Diversity or a ‘broad spectrum’ diet is a common feature within faunal assemblages during the Terminal Pleistocene and a wide variety of habitats are often exploited.
Gorman (1970) was the first to argue that SEA did not show a transition between the Pleistocene and Holocene, like the broad spectrum revolution in European assemblages.
This was based on his excavation of Spirit Cave in Thailand (Figure 3-2), which was one of the first projects in MSEA to use sieving frequently and consequently enabled a diverse range of fauna to be collected and identified. Recent reanalysis of the faunal material by Conrad et al. (2016, 18) suggests human occupation of Spirit Cave was not continuous during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. This was based on the abundance of Hipposiderid bat remains, as they do not roost in caves when humans are present.
Further, the identification of a calcined Burmese hare calcaneus suggested landscape disturbance, possibly related to forest clearing from c. 8,000 BP stimulated by humans or natural agents (Conrad et al. 2016, 19). Similarly, at Niah Cave (c. 16,000–8,400 cal.
BP, Figure 3-2) in northern Borneo people were exploiting a diverse range of fauna and adapting hunting strategies and technologies to different environmental conditions (Piper et al. 2008b; Piper and Rabett 2009; Rabett 2012; Rabett and Piper 2012). Rabett (2012, 209) posits that subsistence within the tropics is likely to have always followed a diverse pattern of exploitation as this directly reflects the environment itself. This pattern holds true for the Mid Holocene where diversity of fauna and a continued reliance on wild taxa persists, despite the introduction of domesticated animals (see section 3.6. below).
Further, Medway demonstrated that for West Mouth (Niah Cave) domestic pigs only occur in the sub-surface layers while the majority of the deposit consists of the Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus) (Piper et al. 2013b, 128). Medway’s methods were well in advance of their time and the comparative data-set he collected of bearded pig dental biometric remains the only such database for this species.
In a recent synthesis Piper (2016) traces the technological and cultural developments during the Late Pleistocene to Mid Holocene. At Niah Cave, Song Gupuh, Song Terus, Song Keplek and Goa Braholo (Figure 3-2) during the Terminal Pleistocene there is a shift to greater exploitation of arboreal taxa especially Cercopithecidae (monkeys), Viverridae (civet cats), and Pongo sp. (orangutan) (Rabett and Piper 2012; Piper 2016, 27). This shift in subsistence coincides with innovations in technology, especially bow and arrow implements produced from material such as string ray spines (Rabett and Piper 2012, 42). This is also mirrored in the assemblage of Braholo Cave, in which Amano
et al. (2015) described a marked shift in faunal composition from the Late Pleistocene to Mid Holocene. The pre-LGM and LGM assemblages were dominated by bovids and deer, while the onset of the Holocene saw a marked increase in arboreal mammals and taxa highly dependent on rainforest environments. This suggests that regionally in SEA there was an expansion of rainforest environments from c. 12,000 BP (Piper and Rabett 2009; 2014). However, both Amano et al. (2015) and Piper and Rabett (2014) emphasise that certain species were specifically targeted, such as the Javan lutang in Braholo Cave, and the bearded pig throughout Niah Caves. This dramatic change from open to forested environments would have necessitated different hunting strategies and technologies.
This change in technology throughout the region is coupled with emergence of deliberate burial of human remains and the use of animal body parts in burials (Piper 2016, 33). Further, there is a paucity of pig and monkey skulls and mandibles in the Niah Cave assemblage for no perceivable taphonomic reason, which hints at potential trophy keeping of specific elements (Piper 2016, 27). These interesting developments imply a significant change in human perceptions of the environment and human-animal relationships. Piper (2016, 36) argues the increased evidence for ritual behaviour suggests a growing emphasis on social identity. There is an interesting correlation between the massive changes in sea level and environment during the Terminal Pleistocene and the developments of new technologies and ideologies. For an in-depth discussion on implications of this changing ideology see discussion section 11.6.7.
3.3.1. The Hoabinhian
The techno-complex that has the most relevance to the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary within North Vietnam is known as the Hoabinhian. The problem of how to understand the SEA tool assemblage is apparent through the Hoabinhian lithic industry as it is characterised by low-input pebble tools especially sumatraliths (unifacial pebble tools) and short axes, and hundreds of sites occur in Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, and northern Sumatra (Figure 3-3; Reynolds 1993, 9; 2007). Similar industries also appear in Southern China, Nepal, and Australia but these are generally considered to be outliers (Hà Ván Tân 1997), and Marwick (2008b, 1191) argues there has been limited work towards understanding assemblage variation at large scales and evaluating these claims. The low-input and ‘unchanging’ nature of the Hoabinhian lithic assemblage over such a widespread area is part of the reason why Late Pleistocene archaeology in SEA
was treated as stagnate (Rabett 2011; Dennell 2014). Although Marwick (2008a, 190) argues this concept of an ‘unchanging technology’ is largely based on lithic typological classification systems, which inherently hide or compress variation into a small number of groups. Further, the idea of the Hoabinhian period itself is problematic. Since it extends over most of MSEA, designating the period as a single ‘culture’ with starting and terminating dates is dubious. With these reservations in mind, the term ‘Hoabinhian’
is still commonly used by archaeologists and is useful as a general classification for the sites.
