There are presently two chronological systems for Hoabinhian in Vietnam :

·         The classical system began with discovery and research of french scholars on Hoabinhian since about eighty years ago, which based on geo-palaeontological dating methods. The yellow pleistocene sediment as ground of somes hoabinhian sites as well as the lack of major representatives of south chinese pleistocene fauna “ pongo-stegodon-ailuropoda” in the bone remains of hoabinhian sediments are reasons of the dating Hoabinhian to Holocene. The date of around 10.000 years BP of the border from QIII to QIV is considered as the date beginning of Hoabinhian. Since 60’s years, somes samples collected from hoabinhian sites were radiocarbon dated. Such dates confirm the classical hoabinhian chronology; they spread from round 10.000 BP to later (table 1). In Vietnam, the excavation at the Con Moong cave in 1976 was considered the best chronology for pebble tools cultures in Vietnam from Sonvian throuth Hoabinhian to Bacsonian, in which the ZK-340 dated 9905 + 150 BP was considered the beginning of Hoabinhian and two dates ZK-339: 11090 + 185 BP and Bln-1713 II: 11840 + 75 BP represented for Sonvian (Hoang Xuan Chinh, 1977; Nguyen Khac Su, 1977, Pham Huy Thong, 1980, Pham Huy Thong et al.,1990).

·         The Xom Trai system isnamed after a hoabinhian cave, which located in the valley Muong Vang , district Lac Son , province Hoa Binh . The site was excavated firstly in 1981 ( Nguyen Van Binh, 1981) . The excavators and almost other researchers , through studing typology of stone tools, considered it as a Colani’s best typical middle and late hoabinhian site (Hoang Xuan Chinh, ed. 1989). The Xom Trai chronological system is descended from the studio radiocarbon datings for the samples, those were collected best systematically by the author of this paper at the excavations in Xom Trai in 1982 and 1986 (fig.1) (Nguyen Viet et al, 1982 ; Nguyen Viet, 1988). From cultural sediment we found a lot of chared crusts of a fruit seen similar as walnut or one of juglans sp. (fig.2). In first time we got in a vietnamese hoabinhian site 14C-samples of charcoal. Twelty 14C-dates spread from 18.500 BP to 16.000 BP (table 2). In the same valley there are more two other hoabinhian sites : rockshelter Lang Vanh , where french archaeologist M.Colani excavated in 1929 (Colani, 1929) , and cave Xom Tre (map 1). Both sites have tool-complex similar as Xom Trai. In order to examine the results of radiocarbon datings in Xom Trai we collected in each site one sample from shells of stream snail melania sp. The dates are older than 16.000 BP supporting the Xom Trai 14C-datings. It’s clear, that a late pleistocene hoabinhian living way, a cool Hoabinhian was existing during Last Glacial Maximum.

 

 

In 1986 we made a test excavation of two squar meters at the cave Con Moong and found from 3,5m depth cultural sediment a lot of dryed and chared plant remain as well as animal bones, but only two flaked pebble tools and one Da But ceramic fragment. Fifteen new 14C-datings, of which almost come from samples of chared nut crusts of castanopis-like and of chared fragments of fruitstones canarium sp. supported the 14C-datings from the excavation 1976.   Through this test excavation and through re-studing on stone artifacts of excavation 1976, I donn’t believe to the cultural chronology sugessted by the excavators of 1976. That means, I donn’t see that here occurs really a level of Sonvian (basing on only somes sonvian technologically like pebble tools and end-pleistocene 14C-dates) located “under the level of Hoabinhian“, as well as a level of Bacsonian located above on the hoabinhian level (basing on the finding edge polishing stone tools in upper layers). The so-called hoabinhian tools found here, eventually, aren’t typical. The sonvian-like tools and the egde polishing tools aren’t enough to confirm the existing of Son Vi culture and Bac Son culture in Con Moong. In the real hoabinhian sediments man found usually sonvian-like tools as end-chopper, side chopper , quatrial pebble mixing with the typical hoabinhian tools and they became a part of hoabinhian tool-comlex. In her publications, Colani considered them as representatives of Hoabinhian I. The edge polishing tools, after nowaday knowledge, belong to a typical stone type of hoabinhian typology and their dates, in somes case, are very old (Nguyen Van Viet, 1989; Nguyen Van Binh, 1992). The real sonvian tools (made almost of quarzit pebble) collected on the surfaces of hills or ancient river terras didn’t exist in the same time with sonvian-like tools (made of porfirit, rhyolit, spilit and mostly basalt, diabaze pebble) found in the hoabinhian cave sediments. Theirs date was very old, maybe more than 40.000 BP. The Con Moong cave, after my opinion, belonged to Hoabinhian and represented a hoabinhian untypical tool complex in late phase of hoabinhian living way devolopment.

