Early History/ Contents

INTRODUCTION

Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman

Malaysia's prehistory begins with the earliest known traces of human habitation around 40 millenniums ago, and extends through the protohistoric period to the founding of the Melaka Sultanate in 1400 CE, the date commonly used as the starting point of the historic era. Because so much has been written about Melaka and its significance in Malaysian history, the long period preceding it has overshadowed, and outside of academic circles little is known about the rich archaeological heritage of prehistoric Malaysia. This book seeks to redress this imbalance.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Digging up the past
  • Prehistoric Malaysia
  • Protohistoric Malaysia
Thai pottery

Part of the Thai pottery cargo recovered from the 14th-15th century 'Nanyang' shipwreck.