ON TRAIL OF THE HISTORY OF KUNAK - PART 6

Thousands of stone tools had been excavated from Madai caves. The tools were mostly made from local river pebble chert, of an industry similar to that of Baturong. Mortars that were used by the prehistoric people of Madai for grinding food, cracking shells or ochre preparations were also found.

The presence of abundant shells in Madai Caves indicates that the inhabitants frequented the shores to gather seafood from the beaches. Hunting of animals continued. The hunted animals include large animals such as seladang and two species of rhinoceros, i.e., javanese rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and sumatran rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sumatrensis). Today, javanese rhino no longer exists in Sabah.

Around 5,000 BC the Madai Caves were abandoned. There are no detail studies yet to determine the reason for the inhabitants to leave or where they had gone.

However, with their skill in manufacturing many types of stone tools for any particular purpose, the Madai Tribe must had tools for cutting trees and woods. With the warmer climate, they did not need the caves for shelters against the cold nights. Human nature to continue in search of comfort and wellbeing had driven the tribe to move closer to the easy source of food. They had found easy source of food from the beaches that assure them that their family need not go through hunger anymore at times when the hunters returned home empty-handed.

Obviously, there were no reasons for the Madai Tribe to continue living and sharing the damp, dark caves with bats and swiftlets. They were fed up with the thickening guanos on the cave floor. Thus, the tribe left the cave and moved out closer to the beaches.

With their skill in manufacturing stone tools for any particular purpose, they had no problem in making tools specially for cutting trees and woods. They began to build shelters from small timbers, barks, vines, rattans, and palm leaves. Hence, in 5000 BC the foundation of kampongs began in the District of Kunak, Sabah.

ON TRAIL OF THE HISTORY OF KUNAK - PART 5

We pick up from our last story that took place around 16,000 BC when the Tingkayu Lake drained out. The tribe scattered to other parts of South East Asia. Some might even met other tribes, their cousins, who had been there earlier.

 That time the sea level was up to 300 or 400 feet lower than today so that the group that travelled south through Balikpapan would come to the shore where they can clearly see the highland of Mamuju in Sulawesi. 

The water that separated them from the land that looked so rich and green was only a few kilometers distance. Being adventurous and curious, some took up to the sea with rafts and crossed over to settle in Sulawesi. It is thus not surprising that later on the people of Sulawesi emerged as one of the most prominent seafarers. Their ancestors are the pioneers of sea travel. 

Back in the nearby Baturong Caves, the remaining tribe continued with their usual life as in Tingkayu. However, they did not stay for long. Around 10,000 BC the shelter at Baturong was in turn abandoned. It was the end of the Ice Age. The massive blocks of ice that had covered most part of Europe and Northern Asia melted and flowed down, the sea level rose separating Borneo from mainland Asia, Palawan, Sumatra and Java. Borneo found its present shoreline and the coastal environment moved significantly towards the Madai-Baturong region. 

Coastal resources were laid within an easy day’s walk from the Madai Caves. To get closer to the new resources, the people of Baturong moved in to two of the large caves at Madai, Agop Atas and Agop Sarapad. Archaeological studies proved that the two shelters were intensely inhabited during the early Holocene, between 10,000 and 5,000 BC.