Some 19th Century Visitors to Caves in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Človek je poznal jame v Maleziji že od predzgodovinskih časov, ko jih je uporabljal kot zatočišča, taborišča ali skrivališča. Najstarejša taka sled s polotoške Malezije je človeško okostje, staro 11.000 let. Prvi zapisi o obiski teh jam pa izvirajo šele iz 19. stoletja, ko so jih obiskovali predvsem Evropejci za zabavo, iz vedoželjnosti ali zaradi raziskovanja. Z raziskavami so v glavnem pričeli britanski kolonialni častniki, nastanjeni v Malaji, v 80-tih letih 19. stoletja. Leta 1878 so "odkrili" jame Batu in z njimi seznanili Evropejce. V prispevku so našteti nekateri izmed teh obiskovalcev ter so opisane zgodnje raziskave. Malaysian caves have been known to man since prehistoric times, when they were used as shelters, campsites or places of refuge. The oldest remains found in Peninsular Malaysia are a human skeleton dated at 11.000 years old. But it wasnot until the 19th century that records appear of caves being visited, generally by European visitors for recreation, curiosity or research. Research generally began in the 1880's, mainly by British colonial officers stationed in Malaya. The caves at Batu Caves were ˝discovered˝ and made known to Europeans in 1878. This article lists some of the visitors and describes some of the early research.