 

 

In the global climate context, the Last Glacial Maximum was at around 18.000 BP. Our studies (Nguyen Viet et. al, 1988, Nguyen Viet, 1993) evidenced a cool and moist (with strong rainfall) climate during hoabinhian occupation at Xom Trai area. The local temperature estimated about 5 C – 7 C cooler than today. Any canarium chared fragments was seen in sediment of that time (the canarium was found in this area at first since 11.000 BP at Hang Muoi), instead of many chared crusts of walnut or juglans-like fruit - a cool and moist liked tree. Those chared crusts were found at Xom Trai so much that they are enough to use as materials for radiocarbon dating (fig. 2). The same chared crusts were collected from the excavation 1986 in Mai Da Dieu, where they were directly 14C-dated at 19.000 BP. From the 14C-shell sample collected at hoabinhian rockshelter Lang Vanh we found also a chared fragment of this fruit crust. The shell sample was dated 16.500 BP. The last existing of this fruit crust was seen in Dong Can. The 14C-dating from other material in the same layer is older than 11.000 BP.

 

At the excavation 1986 in Xom Trai we recoveried a fireplace (fig. 3). This fireplace located at the corner of cave in order to save from wind. The thickness of ash is over 1-m suggested the longtime using of hoabinhian occupators in a cool climate condition.

 

Researching the surfaces of shells melania sp.collected in Xom Trai, I recognized that they were destroyed always by thrusting with stream rollstones (fig.4). It evidenced the influences of floot caused by usual strong rainfalls. The strong running of floot water caused the pushing of snails to rollstones and destroyed their surface. This event suggested a strong rainfall period in Muong Vang valley during 18.500 to 16.000 BP. It is in contrary to the traditional theory, which estimates a dry period during Last Glacial Maximum in Vietnam.

 

The warm Hoabinhian in Vietnam could be seen at the Con Moong upper layers - since 9500 BP (fig.5), where occurs a lot of chared fragments of canarium fruitstone. The canarium sp. charactered for the warm and moist liked tropical modern flora. This plant grows today wildly or cultived in the regions, where the Hoabinhian distributed. In the south and southeast asian context, this fruit were found firstly perhaps since 12.500 BP (Kajale,1989) and it was found populary from hoabinhian sediments. The warm Hoabinhian could beginn at this time in all Sunda continent. The finding of many hundreds fragments of crab crust ranguna kimboinesis Dang sp. as well as thousands of shells melania and cyclophorus per each cubit meter of Con Moong sediment showed the local moist phase dated from 9500 to 8500 BP with a peak at 9200 BP.

 

In the lower layers of Con Moong sediment (from the depth of 2,3 m we didn’t see any fragment of canarium, instead many chared crust fragments of chesnut or castanopis- like, a mild moist climate liked tree. Some of them were used as material to radiocarbon dated (samples Bln.3806, 3485 and 3807). The dates spread from 12.000 to 10.000 BP. In the hoabinhian cave Dong Can, these fragments were excavated at the layers of 11.500 years BP. Sometimes they could be seen in the Xom Trai chared plant comlex. The strong increasing quantities of land snail shells and crab remains at layers B1b, B2a, B2b, B3a and B3b of the excavation 1986 at Con Mong evidenced a moist phase of 11.500-10.000 BP with a peak at 10.500 BP.

