Abstract

This research was conducted to determine the origin of votive tablets found in prehistoric and proto-historic site of Chawas Cave in Hulu Kelantan. The votive tablets found in Chawas Cave showed several Buddhist images which are associated with the Srivijaya Kingdom which existed from 7th century AD until 12th century AD. To determine if the votive tablets were produced by communities that lived in Hulu Kelantan, hence the study of the chemical composition of the votive tablets should be carried out. Two techniques were employed in this research, namely the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) techniques. The techniques will determine the mineral content as well as the major and trace element content of the votive tablets. Analysis showed that all the votive tablet samples have mineral known as clinochlore. Clinochlore is one of the chlorites, namely a group of phyllosilicate minerals. Chlorite is commonly found in igneous rocks as an alteration product of mafic minerals such as pyroxene, amphibole and biotite. The votive tablets were found in a cave which consisted of limestone cave formation and it showed that the votive tablets were not produced by the local community of Hulu Kelantan. Major elements also showed that the chemical composition of the votive tablets is not similar to the composition of clay samples taken from several rivers in Hulu Kelantan.

Keywords:

Chawas cave, hulu kelantan, srivijaya, votive tablet, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF),

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