Page 540 - Proceedings Collega2023

Introduction

Niah Cave is located in the Niah National Park which is a part of the Miri district of
Sarawak. There are large caves there in large lime block formations, in an area about a kilometer
long, and about half a kilometer wide, oriented North-South. The cave is considered an important
prehistoric site where the remains of a 40,000-year-old human skulls have been found. In fact,
this site is the oldest human settlement recorded in East Malaysia.
The cave painting in Niah Cave located about 500 meters from the Niah Cave Complex
of the South-east end block, has prehistoric cave paintings produced using haematite material,
believed to be more than 3000 years old. The first investigation of this conducted by Tom
Harrisson in 1950 has recorded the activities of the folded and sitting human burials found in this
cave since 20,000 BP (Harrisson, 1960).
Prehistoric painting is an important phenomenon in the world of modern painting art
(Clottes, 2008). Artists are encouraged to understand the history of art and its development
through art historiography that will determine the future direction of modern paint art in
Malaysia. The cave paintings are fading due to numerous fragile physical factors. Therefore, these
ancient images need to be recorded as evidence of the history for the understanding of the future
generations. With the advantages of today’s technology, these faded images can be identified
and redrawn using technological software (Kimwah & Sauffi, 2023).
The beauty of the prehistoric paintings clearly demonstrates the existence of cultural
elements as well as the level of intellectualism of primitive society during the ancient times. Its
uniqueness lies not only in the aesthetic value and subtlety of imagery but in the philosophy
implicit behind it. The drawings of this age are clear evidence that humanity at that time had
already become civilized and socialized. This is clearly documented in the drawings. Thus, the
Neolithic painting is a solid proof of the situation that existed 35,000 years before AD.
In this context, the primary objective of this paper is to identify the images of animals
found within the walls of the cave. The secondary objective is to strive to digitally document
images of animal drawings reproducing them using Adobe Photoshop digital software. In so
doing, it interprets the meanings of the images as could be deciphered from the characteristics
of the images.

Literature Review
Lape, P., et al, (2007) say that the ancient people believed that by producing drawings of
animals on the walls of caves, they would make the spirit of such animals come to them and bring
good luck to them. Indeed, some people believe that cave paintings are intended to send a
message to others who pass through or live in or around the caves in the future.

International Conference on Local Wisdom of the Malay Archipelago (COLLEGA 2023) Page - 527 -