 

Table 3 shows a combination between the hoabinhian14C-chronology and plant remains chronology, in which it’s very clear that the chared walnut or juglans-like crusts dominated from 19.000 to 16.000 BP. The chared nut crusts of castanopis-like were seen at most quantity during 12.000 to 10.000 and the fruit stone of canarium sp. began at 11.000 BP, but dominated only since 9.500 BP. Both chronologies support another and confirm a trust, that there was a typical hoabinhian group charactered by the hoabinhian occupators at Xom Trai, Xom Tre and Lang Vanh in the valley Muong Vang during the Last Glacial Maximum from 18.500 to 16.000 BP. One of their major plant foods was a nut, crusts of which were usually chared. The warmering of global climate after 18.000 BP resulted changing in the local flora. At Con Moong, during 12.500 to 8.000 BP we didn’t find any remains of juglans-like, instead almost castanopis-like in lower part and canarium in upper part of sediment. The strategy of hoabinhian plant food changed also under influences of global climatic sequences.

 

 

 

The hoabinhian living depended clousely on environmental conditions. The ancient peoples had many chances to choose everywhere corresponding to their living way, in which the most importances were weather conditions, water-/ food- sources and material sources to make tools. The first to choose was, naturally, where occur best geological conditions. The advantages in geological condition made usually the “richness” of those first prehistoric occupators. Their food remains as well stone artifacts retained in their rest places are best evidences to confirm it. The “richness” in the Palaeolithic hintered moving life and enabled to settle relative long their rest “houses”, led to increase populations. Such hoabinhian country will be considered as Homeland of Hoabinhian.

 

The comparation of the richness and the poorness between hoabinhian sites presented on this paper basing on statistic quantities of stone tools and food sources collected by the author through somes test excavations carried out during 1982 to 1987 in Xom Trai, Con Moong and Sung Sam. Materials from Dong Can and Mai Da Dieu , those were excavated by vietnamese and bulgarish archaeologists in 1986 and 1988, will be used as comparative sources.

 

 

There were very few hoabinhian sites as Xom Trai, where cultural sediment contains so much stone finds. The test excavation 1982 born 311 pebble tools and 592 flakes in a squar meter with depth of 2,4m. The excavation 1986 on 6-squar meters with the medium depth of 1,5 m got more than 800 pebble artifacts and round 2000 flakes. On an average there were in each cubic meter round 100 pebble artifacts corresponding to a weight of 30 kg. This situation could be seen at Lang Vanh. Everywhere on the today surface we can find easy hoabinhian tools. In 1926, Colani excavated here 951 pebble tools. Compairing to the results of test excavation 1986 at Con Moong, in medium we got only1 pebble tools and 29 flakes per each cubic meter. The excavation 1976 in the same site on round 60-squar meter, medium depth 2,5 m only 71 pebble artifacts and 76 flakes were found. From the excavation 1986 at Dong Can man found in 20-squar meters and average depth 1,5m only 38 pebble artifacts and 1220 flakes (Nguyen Van Binh,1987). A study on stone sources of hoabinhian occupations can help to explain this situation.

 

