Abstract
Excavations at Kuala Selinsing, Perak. Mr. Ivor H. N. Evans, having carried out further excavations on the Tanjong Rawa site, Kuala Selinsing, Perak, Malay Peninsula, has now summarised his conclusions in an account of this later work (J. Fed. Malay States Museums, vol. 15, pt. 3). The inhabitants were not Mohammedans, and were traders in beads of semi-precious stones and glass. Some of these were of local manufacture. The stone beads probably came from India; others show affinities with Borneo and Sarawak, and with ancient beads found among Kachins and Chins, these in the latter instance being derived ultimately from both China and India, sources with which the Selinsing people may have been in touch. A piece of yellow lead slag may point to a connexion with the southern Shan States. The beads from Kuala Selinsing belong to a late iron age to early porcelain age culture that existed in India, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo and the Philippines. The people were almost certainly Hindus, as a definitely Hindu type of gold object has been found in the lower layer of the excavations; while a cornelian seal with a Pallava inscription (one of the most remarkable objects found in Malayan excavations in recent years) points to a connexion with southern India. The village would appear to have been built originally over the water, but accumulations of household refuse produced an island above the level of the highest tides. Burials took place under or among the houses, the bodies being placed in canoes and broken porcelain strewn over them. There are many types of pottery, mostly wheel-made with patterns akin to ancient Korean and Chinese. The settlement appears to have come to a violent end soon after A.D. 960, a date indicated by the presence of celadon wares. The earliest date suggested for the seal is about A.D. 400, but it was not found in the lowest level and may have been treasured for hundreds of years after the date of its manufacture, or perhaps be a survival of a script obsolete in India.
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Research Items. Nature 131, 135–137 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131135a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131135a0