Payang (Pangium edule) Pengolahan (Processing): Using Experimental Archaeology to Understand the Archaeobotanical Record at Liang Jon, East Kalimantan, Borneo

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Advances in Macrobotanical and Microbotanical Archaeobotany, Part II" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Liang Jon is a limestone rockshelter situated within the Batu Gergaji range located in Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat karst. In 2019, excavations revealed a rich archaeological sequence with a wide range of macrobotanical remains, including Pangium edule Reinw. (payang) endocarps. Payang is an important botanical resource to indigenous groups across Island South East Asia and is extremely toxic due to high concentrations of cyanogenetic glycosides. While historic accounts establish poison leaching techniques, these lack detail around the processing sequence helpful for archaeobotanical inquiry. In collaboration with Dayak Kenyah man Stepanus Gung we developed the Payang Proyek to document step-by-step use of payang; from locating trees, plant collection, through to processing, and consumption, as well as uses for medicine, poison extraction, and other plant-based technologies. Comparison of experimental remains with archaeological fragments recovered from Liang Jon suggest that archaeological remains can be attributed to particular stages in the processing sequence. Our findings demonstrate that payang collection and processing was an important socioeconomic activity carried out at Liang Jon over at least the past 10,000 years with ecological knowledge and techniques maintained and practiced by indigenous communities today.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Advances in Macrobotanical and Microbotanical Archaeobotany, Part II   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40071.0