Almost of material used for hoabinhian stone industry are pebbles of porphyrit, rhyolit, spilit, basalt and diabaze. The map 2 presents the distribution of stone sources, those were used almost by the Hoabinhian pepbles. The yellow areas show the formation Vien Nam belonging to permi upper/trias lower (P1-T2) system, origined from magma with thickness of more than 800 m in Ba Vi area (northern part) and 1600 m in Kim Boi area (southern part), which contains spilite intercalated with thin beds of porphiritic basalt, porphiritic diabase, albitophyre. In central of this formation at Kim Boi located a big mass of granitoid intrusion (in braun colour). It cut across and metamorphosed into hornfels the mafic effusive rocks of the Vien Nam formation. This mass is chiefly composed of biotit granit, porphyroid fine grained two micas granite. In the western mass occurs a part mixing rhyolite porphyry (Tran Duc Luong ed.,1978). Almost hoabinhian sites were found in the distribution of the Vien Nam formation, but concentrated in the southern part, where the Vien Nam formation and mass Kim Boi built a big mountainous massif of over 1000 m hight. Bording the foot of this massif exist a lot of valleys, which were formated by hundreds big and small streams transporting materials from the massif downwards. Such valleys grounds are covered usually by some metres thick pebble beds. After each rain season they have a new surface with million pebbles in different forms and sizes (fig.7, 8). Living on such environment the hoabinhians oriented their stone technology majority on choosing and selecting of pebbles coresponding to form and size of tool and then on edge making. In other palaeolithic stone industries, many flaking works would be used to form a tool before making the working egde. The nature gave hoabinhians the readily forming pebbles. It hindered the devolopment of stone working techniques and established a tradition with undevoloped flaking technology, instead of with very early devolopment of egde polishing technique. Some experiments making hoabinhian tools at the Xom Trai pebble field, where is only 100 m far from the cave, show the simplicity of producing a hoabinhian tool (Doan Duc Thanh, 1984 & 1986) (fig.9). That explains, why the hoabinhian occupators at Xom Trai and Lang Vanh retained so much typical pebble artifacts and on contrary, why the stone tools in Con Moong, Dong Can were found so rarely and looked so bad.

 

The richness of Xom Trai hoabinhian can be recognized from food sources. We will observe it under comparativelly researching on fauna and plant remains, those collected through sieving all excavated sediment. Hoabinhian fauna evidences consisted almost from animal bones and teeth; shells of moluscs as snail, bivalves; crusts of some articulate and repetile animals as rock crabs or tortoises. Studing materials excavated at Sprite Cave (Thailand) Ch. Gorman recognized the large spectrum huntering and collecting in hoabinhian food strategy (Gorman, 1971). Our studies at Xom Trai and Con Moong recoveried some focus orientations at the hoabinian food strategy.

 

There was an absolut dominance of one art of chared plant remains in each time spread. In Xom Trai, the juglans-like dominated during 18.500 to 16.000 BP, in Con Moong, the castanopis-like during 12.000 to 9.500 BP and the canarium during 9.500 to 8500 BP. In the animal food sources occured the dominance of snails (rock- or stream snail depending on occupation environment). In test excavation of Xom Trai 1982 we collected 142.452 shells (98% belongs to melania), in medium round 47.000 shells per cubic meter sediment. 142.452 snails could be estimed 238 kg edible snail meat. In the same sediment mass we got 15 kg animal bone coresponding to 105,63 kg edible meat (Nguyen Viet, 1990). With same excavation method we counted at Con Moong site only round 10.000 shells (60% cyclophorus, 40 % melania) and at Sung Sam site round 9.000 shells per cubic meter cultural sediment. Studing the living conditions of different hoabinhian sites we can confirm the existing of rich Hoabinhians and poor Hoabinhians.

 

The Muong Vang valley had an ideal geological condition for hoabinhian life. This valley is arounded by a curve of 300 – 400 m hight mountains, which are covered by felarite humus . It was formated by thee big streams transporting pebbles and humus from Kim Boi massif downwards. The streams replied stone materials, water and mollusc food for hoabinhians. The felarite humus mountains were natural gardens, where the hoabinhians collected plant and animal foods. It became an ideal homeland for the first hoabinian occupators in this area. Fig. 10 shows the distribution of food remains on the geological catchement with radius of 5-km from central point in Xom Trai cave.

 

 

After present knowlegde, Xom Trai cave is considered the earlest and best typical hoabinhian site. In comming years we will carry out the surveys following streams which spring from mountain massif of Vien Nam formation, specially, from Kim Boi massif with hope to find some sites, which are similar as Xom Trai or earlier than Xom Trai. The distribution map of Hoabinhian (map 2) shows that almost of hoabinhian sites (Con Moong, Hang Dang, Sung Sam, Dong Can, Mai Da Dieu and Hang Chua), which belong to classical chronological system, located relativ far from center of the hoabinhian stone source. Such sites represented for the poor hoabinhians. It suggests an increasing of quantities of hoabinhian sites at the change from Pleistocene to Holocene.

