Archaeological Research at Bukit Sarang Caves, Ulu Kakus, Sarawak Dr. Stephen Chia Introduction Archaeological research was carried out at Bukit Sarang Caves in Ulu Kakus, Sarawak in 2000-2003. The research, which included survey and excavations was conducted by a research team from the Centre For Archaeological Research Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang in cooperation with staff from Sarawak Museum Department and the Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia, Sarawak. The archaeological survey was carried out over a period of about one week in September 2000, followed by 3 weeks of archaeological excavations at Lubang Makuta in November 2001 and another 3 weeks of excavations at Lubang Batu Puteh in February-March 2003. This final report discusses the results of the survey, excavations and analyses of the excavated artefacts at the Bukit Sarang Caves. Bukit Sarang Caves Bukit Sarang Caves is a limestone complex located in the upper reaches of Sungai Mayeng Sarang, about 67 kilometers southeast of the town of Tatau in Bintulu, Sarawak (Map 1). The journey from Bintulu to Tatau by road, over a distance of about 120 kilometres, takes about 45 minutes. The only means of transport from Tatau to the Bukit Sarang Caves complex is to travel by longboat for about 3 hours up-river Sungai Kakus and its tributary Sungai Mayeng Sarang. Bukit Sarang Caves complex is an isolated and small limestone formation, surrounded by extensive swamps (Plate 1). The geology of the Bukit Sarang Caves complex had been studied by several geologists such as Kirk (1957), Wilford (1955, 1964), Azemi & Renggang (1999), and Dana (2001). It consists of two main limestone hills: the larger Bukit Sarang and a smaller Bukit Lebik. The Bukit Sarang Caves complex reaches about 91 metres in height at Bukit Sarang and is elongated in shape with a southeast-northwest orientation. The Bukit Sarang Caves complex is drained by underground streams, which flow into Sungai Mayeng Sarang. The presence of foraminiferal suggested an Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene age for this limestone complex (Wilford 1955, Azemi & Renggang 1999). Bukit Sarang Caves is presently very well-guarded by collectors of the edible and highly valued swiftlet nests. The descendants of the Punan have traditional rights to harvest the bird nests from Bukit Sarang Caves. The Punan communities are small and are scattered along the upper reaches of Sungai Kakus. The main population, however, are the Iban along Sungai Kakus.