Social science research and conservation management in the ...

Karina Arifin and Bernard Sellato
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A total number of 676 shards included 7 pieces of black or grey, undecorated rims,
with an open, straight, or closed angle, with a mouth diameter of 8 to 18 cm; 1 piece
of black ridge with line decoration, manufactured by the hand modelling technique;
182 pieces of grey, black, or red container body, plain or decorated with (thick or thin)
lines made with a paddle wrapped with string (see Figures 11.41 and 11.42); 6 shards
of smelting containers, black and undecorated; and 487 unidentified undecorated
shards.
Foreign Ceramics
This category includes all shards of glazed, white or pale blue, kaolin base. From a
total number of nine shards, 1 is a rim shard with a flower motif under the glaze, an
open angle, and a probable diameter of 21 cm (possibly from a plate); 3 bottom
shards, plain or decorated with floral motif under the glaze, one of which contains a
factory mark which could not be clearly read (only a crown is visible); and 5 unidentified
pieces with floral motif under the glaze.
MEGALITHIC GRAVES: A SUMMARY
The surveys that were carried out indicated differences in the form of the burial
structures in the four subdistricts visited. In Long Pujungan, the graves generally
consisted of stone urn-dolmens in various forms, but a few menhirs were also found,
usually erected near graves. In Kerayan, two forms are known, the batu terupun (or
perupun, pelepuun) and a type of urn-dolmen with a ceramic jar container, as well as
a number of menhirs. So far, no stone burials have been found in Malinau where,
instead, there are grave monuments made of wood and including ceramic jars. In
Kayan Hulu, the most common burial container is a rectangular stone trough. This last
subdistrict, however, will not be discussed in this summary.
Pujungan Subdistrict
The urn-dolmen burial structure (Figure 11.2) basically consists of a stone urn, standing
on short stone pillars or blocks or directly on the ground, and covered with a flat stone
(lid or cover). This container is protected by a dolmen consisting of several stone
pillars supporting a large stone slab (the roof or table). The term urn-dolmen was
coined by Schneeberger (1979). The materials used generally can be found in the
vicinity of the grave, yet, in some cases they must have been carried from rather far
away. The container and its lid, as well as a number of dome-shaped dolmen roofs,
consist of medium-to-coarse-grained feldspatic sandstone of Cretaceous age. This
rock formation is found in several locations, for example, on the Ngiam River and at
Kiam Bio’. Many stone slabs which have been made into dolmen tables consist of
Cretaceous siliceous siltstones or fine-grained sandstones, found along the length of
the Bahau River. The pillars of the graves were made of whatever type of stone was
available (Sellato 1995c).
The form of the structures varies significantly. For example, the cylindrical
containers, found at Ka Tempu and Lepu’un Nyibun and reaching 1.5 m in height,
apparently had not been protected by a dolmen, but only by a stone slab as a cover.
The shape of the stone container also varies. Its mouth may be rectangular, oval, or
circular, while its bottom is round. The rectangular containers found at Long Pulung