Archaeologists unearth 9,000-year-old site in Vietnam

Archaeologists from the Vietnam Archaeology Institute and Bac Kan Museum have unearthed ancient artefacts on karst mountains in Ba Be district in the northern province of Bac Kan.

Credit: Trinh Nang Chung

At Puong Cave, inside the Ba Be National Park, they found nearly 100 stone and bone objects indicating traces of early people.

Two ancient cookers have been discovered at the excavation site but no burials have been found as expected.

Some objects were made from small stones taken from the beds of streams and rivers, which share significant similarities with tools from the Hoa Binh civilisation (12,000-10,000BC). These include oval tools and short axes.

Credit: Trinh Nang Chung

Remains of bones of pigs, monkeys, hedgehogs and deer as well as shells of oysters and snails and some nuts have been found, which archaeologists believe are remnants of food left by early people.

Archaeologists also found a rectangular stone with three round holes four centimetres apart. They have not determined its function.

According to Prof Trinh Nang Chung, head of the excavation team, the site belonged to New Stone Age Hoa Binh Civilisation residents, dating back some 8,000 to 9,000 years.

More research will be conducted at the Puong Cave in the next few months, he said.

Source: Vietnam Plus [June 20, 2019]