The excavations were completed last month by scientists from the
Vietnam Archaeology Institute and the Russian Academy of Science at Con
Moong and Diem caves in Thach Thanh district.
"We found many animal bones, (snail, crab) shells and quartz-stone
working tools in a 14 square metre excavation pit at Con Moong cave,"
said Professor Nguyen Khac Su, a member of the excavation team.
"The 10 different layers of soil down to 9.5 metres in depth contain
traces of early humans who lived between 60,000 and 70,000 years ago.
This is one of the most intact and thickest continuously settled soil
structure found at any site in Southeast Asia”, he added.
Su said that sandwiched in the layers, fragments of bones and shells
indicated changes in global climate and the adaptation of techniques for
shaping stone tools. In some layers there were remains of animals that
lived in hot weather and in other layers, there were traces of animals
that lived in cold weather. There were also shells and bones that had
shown adaptation to changing weather patterns.
In layers reflecting the different climatical ages, the stone tools were
found to also have changed, reflecting human adaptation. As time went
by, they tended to be more well-polished, flatter and made of less
common types of stone, such as quartz.
Su said archaeologists had found a human skeleton buried in a bent,
sitting position with a hand covering the folded knees and a hand on
cheek, one of the earliest ways of burying bodies. The posture is also
that of a baby in its mother's womb. It is also similar to the way that
some ancient Aboriginal people were buried in Australia.
At nearby Diem cave, archaeologists uncovered burial sites, animal
bones, stone tools and even primitive pottery objects. The cave is
believed to have been the home of people of a different culture, because
the bodies were interred in different ways.
At Con Moong cave, human habitation was discovered in 1974, but
extensive excavations did not begin until 1976. Since 2008, Vietnamese
scientists began serious research at the site.
Russian experts joined the excavations at Con Moong and neighbouring
caves in 2010 to compile a dossier that would encourage UNESCO to
recognise the area as a World Cultural Heritage site. The joint project
will end next year.
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