UTILIZING ROCK ART TO TRACE HUMAN MIGRATION: CASE STUDIES FROM SARAWAK, MALAYSIAN BORNEO A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ANTHROPOLOGY DECEMBER 2016 By Rachel B. Hoerman Dissertation Committee: Miriam Stark, Chairperson Christian Peterson Paul Taçon John Peterson Kirstin Pauka Keywords: Borneo, Southeast Asian Rock Art, “Neolithic”, Austronesian Painting Tradition, Austronesian Engraving Style © Rachel Hoerman 2016 ii Dedication This is for Elaine, whom I miss daily. Part of me rests, prairie-bound, with you. This is also for Lena. I would give the world to spend another afternoon baking with you. And Rose, Elmer, Ruth, Eddie, Mable, Ginger and Ebony for their light hearts and love without strings. iii Acknowledgements I thank my Aunt Barb for her wisdom, insight and introducing me to the world. You have always inspired me, and I love you. My graduate career and research have benefitted endlessly from Dr. Miriam Stark’s consistently stellar (and truly superhuman) guidance, advocacy and support. The last near-decade has been an unparalleled education in the exemplary kinds of teaching, mentoring, research, service and morality that hallmark exceptional academics and human beings. Extreme good fortune led to our lives intersecting in paradise. Thank you all for showing me family: Shanna Clinton, Chris Filimoehala (and for the dissertation graphics!), Adam Lauer, Darby Filimoehala, Jana Suverkropp, Antonia Alvarez and Ruben Campos. And the women who showed me the pleasure of female friendship: Heather Youngs, Bianca Schoultz-Wallace and Cheryl Koffley. Kim Wiegert, Greg Schroepfer and Terry Schroepfer: the way you held us together during the worst years of our lives made me so proud. And Sharon Schroepfer - the selfless, loving compassion you showed a dying woman was beautiful. The Gallenbergs, Hafners and countless great aunts, uncles and extended family provided loving support. Your tales of the Old Country, Northwoods pioneers, and World War II fostered the childhood love for archaeology that brought me here. I thank Lawrence University as an institution for an education and buffet of opportunity I did not appreciate until years later. Every professor and class I had prompted an epic paradigm shift. Dr. Mary Blackwell nominated me for a life-changing iv scholarship that made Vienna, Eastern Europe and Madrid each home for a while. Frank Lewis effused an infectious passion for art and conservation. Dr. Michael Orr’s wit and intellect were searing. Dr. Monica Rico and Dr. Franklin Doeringer made history come to life in numerous independent studies. Dr. Mark Dintenfass’ fiction courses were some of the most enjoyable classroom time I have ever logged. Dr. Gerald Podair’s lectures were absolutely electric. Thank you, Dr. Alison Carter, for inspiring my appreciation of Southeast Asian archaeology with your own, and for infinitely enjoyable life parallels in Madison and Phnom Penh and at every conference since. Cheers, Dr. Jason Yaeger and Dr. Jaime Awe, for making a summer of wonder in Belize possible. Dr. Christian Peterson provided astonishingly accurate advice regarding the pursuit of a Ph.D. and career in archaeology. Thank you, Dr. Paul Taçon, for granting me an incredible introduction to the rock art research world and for your time, communications and generosity through the years and across the ocean. Since this project began, colleagues and local people in Borneo have been extraordinary sources of opportunity, advice and collegiality. Research support from the administrators and staff of the Sarawak Museum Department made this project possible. Very special thanks to Mr. Ipoi Datan, Dr. Charles Leh, Sherman, Hans van de Bunte, Yasmin, Mr. Bonnie, Mona, Miza and Zaffrey for their collegiality, enthusiasm and innumerable kindnesses. Franca Cole and Christine Horn deserve to be recognized for their incredible intellect, work ethic and collegiality that included sharing images for this project. Kading Sultan of Ba’Kalelan should be recognized for his professionalism, v the vegetarian meals he prepared from the Bornean jungle that were greatly appreciated, and the concern he harbors for his community, their history and the legacy left future generations. Cheers to Mike and Koon Boon and John Ting for your warm welcome and the field trips, dinners and insightful, enjoyable conversations that ensued. Lisa, meeting you was worth the recce! Thanks for the lovely Big Island spring break and friendship that has since fluoresced. Thanks also to the enthusiasm and kindnesses of Tom McLaughlin, the lovely Suriani and Dzul. Generous subsidy for field research and results write-up was provided by the Anthropology Department and Colleges of Arts and