The Niah Caves · A Person Buried in the Cave for Forty Thousand Years

In the Niah Caves of Sarawak, human remains 40,000 years old were found at the West Mouth. The caves were also used by generations of swiftlet-nest collectors, who drove a whole ladder of wooden poles into the roof to climb up.

The coffins and boat-shaped burial containers in the cave look light; a person could lift one onto his shoulder, but by the rule they must not be moved.

The nest collectors say that before going in you must announce to the darkness what you have come to do. They say this is not superstition, it is greeting.

Historical Mysteries / Sarawak · Malaysia / 40,000 years ago