Bukit Jawa Paleolithic Site, Lenggong, Perak

Excavation at the Bukit Jawa Archaeological Site, Lenggong, Perak (1 April, 2006)


Bukit Jawa is a paleolithic archaeological site in Kampung Gelok, about 7km north of Lenggong in Perak. Although Bukit Jawa was discovered in the early 1990s, due to priorities to other projects, it was not excavated until July of 1996. The excavation at Bukit Jawa yielded over 150,000 pieces of stone artifacts from 24 excavation trenches there.

Bukit Jawa Paleolithic Site, now with a more permanent shelter

Bukit Jawa Paleolithic Site is on the map of Lenggong

Research evidence places Bukit Jawa as the oldest Paleolithic sites in the country, with the probability of dating back to 200,000 and 300,000 years ago. What was discovered at Bukit Jawa enabled the paleontologists to piece together information on the Kota Tampan culture which dates back to around 75,000 years ago.

Excavation at the Bukit Jawa Archaeological Site, Lenggong, Perak (1 April, 2006)


Paleolithic site in Malaysia, besides Temelong and Lawin, all of which date to around 100,000-200,000 years ago. In addition, Bukit Jawa is the oldest undisturbed and in situ stone age site in Southeast Asia, confirming the belief that the Lenggong Valley is the oldest human settlement in Malaysia.

The Bukit Jawa site was no the first that members of AsiaExplorers visited, together with a group of students from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The trip was made with two USM coaches headed by archaeologist Dr Stephen Chia, who demonstrated to us the way stone tools were made during prehistoric times.

Archaeologist Dr Stephen Chia explaining the prehistoric tools found at Bukit Jawa (1 April, 2006)


Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies have shown that Bukit Jawa used to be part of an island situated in the middle of a now disappeared lake. Stone age people living here used to make tools at the lake shores. They also inhabited the coastal areas of the lake as these places are rich in food resources.

For more information on the archaeological finds in Perak, please continue to the webpage on the Lenggong Archaeological Museum.

Shed over the Bukit Jawa excavation site (1 April, 2006)

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