© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2019. This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Engaging Archaeology through Performing Arts: Prospect and Challenges in Malaysia Mokhtar Saidin * and Shaiful Shahidan Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, MALAYSIA * Corresponding author: mmokh@usm.my Published online: 25 January 2019 To cite this article: Mokhtar Saidin and Shaiful Shahidan. 2019. Engaging archaeology through performing arts: Prospect and challenges in Malaysia. Wacana Seni Journal of Arts Discourse 18(Supp. 1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.21315/ws2019. 18.Supp.1.1. To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.21315/ws2019.18.Supp.1.1 ABSTRACT This paper dwells on the issues and prospects of performing arts and its context in Malaysian archaeology. The amalgamation of performing arts and scientifc archaeological data and interpretation could be further translated into diferent ideas and products. The approach of performing arts taking place as a tool to relay archaeological information is new and still scarcely used in Malaysia. The recent discovery of the Sungai Batu site at Merbok, Kedah opened up many new platforms for collaborative research especially between the felds of archaeology and performing arts. The amalgamation between the science and arts added to the wealth of knowledge about the civilisations that once fourished in the area that represented Kedah Tua (Ancient Kedah). Evidently, philosophy and culture are refected in arts and design of each and every single artefact, structure, and feature. The methodology used in this research to interpret scientifc data to the masses in an artistic manner was through theatre. Findings showed that theatre (and artistic license attached to it) as a tool of performing arts was able to informally present the interpretation of archaeological discoveries at Kedah Tua to the audience in a non-academic setting yet engaging and at the same time communicating the re-imagined stories based on the archaeological fndings in a much entertaining manner. Keywords: archaeology, performing arts, Sungai Batu site INTRODUCTION Archaeology, as a feld of study, started back in Malaysia in 1840s, when Captain James Low of the British East India Company discovered remains of human civilisation in Lembah Bujang that was dated back to the proto-historical period. Since then, precious artefacts such as glass, beads, pottery, structures, and inscriptions were unearthed by researchers and archaeologists through numerous series of excavations. The discovery of the Sungai Batu site at Merbok, Kedah by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia (CGAR USM) in 2007 added to the wealth of knowledge about the civilisations that once fourished in the area that represent the Kedah Tua (Ancient Kedah) civilisation. All these evidences signify philosophy and culture, refected in arts and design of each and every single artefact, structure, and feature. Eventually, one of the goals of archaeology is to present these data to the masses, and it should be delivered through a structured and meaningful interpretation, solely based on systematic and scientifc research of archaeological evidence. In developed countries, apart from conventional methods such as museum display and guiding, performing arts have taken place as a tool to relay this archaeological information. However, the approach is still minimally used in Malaysia. Hence, this paper will dwell on the issue and prospect of performing arts and its context in Malaysian archaeology. Latest Evidence of Ancient Kedah Kedah Tua, or Ancient Kedah was a kingdom which started to exist in the Sungai Batu Complex from the 6th BCE. The coastal area became the centre for the port-polity due to its geomorphological formation consisting of a network of wide and deep river, which enabled trading vessels to harbour near to the coastline. In addition, the area was abundant with freshwater and its biodiversity as well as rich mineral deposits.