PREHISTORY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

(…MISSESD) 

….Extending about tropical latitudes of 5000 kms from Burma to Eastern Indonesia. On the mainland,

the landscape is dominated by great rivers. Rivers which originated at the eastern end of Tibetan

plateau uni… from Himalayas.

GREAT RIVERS:

1.  Mekong

It is considered as an international stream. It flows from Tibet more than 4300 km. through

Southeastern China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and the vast Mekong Delta in Southern

Vietnam before reaching South China Sea. It forms the Great Lake-Tonle sap.

Tonle Sap is an outlet of the waters of the Mekong. Long ago, Cambodia became a major

empire because the Khmer people learned how to harness the waters of the Mekong by building

canals and water reservoirs. A search for beginnings of Cambodian history starts at the Mekong

Delta at the beginning of Christian era. Monuments within Cambodia: temples, tombs has

caused merchants to stick the rich and the noble. (Chou Ta-Kuan describing Angkor at the time

of 1296)

Besides the Mekong the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers in Burma and Chao Phraya in Thailand

and Red River in Northern Vietnam is as majestic as Mekong. These rivers played pivotal roles.

2.  Chao Phraya

The agrarian kingdoms of Thailand made use of Chao Phraya as source of irrigation,

transportation channel, drainage and source of protein. In particular it was used to transport

rice and teakwood used for construction of sea vessels.

3.  Irrawaddy and Salween

Irrawaddy and Salween are rivers reachinh the Andamman sea on the western side of the

Malay peninsula.

4.  The Red River (Song-Koi)

The Red River in Vietnam, flows in South West China where the river is called Hong-Ha at

Northern Vietnam passing through the City of Hanoi before it reaches the Gulf of Tonking. In

Insular Southeast Asia rivers are smaller than its Continental counterparts.

Besides the rivers, virtually all rivers of Southeast Asia experiences the monsoon (wet, dry seasons) at

different times. For every given local variety of factors helped shaped the onset of rainy seasons

relatively predictable in Southeast Asia but never guaranteed, this annual rains fall with ferocity and

these rains can be as 200 inches per year. Although there is a real winter in the upper Red River valley of 

Northern Vietnam and temperate climate in Southern Myanmar, for most Southeast Asians, hot, tropical

and rainy weather is the everyday reality.

 

There is a close relationship between rainfall and fertility illustrates the importance of monsoon in the

life of the peasant farers . In fact, the monsoon sets a distinct cycle in agricultural communities. The

result of monsoon agriculture is rice which is indigenous in Southeast Asia.

In Indonesia, the remains of White rice dates 3000BC in Sulawesi and evidence in rice cultivation

comes from much later in Java where 8th

A.D. century. Stone inscriptions record taxes in rices. Rice

requires exposure to ripen. The growing of rice in clear fields (paddies) is linked in Indonesian history as

production of iron axes (tools) for clearing sites.

1.  Padi

2.  Veras

3. 

Nasi

Domestication of water buffalo reversing its strength for breaking up mud clots with iron tip claws and

using its manure as fertilizer. In Indonesia, wet rice farming (Saweh) means irrigation while migrant or

shifting farming is called Ladang and Ray (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) and Tam Rai in Thailand and Taung-

Ya in Burma.

Wet rice cultivation is more intensive and labor consuming in particular it took an enormous amount

of work and considerable skill to build rice paddies to plant rice. Flood plains (flooded paddy) where

ideal rice farming and agrarian empires are dependent on it. Rice is the basic staplke of Southeast

Asian’s food: 

1.  Produce more food per area of land than any often grain.

2.  Create a greater food surplus.

3.  Support greater population densities.

While the Hinterland could only support limited mobile slash and burn cultivators. To ensure water

supply, systems of irrigation and sophisticated hydraulic controls were devised and was stored by

leaders of Java and Angkor. They were able to mobilise man power

This kingdom generated surpluses that sustained urban centers, military power, religious institutions

and anarchistic (artisans) and cultural elite but these kingdoms rarely arranged to establish long term

political, economic, religious control that uplands surrounded them.

