Tambun rock art, is a series of

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

-era cave paintings at the Gunung Panjang

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

hill in Tambun, on the outskirts of

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The paintings were discovered on a rocky overhang in 1959 by 2/Lt R. L. Rawlings of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles. Popularly known as the "Tambun Cave Paintings" (''Lukisan Gua Tambun'' in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

), the paintings could have been made by the ancestors of the

Orang Asli Orang Asli (''lit''. "first people", "native people", "original people", "aborigines people" or "aboriginal people" in Malay) are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of ...

and had spiritual importance. This site should not be confused with Gunung Tambun, another limestone hill that is found several kilometres to the north of Gunung Panjang.

Description

The Tambun rock art is on a prominent rockface on the west face of Gunung Panjang, a large karstic hill, nearly 2 kilometres long, overlooking Ipoh and the Kinta valley. The hill comprises light grey marble belonging to the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

limestone of the

Kinta Valley The Kinta Valley is a conurbation in central Perak, Malaysia, surrounding and including the state capital Ipoh. Historically the Kinta Valley was very rich in tin, and their mines have been among the most productive in the world. The valley is form ...

. The Tambun rock art site is the largest display of neolithic paintings in Asia. They are estimated to be between 2,000 and 12,000 years old. The paintings were probably made using

haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

. At the time of the discovery, the wide shelf at the base of the rock face was littered deep with empty, conical snail shells, all with their tips knocked off. The site is not easily accessible to tourists as the path is overgrown and muddy and there is a steep flight of steps up to the site.

Gallery

File:Gua Tambun3.jpg, Canine figure File:Gua Tambun4.jpg, Deer figure File:Gua Tambun5.jpg, Human figure File:Gua Tambun Animal Herd.jpg, Herd of animals File:Gua Tambun Path.jpg, Path below the paintings File:Gua Tambun Shelter.jpg, Entrance leading to the site

References

Cave paintings Prehistoric art Rock art in Asia Kinta District {{Malaysia-stub