There are several museums in Malaysia that have cave or karst related displays. These include : KUALA LUMPUR & PUTRA JAYA
National Museum
The National Museum (Muzium Negara) in Kuala Lumpur has an 'Early History' gallery. This gallery covers 3 eras - the Permian, the Prehistoric and the Proto Historic. The Prehistoric era explains the development of human culture from the Paleolithic, Hoabinhian/Epi-Palaeolithic, and Neolithic era up to the Metal Age. There is a feature on cave burials including the skeleton of Perak Man. Other displays include stone tools, cave paintings, jewellery and pottery and there is a replica of a cave. See photos on my blog.
According to this freemalaysiatoday article, the museum has 322,631 archaeological items under its care, although of course not all are cave related. Occasionally they have special exhibitions in an annex. In the past these have included a coffin exhibition and Perak Man exhibition (and read more on Perak Man).
The National Museum website.
Apparently the Natural History Museum at Putra Jaya has a replica of the Gua Naga Mas fossil.
PENANG
USM archaeology gallery
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has set up an archaeology gallery showcasing artefacts collected in Malaysia since 1987. The collections were obtained from excavation works carried out at various sites by USM researchers. It is open to the public and entrance is free. See more on s.
PERAK
Lenggong Archeological Museum
The Lenggong Archeological Museum was set up in 2003 and featured the Kota Tampan excavation, and Lenggong prehistory. In anticipation of Lenggong getting World Heritage status, the museum was moved into the adjacent building. It now features the Lenggong Valley archaeolgy. There are various displays e.g. stone tools, posters showing the excavations, etc, but there are too many audio visuals going on at the same time. And unfortunately the information is not updated to cover the recent finds. Although Bukit Jawa, Kg. Temelong and Bukit Bunuh are mentioned, the latter is listed as being 40,000 years old, whereas it has since been dated in 2009 at 1.83 million years old. There is a replica of the 11,000-year old Perak Man skeleton (the original is in the National Museum in KL) and a walk through cave. Gua Teluk Kelawar and the Bronze Age findings at Gua Harimau are featured. Outside is a geology park set in oil palm plantation and a tall observation tower.
See photos on my blog.
Official website MDL Muzium Arkeologi Lenggong and also Lenggong.
August 2012 update. Jabatan Warisan Negara took over Muzium Lenggong from Jabatan Muzium Malaysia on 7 August 2012. This came after the Lenggong Valley was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on 30 June 2012. As a result the musum is no longer a museum, but a gallery! The former Muzium Arkeologi is now Galeri Arkeologi. However strictly speaking, in English, this is not really the right word to use. See more on my blog.
The museum is now closed for renovation until June 2017.
Perak Geological Museum
The Geological Museum in Ipoh, Perak was established in 1957. The Museum building forms part of the Minerals and Geoscience Department Complex in Ipoh and displayed a good collection of fossils, rocks, minerals and gemstones that have been collected in the country over the years. There was also an interesting collection of different cassiterite (tin ore) samples found in the rich tin-fields of Malaysia as well as a diorama of tin mining in the country whereby various mining methods are explained.
Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, the Geological Museum was extensively renovated (see Nov 2011) and upgraded to increase the exhibition space and collection of exhibits in the Museum. Specimens from all over the world are shown, rather than concentrating on local ones. There are many full display cabinents of minerals, crystals and gemstones. There is even an animated model of a dinosaur head. See photos on my blog.
Official website Geological Museum.
Perak Darul Ridzuan Museum
This musuem is located in the city of Ipoh. It was originally the house of a rich tin miner. It used to house a collection of historical artifacts on tin mining. Jan-Feb 2012 there was an exhibition on coffins and funerals which included a replica of Perak Man. It was then closed for a while for upgrading and to turn it into the Perak Archaeological Museum in preparation for the Lenggong Valley to be declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. This listing was declared on 30 June 2012. Universiti Sains Malaysia agreed to hand over archaeological items found in the Lenggong Valley to be exhibited at the museum. The museum is quite smart with new lighting and display cases and good video presentations. The museum is now open again and a large area is devoted to an archaeology display. There is a replica of the Perak Man skeleton. Sadly there is not much on display about tin mining, no lumps of tin ore etc. However outside is a display of tin mining equipment.
See photos on my blog.
Official website Darul Ridzuan Museum.
Perak Museum
Perak Museum is the oldest museum in Peninsular Malaysia and is located in Taiping. There is not much that is cave related, very little on archaeology and there is no longer a geological section. RM5 entry for non Malaysians.
Official website Perak Museum. |
