PREAMBLE: VOICES FROM THE PAST
We have an extraordinary region in Southeast Asia, which is yet less known, and appear mystical to the rest of the world. But as we engage deeper into the past, speculations abound that it could have possibly been one of the cradles of human civilisation. Twelve thousand years ago, during the last ice-age, when the sea level was 130m below current level and much of the world was inhospitably frozen, the Southeast Asian landmass was at least double its present size with a single landmass.
The land was filled with rivers, rich in flora and fauna, with the equator cutting through the centre of the landmass.
Many centuries later, after the melting of the ice, water covered fifty percent of the land,with ridges and mountains becoming the new land forms. Water rose gradually over centuries and the people mastered the art and science of water navigation.