While generally thought to be a Holocene technocomplex, the Hoabinhian is particularly rich in Vietnam from the LGM to the end of the Pleistocene (Reynolds 1993, 8). Reynolds (1993, 8) classifies the Vietnamese techno-complexes during this period in four ways: Sonvian, Ngoum, Hoabinhian, and Bacsonian; while Rabett et al. (2008, 87) add Dabutian to this list. Marwick (2008a, 111) argues that although typological differences between lithic industries are relatively clear, their historical relationship is uncertain. For instance, it is unclear whether they are divergent industries from a common ancestor, or whether they represent adaptations to different ecological conditions within a single industry (Marwick 2008a, 111).
Northern Vietnam seems to have been a concentrated area of Hoabinhian sites with Figure 3-3 The main Hoabinhian range and potential outliers (X). Estimated sea level based on previous map (Chapter two, Figure 2-2), c. 15,000 BP would have been 100 m below present.
Hoabinhian range based on White (2011, 19).
over 120 found, especially around Hoa Binh Province, from which the period derives its name (Nguyen Khac Su et al. 2004; White 2011, 25). In general, Hoabinhian sites are found in mountainous areas in caves, however, this may be a sampling bias and given the rise in sea levels, it is possible sites have been submerged underwater (White 2011, 25). The increasingly complex picture from Vietnam suggests an intensity in the use of cave and rock shelters by small groups of mobile hunter-gatherers during the Pleistocene/
Holocene transition.
3.3.2. Fauna at Hoabinhian sites
Hoabinhian sites generally show a diversity of fauna from large ungulates to shellfish. The site of Laang Spean in Cambodia shows a dominance of large wild cattle (Bos sp.) and deer as well as riverine turtles and shellfish (Forestier et al. 2015). For Bovidae and Cervidae the majority of the body is represented but vertebrae and phalanges dominate %NISP, in particular the phalanges commonly show fracture patterns indicative of marrow extraction (Forestier et al. 2015, 205). The authors argue the majority of the taxa suggest exploitation of nearby rainforest and riverine environments supplemented by large ungulate hunting (Forestier et al. 2015).
Other Hoabinhian sites show a similar diversity but a greater reliance on inland aquatic resources. One such example from Vietnam is Hang Boi cave in Ninh Binh Province, dated around the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (12,000–10,000 cal. BP; Rabett 2012, 241–2). During this time the sea level was 60–50 m lower than it is now; Hang Boi was approximately 60 km from the coast and would have been surrounded by salt marshes and lagoon landscapes (Rabett 2012, 242, 246). The faunal assemblage is predominately an inland shell midden dominated by land snails. In particular, the deposit consists of whole shells of the genus Cyclophorus, despite there being a range and abundance of other land snail taxa beyond the cave (Rabett et al. 2011, 162; Rabett 2012, 236). This land snail is still commonly consumed by Vietnamese today for medicinal purposes, the preferred method is boiling with the dregs of rice wine to improve the flavour (Rabett et al. 2011, 162). Rabett et al. (2011, 162) believe the sheer volume of the shells indicates they were of subsistence value and that boiling may have been the method of cooking.
The diversity of vertebrate fauna with butchery marks (turtles, deer, felids, pigs, and monkeys) attest to human hunting abilities at Hang Boi (Rabett et al. 2011, 162).
However, with the exception of monkeys, turtles, and fish, most of the vertebrates appear
in low frequencies. Further, the taxa represented appears to reflect change over time, with the most intensive period of occupation towards the end of the sequence. Body part representation of small to intermediate sized mammals shows that whole carcasses were being brought to the site and consumed, whereas larger animals such as pigs and deer are mainly represented by their extremities and occasionally limb and cranial elements. The absence of meat-bearing bones from large animals suggests that carcasses were never brought up to the cave or that they were subsequently removed after being butchered.
Rabett et al. (2011, 163) conclude that the faunal assemblage from Hang Boi is consistent with small-scale community employing mostly opportunistic hunting and short term site occupation, which may have been governed by reliable and seasonal peaks in the availability of land snails. The faunal remains show a reliance on local marsh or lagoon habitats but there is some evidence of contact with the coast with pierced neritid shells and fragments of Đa Bút pottery in the upper layers (Rabett 2012, 250). The limited numbers of freshwater molluscs led Rabett and colleagues (Rabett et al. 2011, 162; Rabett 2012, 251) to argue that Hang Boi is only giving a partial reflection of the subsistence landscape and hints at inter-site variability within the Hoabinhian. The comparison of Hang Boi to the large ungulate dominated assemblage of Laang Spean in Cambodia shows a similar diversity of taxa but different emphasis on particular species (shellfish, monkeys, turtles, and fish). This confirms the suggestion of inter-site variability and how the local environment and human decision-making were important factors affecting the assemblage.