Tham Nang Anh

DREYBRODT JOERG informations

Frédéric Urien - 23/06/2024

Cave description: ? Citation: ? Analysis: [5158]: >> survey >> shown on map [4270]: Hoabinhian site, only shown in Timetable; cave site, artefacts found -- The main chamber of 20 m x 15 m is reached 10 m further in. A stalagmite in the back of the room contains some wooden Buddha figures in a niche. The spacious passage continues for about 30 m until a shaft marks the end, the bottom of which is visible approximately 10 m deeper. The shaft was not descended due to lack of vertical gear [5158] [5448] only shown on map [6339]: long entrance passage, four inner chambers whose dimensions are respectively 6,60 x 4,50m, 4,50 x 12m, 8 x 8,50m and 16,5 x 21m.Burial jar with human bones and stone tools found. ca. 1000y B.P.; converted into a Buddhist temple some centuries ago [8682]: The oldest Lao texts are perhaps the two very similar red ochre inscriptions found in two caves, Tham Nang An and Tham Ting (Pak Ou), both near Luang Prabang (Fig. 4). The writing is close to the Sukhothai script used in the fourteenth century. We know that the stele of Rama Khamheng mentions Muang Swa―which is the old name of Luang Prabang―and it is thus possible that the realm of this famous king reached the Mekong, and that a first form of script, coming from Sukhothai, was in very limited use among the Lao. These two examples are, however, not very useful for drawing firm historical conclusions. The text of the inscriptions is very short―it is a sort of autograph―and the form of the script could in fact be a late local survivor of a type of writing that elsewhere had already evolved (Ferlus 1995: 110―114)25). [...] As examples of this script of the “Lao groups”, the first to be presented is the ancient inscription found on the wall of Nang An cave near Luang Prabang. This script is undeniably archaic, but a pre―fourteenth century origin cannot be seriously argued for it. [8997]: Two caves have been found in the Northern Luang Prabang region of Laos which exhibit some evidence of habitation. These sites, Tam Hua Pu and Tam Nang An, show only evidence of Hoabinhian habitation that was later disturbed by Neolithic burials (Sayavongkhamdy 2000). (White & Bouasisengpaseuth 2008): Fromaget conducted excavations at three cave/rockshelter sites in Luang Prabang province: Tam Pong in the Seuang basin, Tam Hang in the Khan drainage, and Tam Nang An in the right bank Mekong watershed opposite Luang Prabang town (fig. 2; Fromaget & Saurin, 1936; Saurin, 1937 & 1966). These three sites produced many noteworthy finds, including Hoabinhian deposits, partially polished tools called ‘protoneoliths’, as well as human remains....three prehistoric cave/rockshelter sites on the right bank watershed of the Mekong were excavated in 1994-1995 (Sayavongkhamdy et al., 2000). ... Tam Nang An cave produced a jar burial associated with a ground stone adze. Tam Nang An rockshelter, also excavated in the 1930s by Fromaget (Saurin, 1937), had a sequence similar to Tam Hua Pu. Even though the relationships of dated samples to cultural contexts are not published in detail, 14 C determinations from two of the cave sites range from 32,000 bp to 1010 bp (Sayavongkhamdy et al., 2000) suggesting that a complex and lengthy regional prehistory likely lies waiting to be defined through systematic archaeological research. (Lewis et al. 2015): Ceramic jars in caves are known from the local region, including buried in pits (e.g. Tham Nang An, possibly Tham Hua Pu – Sayavongkhamdy and Bellwood 2000), but there have been a very limited number of recent cave excavations focused on later prehistoric archaeology. (Imdirakpho et al. 2017): In Laos, perforated stones were described by Fromaget and Saurin (1936) as “steelyards obtained by drilling in the center of heavy discoid cobbles”. A first example of such pieces was uncovered from layers 0.2 to 1.1 m deep, in the lower Neolithic level at Tam Nang Anh. Equipment: The end shaft requires vertical gear [5158] Remarks:No. 4 in map Jörg Dreybrodt >>should be rechecked, what refers to the cave and what to the rockshelter References: -- [5448]: Anon. : Luang Prabang Environs. URL: www.ecotourismlaos.com/images/map/luangprabang/lpg… -- [4846]: Dreybrodt, J. & Laumanns, M. 2003: Der unbekannte Norden von Laos - Ergebnisse eines Erkundungsprojekts. Mitt. Verb. Dt. Höhlen- und Karstforsch. 49 (2): 38-41. -- [4847]: Dreybrodt, J. & Laumanns, M. 2003: Northern Laos Christmas 2002. Expedition to Muang Ngoy & Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. Unpublished Report, 20pp. -- [5158]: Dreybrodt, J. & Laumanns, M. (eds.) 2005: The unknown North of Laos (Karst and Caves of the Provinces Luang Phrabang and Luang Nam Tha). Berliner Höhlenkundliche Berichte 16. 105 pp & Annex. -- Imdirakphol, S.; Zazzo, A.; Auetrakulvit, P.; Tiamtinkrit, C.; Pierret, A.; Forestier, H.; Zeitoun, V. 2017: The perforated stones of the Doi Pha Kan burials (Northern Thailand): A Mesolithic singularity? Comptes Rendus Palevol 16: 351–361 -- Lewis, H.; White, J.; Bouasisengpaseuth, B. 2015: A buried jar site and its destruction: Tham An Mah cave, Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR. Pp. 72-82 & 94-97 in: N.H. Tan (Ed.): Advancing Southeast Asian archaeology 2013: selected papers from the First SEAMEO SPAFA International Conference on Southeast Asian Archaeology, Chonburi, Thailand 2013. SEAMEO SPAFA. Bangkok -- [8682]: Lorrillard, M. 2009: Scripts and History: the Case of Laos. - Senri Ethnological Studies 74: 33-49. -- [4270]: Moser, J. 2001: Hoabinhian. