THE WORLD OF MARITIME SOUTHEAST ASIA

Source: Sungai Batu 788 BC: The Great Kingdom of Kedah Tua

The world of maritime of Southeast Asia has begun since 15,000 years ago or to be precise when the deglaciation of Sundaland took place. Since then, the population have to adapt the gradual changes of sea level, decreasing of land, water mass became dominant, widening of riverine, expansion of mangrove area, varieties of flora and fauna and definitely changes of survival skill. The sea level have reached it maximum height about 7 to 5 thousand years ago and gradually decreased to current level.

The process of adaptation and developing the skill have gradually and steadily occured over the milleniums, especially the skill and knowledge of maritime such as watercraft, exploitation of resources, high and low tide phenomenon, changes of shoreline, climate and season and so on where it has transform the population into maritime society.

6 to 8 thousand years ago, they started to have a contact with foreign people if we take the Guar Kepah / Malay Peninsular society into context. The discovery of the West Asia amphora in Malaysian water that dated during the same era, has proven that the foreign people have travel to Southeast Asia. Operational logica, they have to obtain their provision in our region after the long journey. By such contact with far advance civilisation, the local society have exposed to better technology of maritime.

According to late Prof Nik Hassan Suhaimi, part of Guar Kepah society have travel south to Pulau Kalumpang and over the time have established the maritime and trade society.

About the same time, a group of Guar Kepah society have moved to Sungai Merbok - Kuala Muda basin and over the time they have transformed into maritime and industrial society according to Prof Mokhtar Saidin.

Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex is the evidence of maritime, trade and iron industry of Southeast Asia that dated 3 thousand years ago. The port facility that obviously resembling distinguish function such as wharves, jetties and warehouses.

It could be a divine intervention, with abundance of mangrove forest, clay soil and iron ore that exist in the very same area, it was a perfect formula of iron smelting. The earliest trace of iron smelting was dated in 8th century BC. At the very same proximity, the iron smelting activity has became an industry for milleniums. The same site and spot have been used for multiple times over thousand of years.

Meanwhile, in the other parts of southeast Asia, with fertile and plain land, it has transformed into agrarian society and therefore completing the loop to transform into civilisation where each society contribute to others.

The evolution that begins from Sundaland deglaciation have transform the population into maritime, industrial and agrarian civilisation in a span of milleniums. The early foreign contact that happened milleniums ago, should be the subject of exploration in order to expand our archaeological and historical spectrum. We have achieved a civilisation and sustainable ecosystem very much earlier than 2nd AD century !

C&P

24 May 2026: 10.53 p.m