A Window into Prehistoric Southeast Asia
When Tom Harrisson, curator of the Sarawak Museum, began excavations in Niah's West Mouth in 1954, he suspected the caves might hold archaeological significance. He could not have imagined the scale of what lay beneath: a stratified sequence of human occupation stretching back 40,000 years — the oldest evidence of modern humans in Southeast Asia at the time of discovery.
The Deep Skull
The most significant find from Harrisson's excavations was a human skull fragment discovered in 1958 at a depth of approximately 2.4 m in the cave floor. Radiocarbon dating placed it at approximately 37,000–40,000 years old — evidence that anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) were present in Borneo during the Late Pleistocene period, when the island was connected to mainland Southeast Asia by the now-submerged Sunda Shelf.
The 'Deep Skull', as it became known, is now housed in the Sarawak Museum in Kuching and is one of Malaysia's most important archaeological artefacts.
A Continuous Record of Human Life
The Niah excavations revealed a remarkable continuity of human habitation. Above the Pleistocene levels, Harrisson found evidence of Neolithic burials, iron-age tools, and evidence of the bird's nest and guano trade stretching back thousands of years. The cave was clearly not just a shelter but a place of cultural significance across multiple periods of human prehistory.
Bird's Nest Harvesting: An Ancient Economy
The collection of edible bird's nests — primarily from the black-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus) — is an ancient practice at Niah, with records going back at least 1,500 years. The nests, made of hardened saliva, are harvested by licensed collectors who use traditional methods: long bamboo poles and rattan ropes to reach nests on the cave ceiling 60 m above the floor. This practice continues today under strictly controlled permits administered by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation.
Visiting the Archaeological Site Today
A small museum at the park headquarters provides context for the archaeological findings. The main excavation site within the West Mouth is cordoned off but visible from the boardwalk; interpretive panels explain the stratigraphy and key discoveries. The Painted Cave — accessible via a separate trail — preserves the most direct visible evidence of the site's prehistoric human inhabitants.