Peter Bellwood: “Of major cultural importance is an anthropological division of societies into coastal/

river civilization of the lowlands and inland/upland hill peoples” 

*Bangka-austronesia Wangka

*Boat Songs

*Luwak, Sunda Shelf 

 

(missed)

Ethnically there are people from many population sites and cultures speaking of different

extraordinary array of languages. Others are brought by immigrants, some are indigenous. Older books

speak of waves of migrations evoking a powerful but misleading image of people gathering at fixed

points at Asia’s mainland to lead an unknown destination to land’s south. 

Huxley’s line named after British biologist and philosopher, Huxley was a Darwinian found himself 

unable to reconcile science to belief in God.

The Sunda Shelf islands, with Huxley’s line, formed to true eastern limit of Asia. These islands from 10

island species such as cattle, deer, elephants (from Sumatra), tigers, monkeys, ebons, arbonan apes,

orangutan (from Kalimantan/Sumatra).

Indonesia contains the Luwak. The luwak is a nocturnal animal that resembles a civet cat. The luwak

has a special taste for the ripe fruits of coffee bushes and knows how to pick the sweetes coffee berries.

The animal digests it and excretes the hard beans. Luwak dang is the excretion while the Kopi is the

coffee It is rare and known to be delicious. Luwak Kopi is one of the most exquisite types of coffee. It

prices up to 600 dollars per pound. (Luwak-Sumatra and Borneo).

The continental Sahul Shelf joins Australia with New Guinea. It marks a faunal break apart the

placental mammals and marsupial fauna of Australia and New Guinea. (Marsupial- placental mammals

with a pouch of hold on the abdomen. This is where the mammary glands are found.)

The Kangaroo and arboreal mammal, Koala. In Australia, in New Guinea/ Irian Jaya, the only native

placental mammals are species of rodents and bats.

Wallace’s line in the area known as Wallacea. This region was named after British naturalist, Alfred

Russel Wallace (1824-1913). He authored the book, “The Malay Archipelago” : the land of orang-utan

and bird of paradise, a narrative of travel of studies of man and nature. Wallace dedicated it to Charles

Darwin. It was not published until 1869 fully 10 years after Darwin’s, Origin of Species.

In subsequent editions of Origin of Species (attesting to the popularity of the book) Darwin, brought

references to Wallace’s work which well signalled importance and supported the theory of evolution.

Wallace in early 1858 was in the island of Ternate. Wallace spent 10 years in the forest of the Amazon

and the Malay peninsula and the Malay island archipelago. The islands of Wallacea has the endemic pig

like Babinusa and the buffalo like Anod and also species of marsupial phalangers (small true developing

mammals). Peter Bellwood said that: “Ancestors of phalangers presumably island hop in free human

times from New Guinea”.

Across Huxley’s line of biographers studied geographic distribution of…lie the deep seas and islands of 

the Philippines and the region of Wallacea which include the island of Sulawesi. The colonization of this

 

region required crossing of ocean divides. The Malay peninsula, Borneo and eastern Sumatra lie in stable

and volcanically inactive terrain and one of the chief volcanic belts passes through Philippine and

Indonesian archipelago and produces a striking contrast in the survey of volcanic and non-volcanic

regions (Wallace). The alignment of volcanoes include the Krakatoa between South Sumatra and

Western Java with the volcanoes of Bali and South Moluccas. Further volcanic archs run northwards

from Sulawesi and Philippines and onwards to Japan.

Nature has ever been violent to Southeast Asia. Typhoons and cyclones are common especially in the

Philippines and Vietnam and the island chains are part of the “Pacific Rim of Fire” seating along seismic

weak spots (French-Seism,earthquake) where major tectonic plates grinds against with each other.

