The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex, located in Niah National Park on the west coast of Borneo Island, is a group of archaeological sites that contain the longest-known records of human interaction with rainforests. Within a complex of colossal interconnected caverns and caves located in a limestone massif, are archaeological sites, rock paintings, and boat-shaped coffins. This rich evidence demonstrates a multifaceted process of human development and adaptation to the physical environment, specifically to the modification of the tropical rainforest from at least 50,000 years ago to the Mid-Holocene, including the transition from foraging to rice farming, arboriculture, and vegeculture. The findings here have contributed significantly to the debate over the nature of the early dispersal of ancient humans across this region and globally.

Criterion (iii): The Niah Caves Complex contains archaeological evidence that represents an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions of the two disconnected populations in the distant past who existed from the Pleistocene to the Mid-Holocene, exhibiting the rainforest lifestyles, forest management systems (vegeculture), and elaborate funerary practices of prehistoric humans. It contributes significantly to the existing knowledge of human development, adaptation, and dispersal in Southeast Asia and in a global context.

Criterion (v): The Niah Caves Complex is an outstanding example of very early human settlement and land use in the Southeast Asian region, and of human interaction with a changing environment during prehistoric times.

Integrity

The property is of adequate size and contains all the attributes necessary to convey its Outstanding Universal Value, including the entire rock massif and its complex of caves within which the excavated sites, rock paintings, and boat-shaped coffins are located, as well as the sites identified as having archaeological potential. The physical fabric and significant features of the property are in good condition, and the negative factors affecting the property are under control.

Authenticity

The geo-morphological features of the massif and caves have not changed significantly despite the slow dissolution of the limestone over time as a result of natural processes. The excavated sites are well preserved without backfill or other forms of later alteration, testifying to their authentic state at the time of their excavation. Although the locations of the objects extracted from these sites have been changed, these archaeological findings have been appropriately conserved, stored, and displayed in museums. The rock paintings are in their original locations, without any interventions.

Protection and management requirements

The property is state-owned and is legally protected at the national and state levels. At the national level, the property is included in the Bukit Subis Protected Forest that was established under the Forest Ordinance in 1951. Niah National Park was established in 1974 and is protected by the National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance and the Wildlife Protection Ordinance of 1998. At the state level, the property is protected by the Sarawak Heritage Ordinance, 2019. The Sarawak Forestry Corporation and the Sarawak Museum Department are the main governmental institutions responsible for implementing the legislative provisions. The buffer zone and a one-kilometre radius zone from the property boundaries provide additional layers of protection.

The management system is a collaborative and coordinated one between the main stakeholders, with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation taking the lead while the Sarawak Museum Department is responsible for the conservation of the cultural heritage. The local communities are involved in the management of the site in a number of ways. The management system is supported and advised by the Special Park Committee for Niah National Park. The management activities are guided by a number of plans, the most comprehensive being the Integrated Conservation Management Plan for the Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex (2024). The key challenges that require long-term attention include securing sustainable funding and the expertise of the staff working on site, the fading of the rock paintings, and the algal growth at the excavated sites.