ABSTRACT
Similar images of hominoid creatures in western Indonesia and proximate parts of Southeast Asia might be explained either by experience of common primate fauna or, in the case of the Malay Peninsula at least, cultural relatedness. As regards the wider distribution of such images in Indonesia and Malaysia and also in the southwestern Pacific (see Chapter 9), one might further consider a common Malayo-Polynesian linguistic and cultural heritage. By contrast, the occurrence of representations similar to the orang pendek or ebu gogo in more distant parts of the Asian continent challenges both cultural interpretations and explanations based on recent historical experience of known animals.
