Borneo Schematic Now

Plagnes, V., Causse, C., Fontugne, M., & Valladas, H. (2003). Cross dating (Th/U and 14C) of calcite covering prehistoric paintings in Borneo. Quaternary Geochronology , 22(12), 1259-1265.

Dating Methods: AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal pigments (where preserved) and calcium carbonate crusts overlying/underlying pigment. Additionally, thermoluminescence (TL) dating of associated pottery shards found on shelter floors. borneo schematic

Chazine, J. M. (2005). Rock art and the 2005 archaeological mission in East Kalimantan. INQUA SEQS Conference Proceedings . Plagnes, V

The Borneo Schematic rock art tradition is a long-lived, internally coherent, and symbolically dense expression of Neolithic to Metal Age Austronesian societies in Island Southeast Asia. It is not a primitive scribble but a sophisticated visual language encoding shamanic journeying, territorial boundaries, and cosmological navigation. Future research should focus on residue analysis of pigment binders (to identify plant-based ritual substances) and expanded dating of the enigmatic boat motifs. Understanding the Schematic tradition illuminates not only prehistoric art but the spiritual and political lives of the ancestors of today’s Borneo peoples. Quaternary Geochronology , 22(12), 1259-1265

The repetitive raised-arm figure finds direct analogy among contemporary Kenyah and Iban pelian (healing ceremonies). During trance, shamans ( manang ) adopt the "bird posture" (arms upraised to mimic hornbill flight) to travel to the sky-world. Clusters of identical stick figures may represent successive trance states or the shaman’s spirit retinue.