From megaliths to tombstones: The transition from prehistory to the Early Islamic period in highland west Sumatra

Abstract

This article focuses on pre-European evidence for the evolution of ethnicity in the Minang area, to attempt to introduce archaeological data from the Minang region, and to put it into the context of historical evidence which has been available for some time (though it still needs much processing). Narrowing the topic further, this article discusses some aspects of the early tombstones of the Minang. Islam is one of the main components of modern Minang ethnicity, and in the tombstone the transition from pre-Islamic to Islamic period is most clearly visible. © 2004 Editors, Indonesia and the Malay World.