The eruption of Indonesian island region of the Krakatoa in August 26, 1883 was the worst eruption in

recorded history. 36,000 people were killed by huge tidal waves (tsunami). The effects of which crossed

the entire Indian ocean in just 12 hours. The sound of explosion was heard nearby by 5000 kilometers

away. The ashes circled the globe blocking out the sun for 2 days in nearby Java and Sumatra and

reddening sunsets throughout the world for 3 years.

In June 9, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo in Luzon erupted with a violence that left 2000 acres covered with 9

billion tons of fine white ash and thick volcanic sludge. It left 1.2 million homeless. The eruption

rendered nearby provinces useless for agriculture. Earthquakes are also frequent in Indonesia and

Philippines (Cambodia does not experience typhoons).

In many of the islands (Moluccas, Sumatra) the years of the great earthquakes formed the

chronological epochs of the native inhabitants. It became part of collective memory and the ages of 

children are referred to remembering and dates of many events are determined.

Most of the islands of Indonesia are uninhabited because people live on where they can grow enough

food and produce food surplus. The island of Java is extraordinarily fertile. Nutrients explode by volcanic

eruptions and Java is one of the densely populated area in the world. (Borobodur-Mahayana)

Southeast asia holds important evidence s of hominid s from Africa into Asia around 1 million years

ago. Hominid, Homo sapiens sapiens are the only extant species. The basis for claims are remains of 

early humans of the species Homo erectus extensively in lesser extent in Northern Vietnam.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Jesuit):”Evolution should be creative”. “Religion and science are

reconcilable”. 

Homo erectus in China- Homo erectus pekinensis

Homo erectus javanensis

Began in 1894, Eugene Dubois (Dutch) found part of skull cap of Homo erectus in central

 java. Major Homo erectus finds date between about 1.3-0.5 million years ago with the

maximum age of around 1.7 million years ago. The archaeologists and prehistorians think for

a large spans of time.

 

In prehistory, one is dealing with all of archaeology and physical anthropology, biological

anthropology. These disciplines are concerning on documents of origin of human types (rather than

races). Physical differentiation depends on studies of skeletal remains especially of crania

(skull,braincase) and teeth (dentition).

Dubois called Javanese hominids favoured monsoon forest areas with high natural biomasses. Over all,

the species has an average cranial capacity of around 950 cc. and thick skull bones and a broad fare with

a large teeth and stature perhaps up to 160 cms. Weight is up to 80kgs. The species did have an upright

posture and bipedal gait is particular on moving on foot. Quite similar to present day humans.

Homo sapiens were tool making and ocean crossing. They emerged after 40,000 years ago. The

species as a whole underwent a degree of physical and geographical differentiation leading to rise of 

Homo sapiens sapiens (intelligent and knowledgeable).

Today, the great majority of more than 600 million inhabitants belong to the southern mongoloid

(austronesians with mixing).

Mongoloid is a purported(assumed to be such) human population type relatively lightly pigmented

distinguished by yellowish brown skin and straight black hair.

Negroid is alsoa purported human ethnic classification distinguished by physical characteristics such

as dark brown to black pigmentation and often curled hair. Including peoples indigenous to Andamman

Islands and New Guinea.

Australo-Melanesian is also purported (Bellwood) to a number of Negroids

*Negrito-“Negro” -small negros-negrillos, outside the southern mongoloid grouping

i.e Aeta, Ati, Ita-related to the word “itim”, Agta-Isabela, Baluga-Pampanga

Negritos seem represent present day members of aboriginal austro-melanesian population (Bellwood)

Otochtonous (native, katutubo)-aboriginal-Australo-Melanesian groups

Aboriginal-having existed to a region from the beginning (Japan-Ainu (Hokkaido))

(missed)

-Niah –Semang-Sakai

The present day negritoes are dark skinned and relatively with short stature. These characteristics

maybe the result of the adaptation of the warmer and more humid climatic conditions of the Holocene

(recent, 11,000 years ago). The adaptation mediated by