Malaysia can be regional hub carbon dating analysis

SUNGAI PETANI: Malaysia can be a regional hub for carbon dating analysis for archaeological artefacts if it is able to build a high quality radiocarbon dating laboratory, says experts.

Lecturer in Archaeological Studies at Silpakorn University, Thailand, Dr Pira Venunan said building a carbon dating laboratory for archaeological research would be a viable option for Malaysia.

“You now have the earliest (historical) site in the region and so, if you can have your own carbon dating laboratory, you will have a lot of work to do.

“Not only can you analyse artefacts from within Malaysia, but also from other countries in the region. Instead of sending our artefacts to China, Australia or the United States, we can send them to you and it will be much cheaper,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Kedah Tua International Conference conference here.

The two-day conference, which ended today, highlighted not only the Kedah Tua or Old Kedah civilisation and its significance in Southeast Asia, but also discussed global archaeology.

According to Pira, the date of artefacts is one of the crucial information in the field of archaeology as it can help to link the artefacts to human history, which can be dated back to as early as 100,000 years ago.

“If we do not know the dates, we cannot link the artefacts to human history and looking at Asean in general, we have new archaeological evidences found everyday. So yes, we do need a carbon dating laboratory here in the region,” he added.

Sharing similar views as Pira, Universitas Indonesia’s archaeological expert Professor Agus Aris Munandar said Malaysia must have a carbon dating laboratory for carbon dating analysis so that neighbouring Asean countries could use it as a hub to process their artefacts.

“For an archaeologist, the important thing is to get the decision on chronology. If we can get the chronological information about an artefact or a site, it will be easier to continue the research.

“In Indonesia, we have a simple carbon dating machine but not a very good one. If Malaysia has its own carbon dating laboratory, perhaps Indonesia can do the carbon dating analysis here and this can be a good platform to strengthen both nations’ friendship,” he said.

Meanwhile, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Director of Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Professor Dr Mokhtar Saidin said it was imperative to have the scientific laboratories if Malaysia wished to be on par with developed nations.

“Malaysia has yet to have a radiocarbon dating laboratory and experts in the field of carbon dating. Without these kind of laboratories, we will not be able to produce human capital who are experts in this field.

“This could be a huge loss to our country as we have a lot of archaeological sites, with excavation works and research still ongoing,” he noted.

Explaining further on the matter, Mokhtar said because there are no radiocarbon experts and laboratories in the country, the learning modules at universities for archaeological studies are only delivered theoretically.

– BERNAMA