Lenggong

5°6′37″N 100°58′8″E / 5.11028°N 100.96889°E / 5.11028; 100.96889CountryMalaysiaStatePerakDistrictHulu PerakGovernment • TypeLocal government • BodyLenggong District Council • PresidentMohd Amzari Mohd ArzamiTime zoneUTC+8 (Malaysian Standard Time)Websitewww.mdlg.gov.my

Lenggong District Council Majlis Daerah Lenggong مجليس دايره لڠڬوڠ
Local Government Act 1976
Type
Type	Municipal Council of Lenggong
History
Founded	1 December 1979
Leadership
President	Mohd Amzari Mohd Arzami
Motto
Bersatu Teguh Firmly United
Meeting place
Jalan Alang Iskandar, 33400, Lenggong, Perak Darul Ridzuan
Website
www.mdlg.gov.my

Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia
Includes	Bukit Bunuh – Kota Tampan Bukit Jawa Bukit Kepala Gajah Bukit Gua Harimau
Criteria	Cultural: (iii)(iv)
Reference	1396
Inscription	2012 (36th Session)
Area	398.64 ha (985.1 acres)
Buffer zone	1,786.77 ha (4,415.2 acres)
Coordinates	5°4′4.47″N 100°58′20.38″E / 5.0679083°N 100.9723278°E / 5.0679083; 100.9723278
Location of Lenggong in Malaysia

Lenggong (Jawi: لڠڬوڠ) is a town, a mukim and a parliamentary constituency in Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia.

Geography

Lenggong is situated in the Lenggong Valley, sandwiched between the Bintang and Titiwangsa Ranges. It is a rural area, with small kampongs surrounded by green vegetation and limestone hills with numerous caves. The Lenggong Valley is one of Peninsular Malaysia's most important areas for archaeology, as excavations have revealed many traces of Malaysia's prehistory, with finds such as cave drawings, jewellery, pottery, weapons and stone tools. It is the site of one of the oldest known place of human activity in the Peninsula. The Lenggong Valley was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site on 30 June 2012.^[1]

Lenggong Town

Lenggong is accessible by trunk roads connecting it with neighbouring towns and cities. The town of Lenggong is situated some 100 kilometres north of Ipoh on the Kuala Kangsar to Grik road (highway 76). The road to Lenggong is surrounded mostly by oil palm estates and jungles. As cows and buffalo are part of the agriculture, they are often seen along the road. The jungles (about million years old) are now in danger of heavy illegal logging.

To visit Lenggong, from the North–South Expressway take Exit No.143 at Kuala Kangsar – that's about 3 hours away from Kuala Lumpur. Then take Route 76 to Lenggong. The new highway is open and has replaced the old scenic kampung road.

Lenggong federal constituency and autonomous sub-district

The Lenggong federal constituency is represented in the Dewan Rakyat of the Malaysian Parliament by Dato Shamsul Anuar bin Haji Nasarah from UMNO.^[2] Lenggong also contributes two seats to the Perak State Legislative Assembly: Kota Tampan and Kenering, which were also held by UMNO.

Lenggong is also an autonomous sub-district (daerah kecil), consisting of Lenggong town and the nearby communes of Durian Pipit and Temelong.

Archaeology

Part of a series on the
History of Malaysia
Prehistoric Malaysia Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2.000.0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial era Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Acehnese conquest of Perak 1620 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative era BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo 1946–1963 Crown Colony of Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Sungai Siput incident 1948 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Batang Kali massacre 1948 Bukit Kepong incident 1950 Baling Talks 1955 Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore Self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Communist insurgency in Sarawak 1962–1990 North Borneo Self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak Self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989
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In Malaysia, the earliest remains is a human skull found in the Niah Caves in Sarawak and dates back some 40,000 years.^[3][4] Almost all of the archaeological remains found in Lenggong have been associated with caves.^[5] The two exceptions are the Kota Tampan and Bukit Jawa sites, which are Peninsular Malaysia's only Palaeolithic sites.^[6]

Kota Tampan is the earliest known site of human inhabitants. Excavations at Kota Tampan which began in 1938 revealed an undisturbed stone tool production area. Pebble tools were made using equipment such as anvils and hammer stones. Some 50,000 pieces of stone have been found and recorded. The culture at Kota Tampan is referred to as Tampanian. The workshop was initially dated at 30,000 years old, but this figure has now been revised to 75,000 years. Although the Kota Tampan workshop site is currently on a hillside, and in an oil palm plantation, the original site was on a lake shore. It is thought that the workshop was disbanded roughly 75,000 years ago due to a volcanic eruption at Lake Toba in Sumatra, approximately 250 kilometres away. There is a large gap of 17,000 years between Kota Tampan and the next archaeological site, Gua Gunung Runtuh, which has been attributed to the devastating effects of the Toba eruption.^{[citation needed]}

