Ref ID:	37678
Ref Type:	Conference Paper
Authors:	Tan, Noel Hidalgo
Title:	Tapir, Tiger, Dugong and Deer: A Re-evaluation of the Rock Art Interpretations at Gua Tambun
Date:	2009
Source:	Proceedings of Symposium of USM Fellowship Holders 2009
Abstract:	The spectacular red-coloured rock art gallery of Gua Tambun in Perak, Malaysia, was first ‘discovered’ in 1959, and subsequently gazetted as a protected heritage site in 1976. However, remarkably little is known about the rock art, including the date of the paintings or even the number of forms remaining on the rock shelter. Most of the current literature tends to describe and identify the animal forms depicted on the rock art; these identifications recur with surprising consistency, in particular the identification of a ‘tapir’, ‘tiger’, ‘dugong’ and ‘deer’, the last of which is rendered in a supposed ‘x-ray style’. This paper re-evaluates the existing interpretations of the Gua Tambun rock art and in particular, the identifications of ‘tapir’, ‘tiger’, ‘dugong’ and ‘deer’. This paper argues that the existing interpretations have been formed through a misrepresentation and distortion of earlier works. Firstly, they were tentative, secondly, current identifications are neither useful in helping us understand the authors nor the lifestyles of the past. In the light of current archaeological research conducted by the author in 2009, alternative interpretive frameworks are proposed and discussed in order to better understand the rock art at Gua Tambun.
Series Title:	Proceedings of Symposium of USM Fellowship Holders 2009