Introductions

Chronology

Prehistory

 - Investigating past environments

 - The Pleistocene or Ice Age period

 - The postglacial and Holocene

 - The impact of the paleo-environment

Prehistoric settlement patterns

 - adaptation to cave environments

 - adaptation to open environments

 - adaptation to rainforest environments

Prehistoric technology and art

 - The manufacture of stone tools

 - Earthenware

 - Beads

 - Bronzeware

 - Iron artefacts

 - Rock engravings

 - Cave drawing

Economic patterns of neolithic life

 - Hunters and gatherers

 - Rice production

 - Barter trade networks

Belief system in prehistoric times

 - Flexed and extended burials

 - Cist graves and boat and mound burials

 - Jar and log coffin burials

 - Megaliths

The protohistoric period

 - From prehistory to protohistory

 - Protohistoric settlement patterns

 - Chi tu: An inland kingdom

 - Kuala Selinsing: A mangrove

 - Pulau Tioman: A port settlement

Wider contacts in protohistoric times

 - Expansion of trade

 - Trade routes and trade centres

 - Indian traders

 - Chinese traders

 - Early Muslim traders

 - Southeast Asian traders

 - Form of money

Indigenization of Indian culture

 - Transformation of indigenous religious beliefs

 - Candi architecture

 - Religious sculpture

 - Concepts of kingship

 - Sociopolitics

 - Language

The port kingdoms

 - The Bujang Valley

 - The Kinta Valley

 - Beruas

 - Santubong

From port kingdoms to entrepots

 - Entrepots along the Melaka Strait

 - Srivijaya

 - The Cola attacks

 - From Srivijaya to Temasek to Melaka

The Early Islamic period

 - The arrival of Islam

 - The Terengganu stone

 - The Pengkalan Kempas in scriptions

 - Early Islamic gravestones

 - Early Islamic coins

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Picture credits