157
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
M. T. Abdullah et al. (eds.), Resource Use and Sustainability of Orang Asli,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64961-6_11
A Multidisciplinary Account of the Orang
Asli in Peninsular Malaysia
Abu Talib Ahmad, Mahani Musa, Nazarudin Zainun, Nasha Rodziadi Khaw,
Hisham Atan Edinur, and Geoffrey Keith Chambers
Abstract This review aims to present contemporary scholarship relating to Orang
Asli in the context of their ancestral relationships. Its begins by drawing a clear
picture of present-day Orang Asli groups in Peninsular Malaysia, followed by a
synthetic account of Orang Asli ancestry that emerges from the fields of archaeology, anthropology, linguistics and genetics. The whole survey contains detailed
information about our own work and that of others, which together, forms the basis
of our “Genetic Layer Cake Model” for human settlement in Peninsular Malaysia.
In this review, we also present new and compelling evidence about material cultures
and beliefs to expand the original model so as to make it a more inclusive, if not yet
fully complete, account of human prehistory in Peninsular Malaysia. This new multidisciplinary account of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia not only highlights
the latest views of ancient indigenous dipersals and settlements across the region,
but also suggests how better understanding of the Orang Asli’s origins may improve
their prospects like health and socio-economic status.
Keywords Orang Asli · Semang · Senoi · Proto-Malays · Genetic layer
cake model
A. T. Ahmad · M. Musa · N. Zainun
School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
e-mail: atalib@usm.my; mahani@usm.my; naza@usm.my
N. Rodziadi Khaw
Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
e-mail: rnasha@usm.my
H. A. Edinur (*)
Forensic Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
e-mail: edinur@usm.my
G. K. Chambers
School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
e-mail: geoff.chambers@vuw.ac.nz
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
M. T. Abdullah et al. (eds.), Resource Use and Sustainability of Orang Asli,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64961-6_11
A Multidisciplinary Account of the Orang
Asli in Peninsular Malaysia
Abu Talib Ahmad, Mahani Musa, Nazarudin Zainun, Nasha Rodziadi Khaw,
Hisham Atan Edinur, and Geoffrey Keith Chambers
Abstract This review aims to present contemporary scholarship relating to Orang
Asli in the context of their ancestral relationships. Its begins by drawing a clear
picture of present-day Orang Asli groups in Peninsular Malaysia, followed by a
synthetic account of Orang Asli ancestry that emerges from the fields of archaeology, anthropology, linguistics and genetics. The whole survey contains detailed
information about our own work and that of others, which together, forms the basis
of our “Genetic Layer Cake Model” for human settlement in Peninsular Malaysia.
In this review, we also present new and compelling evidence about material cultures
and beliefs to expand the original model so as to make it a more inclusive, if not yet
fully complete, account of human prehistory in Peninsular Malaysia. This new multidisciplinary account of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia not only highlights
the latest views of ancient indigenous dipersals and settlements across the region,
but also suggests how better understanding of the Orang Asli’s origins may improve
their prospects like health and socio-economic status.
Keywords Orang Asli · Semang · Senoi · Proto-Malays · Genetic layer
cake model
A. T. Ahmad · M. Musa · N. Zainun
School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
e-mail: atalib@usm.my; mahani@usm.my; naza@usm.my
N. Rodziadi Khaw
Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
e-mail: rnasha@usm.my
H. A. Edinur (*)
Forensic Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
e-mail: edinur@usm.my
G. K. Chambers
School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
e-mail: geoff.chambers@vuw.ac.nz