 

The paradisiac condition in a “gold valley” as Muong Vang caused seemly the devolopment of hoabinhian populations. At Xom Trai cave, for example, the traces of original hoabinhian sediment, which stayed on the limestone wall to 2 m higher than present surface, suggested that the hoabinhian occupation continued longtimely after 16.000 BP. We found here in the disturbed upper layers the chared fruitstones of canarium and somes Da But ceramic fragments. They are evidences for such later occupation. The case of Hang Muoi is a good example for later hoabinhian increasing in the homeland region.    

 

Hoabinhian site Hang Muoi ( “salt” cave) located on the southwest boundary of Kim Boi massif. Stone comlex excavated here is very like to Xom Trai, Lang Vanh. The14C-date 10.700 BP for upper layer permits to estimate the earliest occupation at this cave at about 12.000 – 13.000 BP. That means, the Xom Trai living way increased further in somewhere occuring same environmental condition. Such hoabinhian sites belonged to “the typical openning Hoabinhians”. 

 

The further openning of hoabinhian occupations to other areas, where are more far from stone source, might evidence a devolopment of hoabinhian under influence of population increasing. Those hoabinhian peoples lived in some more difficult conditions, sometimes in very hight caves (Con Moong, Sung Sam). They retained usually relativ poor and bad looked or seemly primitiv stone tools. The case of Con Moong is the best example for those hoabinhians. I will denominate them as “the untypical openning Hoabinhians”.

 

In the hoabinhian openning movement there was some hoabinhians, who oriented food strategy to the gathering mollusc living in swamp and lake condition. Their remains built openair “koekenmoedings” nearby traditional hoabinian valley regions. That is the case of Da But site. This site located in lower part of river Buoi, which springs from Kim Boi massif, where Xom Trai, Lang Vanh located. The first hoabinhian occupation at Da But happened maybe at 8.000 – 9.000 years BP. The hoabinhian tried here a new living way in a new environmental condition. They used traditionally porphyrit, spilit, rhyolit, basalt pebbles of river Buoi, those were transported from Kim Boi massif. Mollusc living in fresh water was used traditionally as major animal food, but not snails instead of bivalve corbicular. However, the hoabinhian in Da But didn’t live in caves or rockshelter, but in cottages or simple houses. The wood or bambus working became intensiver than before. Edge polishing tools used limited in traditional hoabinhian living way became more requested in Da But living way. Da But ceramic was seen rarely in hoabinhian cave sediment, but in Da But they were found usually. The Da But living way requested using more ceramic than before. In hoabinhian cave sediments, it’s relativ rarely to see hoabinhian burials. The moving life in the mountains hintered the hoabinhian to have burial field. In Da But, the deads were buried usually nearby cottages or houses. That evidenced a living way in settlement. With Da But new living way the hoabinhian had an open door to the neolithic (Nguyen Viet, 1984).

 

 

The picture of anterior hoabinhian is relativ multicolour. Traditional theory links it to Son Vi culture. As writen above, I donn’t accept the datings for Son Vi culture, therefore, donn’t accept the direct evolution from this culture to Hoabinhian. After my opinion, there are today three sites, which might take part on borning hoabinhian: Tham Khuong cave, Nguom rockshelter and Dieu rockshelter (Mai Da Dieu). In Tham Khuong (province Lai Chau), hoabinhian tools were found everywhere in cultural layers mixing with sonvian-like or early Tham Khuong typical tools. The 14C- and ESR-dates in lower level spread from 33.000 to 28.000 BP and in middle level at 15.000 BP. At Nguom (province Thai Nguyen), the level II and III, which contain hoabinhian-like tools and few sonvian-like tools mixing with some flake tools, existed from 23.000 to 19.000 BP. Before that time man found a real flake tools complex in level I and called it “Nguom industry”. At Dieu rockshelter (province Thanh Hoa), the hoabinhian-like tools were seen during 24.000 to 8.000 BP. Before it man found a quarzit pebble tools comlex with estimated date of 30.000 to 24.000 BP (Nguyen Gia Doi, 1999). Studing on such tool comlexes, I think that Tham Khuong comlex is more near to typical hoabinhian tools than Mai Da Dieu, and both sites could take part to form the typical hoabinhian, which charactered by Xom Trai, Lang Vanh group. Nguom site might take part significantless on devoloping of hoabinhian.

