Curriculum Vitae

DR. SAW CHAW YEH

Senior Lecturer
  • Department of Anthropology and Sociology
    Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
  • chawyehsaw
  • 03-79675706

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Saw Chaw Yeh is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Universiti Malaya. With a background in archaeology, art history, and anthropology, her research focuses on anthropological archaeology, particularly rock art studies. She has led surveys and documentation of rock art sites across Peninsular Malaysia, exploring their cultural significance and historical connections to local communities and the wider Southeast Asian region.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • ARCHAEOLOGY OF HUNTER-GATHERED SOCIETIES (INCLUDING PLEISTOCENE ARCHAEOLOGY)
    Social Sciences, Archeology And Museology, Archaeological Science ()
  • CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
    Social Sciences, Anthropological Studies, Anthropology

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION

  • PHD IN ARCHAEOLOGY, (ARCHAEOLOGY TECHNOLOGY)
    Universiti Sains Malaysia (usm)
  • POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ASIAN ART WITH DISTINCTION, (ART HISTORY)
    Soas University of London
  • BACHELOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCES WITH HONOURS (ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY), (Anthropology / Sociology)
    Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (ukm)

ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES

  • Course Coordinator
    01 Jun 2025 - 31 May 2026 (University Malaya)

PUBLICATIONS

Article in Journal
  1. Goh, H. M., Bakry, N., Saidin, M., Curnoe, D., bin Zukipli, A. S., Saw, C. Y., … Abdul Jalal, A. F. (2021). Preliminary Technological and Functional Studies of the Neolithic Stone Reaping Knives from West Malaysia: An Experimental Approach. Ethnoarchaeology, 13(1–2), 59–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/19442890.2022.2071788
  2. Saw, C.Y., Goh, H.S. (2022). The newly discovered indigenous rock art from the Kinta Valley, West Malaysia. Rock Art Research. 39(1), 69-82
  3. Goh, H. M., Bakry, N., Saidin, M., Shahidan, S., Curnoe, D., Saw, C. Y., … Kiew, Y. M. (2020). The Palaeolithic stone assemblage of Kota Tampan, West Malaysia. Antiquity, 94(377), e25. doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.158
  4. Goh, H. M., Saw, C. Y., Shahidan, S., Saidin, M., & Curnoe, D. (2019). Community heritage engagement in Malaysian archaeology: A case from the prehistoric rock art site of Tambun. Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, 6(2), 110–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/20518196.2019.1579405
  5. Goh, H. M., Shahidan, S., Saidin, M., Curnoe, D., Mendoza, R., Adler, L., Saw, C. Y., ... Abdullah, J. (2019). Revisiting the 3000-year-old Neolithic burial ground of Gua Harimau, West Malaysia. Archaeol. Res. Asia 18 (June), 120–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2019.05.001
Books
  1. Saw, C. Y. (2023). Kinta Valley Rock Art: An Introduction. Clarity Publishing.
Chapter in Books
  1. Saw, C.Y., Goh, H.M., and Saidin, M. (2020). A Preliminary Study into the Ancestral Link of Orang Asli in Perak to Tambun Rock Art, Perak, Malaysia. In K.K. Eng (Ed.), Archaeology in Malay Archipelago and Beyond (pp.41-64). Pulau Pinang: Penerbit USM.
Article in Proceeding
  1. Saw, C.Y., and Goh, H.M. (2024). Rock art of Perlis, West Malaysia. In N. H. Tan (Ed.), Papers from the SPAFA IPPA Publication “From Megaliths to Maritime Landscapes: Perspectives on Indo-Pacific Archaeology (pp. 83–96). SEAMEO SPAFA Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts.
  2. Saw, C. Y., & Goh, H. M. (2021). The rock art in Kinta Valley, West Malaysia: A synthesis. In N. H. Tan (Ed.), Papers from the SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology and Fine Arts (pp. 114–130). SEAMEO SPAFA Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts.
  3. Saw, C.Y., Goh, H.M., and Saidin, M. (2016) Gua Tambun Prehistoric Rock Art: A Social Perpective. In Tan (Ed.), Advancing Southeast Asian Archaeology 2016: Selected Papers from the Second SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology, Bangkok, Thailand 2016 (pp. 223-234).

RESEARCH INTEREST

  • Archaeology (rock art; public archaeology; community engagement; museology)
  • Anthropology (human-landscape interaction; symbols and meanings; visual anthropology)
  • Art History (Southeast Asian art; Indian art; Chinese art)

RESEARCH PROJECT

Private
  1. 2023 - 2024, Private Funding
    Time Traveller: GeoQuest ( Principal Investigator(PI))

PAPER PRESENTED

INVITED SPEAKER
  1. Management of Heritage in Malaysia, Public Lecture series, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Andalas (International) (20 Aug 2025 - 20 Aug 2025)

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACTIVITIES

  • Panel Untuk Perbincangan Berkenaan Memperkasakan Komuniti, Mengembangkan Pendidikan Komuniti dan Kurikulum Di Negeri Perak, Dengan Fokus Utama Bagaimana Produk Komuniti Yang Lahir Daripada Inisiatif Pendidikan Ini Dapat Menyumbang Secara Signifikan Kepada Pendidikan Sepanjang Hayat Untuk Warga Tempatan dan Semua Peringkat., (05 Jul 2025 - 05 Jul 2025) (National)
  • Penceramah Luar Bagi Aktiviti Lawatan Sambil Belajar Gua Tambun, (01 Jun 2025 - 01 Jun 2025) (National)