Archaeological textiles from the Niah Caves

Abstract

Derived from the Latin verb textere (to weave) the term 'archaeological textiles' is used in this chapter in the generic sense for the range of worked fibre artefacts- basketry, matting and textiles-recovered from the Niah caves between 1957 and 2004. The Harrissons publishes brief descriptions of the archaeological textiles that they found during their excavations in the 1950s and 1960s (B. Harrison 1958a, 1967; T. Harrisson 1958a, 1965a, 1975) but the material and structural composition of the fragments were not systematically investigated. The finds, stored in the Sarawak museum, were augmented in 1989 by some finely woven fragments recovered by Lord Medway (now Earl of Cranbrook) and this author from one of the in situ burials ion the West Mouth cemetery and worked fibres were also covered in the NCP excavations of 2002 and 2004. The combined assemblage is highly significant as it includes the earliest provenanced archaeological textiles found thus far in island South East Asia