang weapons. The second shows a man holding a case for a Parang, which the Bidayuh used for both agricultural tasks and headhunting.