The Stone and Bronze Ages

The earliest known inhabitants of Malaya had physical characteristics that suggest an affinity to present-day Melanesians and Papuans. They lived in caves, made rough stone tools, and were probably in undisturbed possession until a little before 2000 BC, when a people with a Neolithic culture arrived from the north, possibly from southwest China. These were farmers, kept domestic animals, and were skilled in pottery making and in selecting and working stone to make tools and ornaments.

Evidence of a Bronze Age culture, dating from about 250 BC, has been found in two widely separated places in Malaya, at Klang and on the Tembeling River in Pahang. This is known as the Dong Son culture. Two bronze gongs and three large bronze bells are among the most important articles of this period that have been discovered. They were almost certainly brought into the country from Sumatra or Indochina.