Sciences at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) – Honolulu Branch and the national AAUW. vi Abstract This study uses rock art as a proxy to track human movement on Borneo during the poorly understood “Neolithic” peopling of Island Southeast Asia, c. 6 - 2 ka. This pivotal time period involved major population movements and the advent of agriculture; it also brought with it new “Neolithic” material culture throughout the region. Rock art is a neglected archaeological data source in Southeast Asian archaeology, and Borneo’s rock art holds great potential for studying modern human movement and symbolic behavior. This dissertation inventories the breadth and depth of Bornean rock art and generates a techno-chronological timeline for Bornean rock art to establish a basis for delineating endemic and intrusive rock art design systems from the Paleolithic through modern periods. It evaluates the Bornean presence of two diagnostically “Neolithic” rock art traditions found elsewhere in Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific: the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT) and Austronesian Engraving Style (AES). Multiple synchronic and diachronic rock art practices are described, including a distinctly Bornean version of the APT and a single instance of the AES that expand our understanding of the Bornean and Southeast Asian archaeological narratives. This work additionally underscores the continued utility of stylistic analysis, relative dating and long-term, innovative rock art conservation in archaeological research. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………………….iv Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….vii List of Tables.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………xi List of Figures…………………………………………………………….…………………………………….………....xiii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 1.2 The archaeological importance of Borneo and Bornean rock art.…....………………….4 1.3 Research aims………………………………………………………………………….…………………………8 1.4 Research methods…………………………………………………………………………………………….10 1.5 Research assumptions, limitations and restrictions…………………………..………………11 1.6 Rock art as archaeological data…………………………………………………………………………12 1.7 Rock art terminology…………………………………………………………………………………………13 1.8 Research results……………………………………………………………………………………………….18 1.8.1 Establishing the character, dates and cultural affiliations of Bornean rock art....17 1.8.2 The Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT), Austronesian Engraving Style and other “Neolithic” rock art practices on Borneo….…………………………..…………………20 1.9 Thesis Structure…………………………………………………………………………………………...….21 1.10 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………..………22 Chapter 2 Archaeological Approaches to Human Migration, Neolithic Horizons, Maritime Interaction and Diagnostic Rock Art Traditions 23 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…23 2.2 Part One: Global archaeological approaches to migration, the “Neolithic” and diagnostic rock art traditions…………………………………………………………………………….25 2.2.1 Archaeological approaches to migration…………………………………………………………..25 2.2.2 Rock art research and migration……………………………………………………………………….28 2.2.3 World Neolithic conventions and Southeast Asian “Neolithic” horizons……………30 2.2.4 Southeast Asian and Western Pacific “Neolithic” maritime migrations/ interactions………………………………………………………..…………………………………………….33 2.2.5 Diagnostic rock art traditions and the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT) and Austronesian Engraving Style (AES) ………………………………………………………………….36 2.3 Part Two: Bornean rock art and archaeology…………………………………………..……….42 2.3.1 Bornean rock art as an untapped source of archaeological data……………………….42 2.3.2 Chronometric rock art dating methods…………………………………………………………….54 2.3.3 Relative dating and style in rock art research…………………………………………………..58 2.3.4 Age estimations for Borneo’s rock art…….……………………………………………………..…59 2.3.5 The Bornean “Neolithic”……………………………………………………………………………………68 viii 2.4 Summary and approach……………………………………………………………………………………76 2.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………..…………77 Chapter 3 Research Design, Fieldwork and Analysis 78 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………..78 3.2 Data procurement: library, archival and field research Stages I-III…………………….79 3.2.1 Research Stage I……………………………………………………………………………………………….80 3.2.2 Research Stage II………………………………………………………………………………………………81 3.2.3 Research Stage III………………………………………………………………………………………..……81 3.2.4 Notes on Research Stages I-III………………………………………………………………………..…83 3.3 Methods and analysis……………………………………………………………………………………….84 3.3.1 Characterizing Bornean rock art……………………………………………………………………….84 3.3.2