 

 

Tham Khuuong cave was excavated in 1974. The sediment was divided in two levels determinated by colour and occur of snail shells. The excavator didn’t see differences in stone artifacts between layers. After him, the pebble tools comlex Tham Khuong belongs to late Hoabinhian (basing on the finding of some edge polishing pebble tools in all depth of excavation area) (Chu Van Tan, 1976). Ten years later, basing on the occur of sonvian-like, he dates this site to early Hoabinhian (Chu Van Tan, 1984). One sample of shell cyclophorus sp. collected in the lower level (fig. 11) was dated in the radiocarbon and ESR laboratory Berlin spread from 33.000 to 28.000 BP (Nguyen Viet, 1989; Goersdoft, 1989). Influencing of hard traditional chronological frame almost Vietnamese archaeologists didn’t use those dates. In 1992 Nguyen Khac Su made here a test excavation and got a new cochilien sample at the depth 1,5m (after collector, this sample located in middle layer, considers younger than the last sample 1974). The date messured by the Hochiminh city 14C-laboratory is 15.000 years old (Ha Van Tan ed., 1998).

 

In 1986, I had two weeks working at theTham Khuong tool comlex achived in Institute of Archaeology Hanoi and reconized that this complex belonged to early Hoabinhian with somes sonvian-like artifacts. The best remarkable tools group of Tham Khuong is the three edges choppers / or scrapers (fig. 12). This group differs Tham Khuong sonvian-like tools from real openair Sonvian and hamonizes technologically with Hoabinhian. The sonvian-like tools found in Tham Khuong were used by some researchers (with the same methodology as they analized tool complex of Con Moong 1976) as evidence of the exsisting of Son Vi culture at Tham Khuong. The 14C-dates for Tham Khuong, therefore, were considered as the beginning of Son Vi culture in Vietnam (?!).   In fact, I think somes of the openair Sonvian sites is older than Tham Khuong. Tham Khuong didn’t belong to Sonvian, but to Hoabinhian with many early hoabinhian technological characters (Nguyen Viet, 1988, 1990 ; can see also in Nguyen Van Binh, 1990). 

 

     

Hoabinhian could be seen in some very early cultural sediment as the case at Tham Khuong. Hoabinhian existed also in very late time, untill late Neolithic, Metal Age, and eventualy till Middle Age. Hoabinhian presented very rich life at some sites (as Xom Trai, Lang Vanh, Da Phuc) and in contrary very poor at other sites (as Con Moong, Sung Sam, Dong Can). The research on Hoabinhian as well as on other pebble tool palaeolithic cultures in Vietnam cann’t use simply a monoline typology. It’s lack in Vietnam present the standard excavations, which permit to make the believable chronologies for each local region, each time spread, each local or cultural variant. The excavations at Xom Trai (1982, 1986) and Con Moong 1986 exposed new materials to interpret more detail on the multicolour hoabinhian picture. The Xom Trai remains complex can consider as a standard one in researching on Hoabinhian. The homeland of Hoabinhian in Vietnam could be the valleys in the foot beds of Vien Nam formation massif Kim Boi since round 20.000 years ago (map 2, larger circle). The valley Muong Vang, after today knowlegde, might be the nucleur of this homeland with its representatives as Xom Trai, Lang Vanh.

 

 

Dr. Nguyen viet

Center for South East Asian Prehistory

96/203 Hoang Quoc Viet st.

Cau Giay – Ha Noi

Vietnam.

E’mail: dr.nguyenviet@hn.vnn.vn

 

 

 

 

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