The History of Dayak (12)

The Discovery of the Niah Cave Human Remains in Miri, Sarawak

Over time, a growing body of research has increasingly demonstrated that the Dayak are indigenous to Borneo rather than migrants from Yunnan. Scientific and archaeological evidence continues to strengthen this position, challenging long-standing assumptions that have never been empirically verified.

 See Tracing the Prehistoric Burial Traditions of Niah Cave: Were the Heirs Penan or Iban? One of the most significant findings supporting this view comes from archaeological research at Niah Cave in Miri, Sarawak. Systematic excavations at the Niah Cave site have been conducted since 1996, involving teams of archaeologists from multiple institutions working to uncover the earliest traces of human presence in Borneo. This project, conducted under the Niah Caves Project, documented more than 200 Neolithic burials, indicating a complex society with well-developed mortuary rituals (Barker et al., 2002).

Archaeological Specimens from Niah Cave Sent to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for Analysis

Following their discovery, samples of ancient human remains from Niah Cave were sent to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States, to undergo a series of scientific analyses, including radiocarbon dating to determine their precise age. 

The results of these tests confirmed that the human remains from Niah Cave date to approximately 40,000 years ago, making them among the oldest evidence of human presence in the region. This finding substantially reinforces the argument that the earliest inhabitants of Borneo were present long before any hypothesized migration from Yunnan. The analyses also included stable isotope studies related to diet, which revealed the consumption of fish and forest plant resources (Krigbaum, 2005).

Read The History of Dayak (11)

This research clearly demonstrates that humans have inhabited Borneo since at least 40,000 years ago. Radiocarbon dating of the remains confirms long-term human settlement in the region, far predating theories that attribute the origins of Borneo’s population to migration from Yunnan. See “Dayak” as a Standardized Term: A Unifying Identity. These findings carry major implications for understanding the ethnogenesis of the Dayak. If humans have occupied Borneo for tens of thousands of years, then the civilizations and cultures of the island likely developed largely in situ, rather than being solely the product of later migratory waves. At the same time, modern Dayak identity represents a synthetic outcome, in which Austronesian languages and cultural elements came to dominate (Sellato, 2002).

Beyond archaeology, genetic studies further demonstrate a close relationship between contemporary Dayak populations and ancient human groups in Borneo. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome markers indicate that indigenous populations of Borneo possess distinctive genetic signatures and exhibit remarkable population continuity over long time spans. These findings support the hypothesis that they are not the result of recent migration, but rather descendants of the island’s earliest inhabitants. Genetic evidence shows that the Dayak carry haplogroups O-M95, associated with Austronesian expansion, and M, associated with local lineages, with admixture occurring approximately 4,000 years ago (Migliano et al., 2020). 

Consequently, claims that the ancestors of the Dayak originated in Yunnan increasingly lack scientific support. Archaeological discoveries such as the Niah Cave human remains affirm that the Dayak have long inhabited Borneo and possess a deep history that cannot be reduced to a simple migration narrative. This calls for a new framework in understanding Dayak history, not as that of newcomers, but as that of an indigenous people deeply rooted in Borneo since prehistoric times. Such an approach may include ethnogenomics, integrating genetic evidence with ethnographic perspectives (Hudjashov et al., 2017).

Prehistoric Studies of Borneo by Robert Blust and Peter Bellwood

Prehistoric studies of Borneo conducted by Robert Blust beginning in 1967 and by Peter Bellwood during the 1960s have provided deeper insight into the island’s early human history and origins. Blust and Bellwood employed linguistic and archaeological approaches to trace early civilizations in Borneo and to map the spread of Austronesian languages and cultures believed to have roots in this region. 

Blust, focusing on linguistics, argued that the languages of Borneo, including Dayak languages, belong to the broader Austronesian language family. This supports the view that Borneo was one of the early centers of Austronesian linguistic and cultural dispersal. Bellwood, meanwhile, emphasized archaeological evidence demonstrating that Borneo had been inhabited by humans for thousands of years, long before the major migration waves that later carried Austronesian culture across the archipelago. Verification shows that Blust classified Dayak languages as basal within Austronesian, supporting diversification in Borneo (Blust, 1984). Bellwood, in contrast, advanced the out-of-Taiwan model, positioning Borneo as a key hub in this dispersal (Bellwood, 1985).

According to their studies, Borneo was not merely an early human habitat but also functioned as a center for the dissemination of various Austronesian cultural elements. Bellwood in particular argued that Borneo may have been one of the critical regions from which Austronesian culture spread to other areas, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and even Polynesia. 

Archaeological discoveries of stone tools, pottery, and burial sites dating back thousands of years provide strong evidence that substantial human populations once lived in Borneo and developed distinctive cultural traditions. These findings indicate a powerful continuity of culture on the island, extending far beyond what would be expected if it were simply the result of migration from elsewhere, and they underscore the deep cultural roots of the Dayak in Borneo. To enrich this perspective, Bellwood’s farming dispersal hypothesis explains expansion through agriculture, while still recognizing significant local admixture (Bellwood, 2017).

The work of Blust and Bellwood also demonstrates that the spread of Austronesian languages in Borneo followed patterns that are far more complex and diverse than is often assumed. Although genetic and linguistic connections exist between Dayak languages and those spoken elsewhere in the archipelago, the languages of the Dayak exhibit highly distinctive and localized developments. This supports the view that the Dayak are not simply migrants from outside the island, but populations that have long assimilated and evolved within Borneo, producing unique linguistic and cultural systems. This process unfolded over an extended period, making the Dayak an inseparable part of Borneo’s historical and cultural ecosystem. The remarkable diversity of Dayak languages, estimated at 405 to 450 sub-dialects, reflects in situ linguistic evolution (Sellato, 1989).

Through their combined linguistic and archaeological research, Blust and Bellwood offer a more holistic picture of Dayak origins, one that recognizes both external influences and long-term internal development. This perspective reinforces the understanding that Dayak culture, like that of many other peoples of Borneo, is the product of thousands of years of adaptation and evolution alongside environmental, social, and cultural change. As such, studies of Borneo’s prehistory not only illuminate the past but also help clarify how the Dayak and other Bornean groups played a crucial role in the spread and preservation of Austronesian culture across the wider region. 

These studies also shape contemporary understandings of Dayak identity as indigenous, as discussed in X (TanakBuhavan, 2024).