Gua Gunung Runtuh is situated in Bukit Kepala Gajah or Elephant's Head Hill. In the same hill other caves have yielded archaeological remains such as stone tools and food remnants. The caves were probably used as temporary shelters as seasonal or hunting camps, whereas Gua Gunung Runtuh was lived in for longer periods. Gua Harimau, or Tiger Cave, is a site about 3 kilometres away from Gua Gunung Runtuh which was probably used as a burial ground about 3,000 – 5,000 years ago as seven human skeletons have been found at the site along with bronze axes and various articles of jewellery. The bronze axes show that there was an early Bronze tradition in Malaysia, as well as in north Thailand and China. It is the earliest use of metal in south-east Asia. Porcelain containers of various shapes and sizes were also found containing meat and snail shells. Archaeological digs in other caves have revealed pottery, axes stone tools and flakes. Food also remains, and in some sites, human bones. Unfortunately, some caves have been disturbed by guano diggers and any remains have been lost.^{[citation needed]}

More recently, a team excavated Bukit Jawa, which has been dated at 200,000 years old. Bukit Jawa is therefore far older than the Kota Tampan workshop, which is just 6 km away.^{[citation needed]}

Negrito cave drawings have been found at various sites but are not prehistoric, as they are only about 100 years old. Gua Badak is one of the main places for these drawings, situated about 10 kilometres north of Lenggong. The Lanoh Negrito made the illustrative recordings of their every life. The charcoal drawings were first discovered and documented in the 1920s by Ivor Evans. They were then thought to have been lost by quarrying, but were rediscovered in 1992. Modern graffiti covers some of the original drawings. The Negritos used the caves as shelters during hunting trips. The sketches depict things such as animals, people, trees, mats, bicycles and cars. Apart from the charcoal drawings, they made white pictures by scrapping away the limestone rock.^{[citation needed]}

Most of the old troglodytes or cave dwellers of the Malay Peninsula temporarily lived in caves and rock shelters. They lived mainly by hunting, evidence shown by the remains of animal bones and molluscs. The people may have painted their bodies using red iron oxide. They used stones and slabs for grinding up substances such as salt, and all their tools were made of stones. Flakes were used as knives or scrappers. So it can be seen that the Lenggong area is very important as it contains much evidence relating to the prehistory of Malaysia. It is the oldest area where remains have been found, and all the sites are situated conveniently within a small area.^{[citation needed]}

Gua Puteri is a natural tunnel which pierces Bukit Kajang. There are no archaeological findings here, but the cave is known for its legends. Two stalagmites are believed to be a prince and princess who guard the cave. Locals say that if children climb up the stalagmites they will fall sick.^{[citation needed]}

Perak Man

The oldest human skeleton found in Malaysia was at Gua Gunung Runtuh in the state of Perak in Peninsular Malaysia. The cave was his final resting place situated in Bukit Kepala Gajah or Elephant's Head Hill in the Lenggong Valley of Ulu Perak. The skeleton was a male with a height of approximately 157 cm, estimated to have been in his 50s. The skeleton was discovered in 1991 and has been dated to around 11,000 years old. It is one of the most complete skeletons for this time period in this region.^{[citation needed]}

He was buried in the fetal position, with deposits of animal bones at his right shoulder, to his left and to his bottom, and deposits of stone tools around the body. There were no other burials in the cave. The Perak Man had a malformed left hand, his left arm and hand were much smaller compared to his right arm and hand. This deformity could be from a genetic disorder known as brachymesophalangia. This evidence is further supported by the fact that his spine is curved towards the right due to living with only one good hand.^{[citation needed]}

The bones that were found deposited near him were identified to have come from wild boar, monkey, monitor lizard and deer and are thought to have been food deposits. There were about ten stone tools scattered around the body, and most of them were pebble tools and some hammer stones.^{[citation needed]}

One conclusion that the study made was that he must have been an important member of society because his burial was very elaborate and labour intensive. The Perak Man was put into the pit with food offerings, covered with small shells, then more offerings and tools, and then another shell layer, followed by a final dirt layer. Furthermore, he was estimated to have been in his 50s which was very old for a person from that era with a disability. People had to take care of him – and people would not take it upon themselves unless he was respected or highly ranked in some sort of social hierarchy.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, another skeleton was found at Gua Teluk Kelawar in Lenggong, Perak by a team of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) archaeologists. This skeleton was dubbed the 'Perak woman', who was 148 cm in height and was believed to have been in her 40s. The Perak Women is believed to have died 8,000 years ago.^{[citation needed]}

Cuisine

Lenggong is also famous for its freshwater fish dishes. One local delicacy from freshwater fish is pekasam, where the fish is marinated in salt and toasted rice, followed by fermentation for two weeks. Another specialty of Lenggong is the fruit salad kebebe.

References

External links

• Perak Man and the Lenggong Archaeological Museum
• Fish dishes of Lenggong
• Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia
• https://web.archive.org/web/20051223085446/http://www.museum.gov.my/english/perakman.htm
• http://allmalaysia.info/news/story.asp?file=/2003/10/4/state/6340195&sec=mi_perak

5°06′N 100°58′E / 5.100°N 100.967°E / 5.100; 100.967