Archaeology gets a boost
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - 09-3-2014
INTANGIBLE ASSETS: A developed nation cannot be sustained if it does not have a well-rooted understanding of its history, culture and heritage
THE Kedah State government's decision to build a living cultural gallery at the Sungai Batu archaeological site is an important one in several ways.
At a time when history, culture and heritage are under threat from development, there is no substitute for a living cultural gallery to "relive" the ancient past dating back to 487 BCE in Merbok.
Moreover, the civilisation, which thrived some 2,500 years ago between 487 BCE and 13th century CE, is arguably the earliest and oldest among the ancient kingdoms of Southeast Asia.
The site could lead to more new findings, giving new interpretation to make Malaysia a reference point in the study of pre-historical human migration which has always been focused on the African continent as its initial cradle.
Those who have toiled for a long time in the field deserve due credit. One name that comes immediately to mind is none other than Datuk Dr Siti Zurina Majid, a professor of archaeology at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) since its inception some 40 years ago.
Known for her Perak Man discovery, Siti Zurina has relentlessly developed the field locally to such an extent that it has gained international repute.
It was not easy to do so in a predominantly science-based university so much so that in the late 1990s the Centre of Archaeological Research at USM faced the threat of being closed down. Irrelevance was then cited as one of the reasons for doing so when only advances in science and technology mattered then.
The myopic view was that archaeological studies were not the sciences or at least non-scientific in definition, similar to the manner social sciences were generally regarded.
This stance could have buried decades of work that now provides vital links to the understanding of Malaysia, if not the region and the world.
It was in recognition of this that the Centre of Archaeological Research was granted "global" status as the Centre for Global Archaeological Research in the later part of 2000s to highlight Siti Zurina's work, now ably continued by her former student Professor Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Saidin and his team.
In fact, in the APEX (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) scheme of things, the archaeological outputs have been earmarked as one of the 10 first-in-the-world flagship programmes to deliver excellence that will propel USM well ahead as an institution that is "sustainability-led". Another is the pioneering work on the rubber and jute genome towards sustainable development.
In the case of archaeological research, it is about conservation and preservation of history, culture and heritage, so intangible that they can vanish into thin air without any sense of loss to the larger society. Every so often, in the hurry to declare itself as a "developed" state or city, such intangible assets get sacrificed along the way. And once lost, they are gone forever!
For Kedah, in particular, this will indeed be tragic given that the history of the Sultanate is one of the longest in Malaysia. Now it evidently predates even Malacca as the starting point of the history of Peninsular Malaya with Merong Mahawangsa, who is of the lineage of Alexander the Great, allegedly the founder of the kingdom of Kedah.
And the present Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Sultan of Kedah can be traced back to the 35th generation of Merong Mahawangsa.
Ironically, science is very much in the picture at the new archaeological site. "Sophisticated" iron-smelting structures and apparatus were found in many locations at the site. These finds throw new light on the existence of the trading port and centre that exerted influence on the region and the world.
In other words, no amount of development can erase this historical reality as Malaysia becomes a developed nation by 2020. But no developed nation can be sustained if it does not have a well-rooted understanding of its history, culture and heritage, especially in the context of a civilisation that spans an era. We salute the archaeologists who have opened up a vista of knowledge.
Fifty sites remain to be excavated in the 4sq km area where so far 47 sites have yielded new and exciting information, adding to the pride of the nation.
With the living gallery in place, we are able to appreciate our history, culture and heritage a lot more meaningfully as Malaysians with their own unique identity, thanks to the dedication shown in the study of archaeology.