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McAdams C, Morley MW, Fu X, Kandyba AV, Derevianko AP, Nguyen DT, Doi NG, Roberts RG. Late Pleistocene shell midden microstratigraphy indicates a complex history of human-environment interactions in the uplands of North Vietnam. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200493. [PMID: 35249386 PMCID: PMC8899622 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
North Vietnam is situated on a major route of Pleistocene hominin dispersal in East Asia, and the area's karstic caves preserve many prehistoric shell middens. Fossil and genomic evidence suggest a complex human history in this region and more widely across Southeast Asia and southern China, but related archaeological investigations are hampered by challenging site stratigraphies. Recent investigations of shell middens in other geographical settings have revealed the microstratigraphic complexity of these anthropogenic deposits. But caves promote distinctive site formation processes, while tropical climates may catalyse geomorphic and diagenetic changes. These environmental factors complicate the interpretation of North Vietnam's shell middens and constraining their effects upon the formation, preservation and destruction of these sites is critical to understanding the archaeology of this region. We examine two archaeological cave sites, dated to the Late Pleistocene and located in the limestone uplands surrounding the Hanoi Basin. Each contains multiple shell midden layers associated with prehistoric occupation and burials. Using thin-section micromorphology (microstratigraphy), we reconstruct the depositional and post-depositional histories of these sites, presenting a geoarchaeological framework of interpretation that is applicable to shell middens in mainland Southeast Asia and tropical zones more widely. This work represents a further step towards improving our understanding of prehistoric human dispersals and adaptations in this region. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conor McAdams
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia
| | - Mike W Morley
- College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia
| | - Xiao Fu
- School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China
| | - Alexander V Kandyba
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Anatoly P Derevianko
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Dong Truong Nguyen
- Vietnamese Institute of Archaeology, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Nguyen Gia Doi
- Vietnamese Institute of Archaeology, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Richard G Roberts
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia
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A worked bone assemblage from 120,000-90,000 year old deposits at Contrebandiers Cave, Atlantic Coast, Morocco. iScience 2021; 24:102988. [PMID: 34622180 PMCID: PMC8478944 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of Homo sapiens in Pleistocene Africa is associated with a profound reconfiguration of technology. Symbolic expression and personal ornamentation, new tool forms, and regional technological traditions are widely recognized as the earliest indicators of complex culture and cognition in humans. Here we describe a bone tool tradition from Contrebandiers Cave on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, dated between 120,000-90,000 years ago. The bone tools were produced for different activities, including likely leather and fur working, and were found in association with carnivore remains that were possibly skinned for fur. A cetacean tooth tip bears what is likely a combination of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic modification and shows the use of a marine mammal tooth by early humans. The evidence from Contrebandiers Cave demonstrates that the pan-African emergence of complex culture included the use of multiple and diverse materials for specialized tool manufacture.
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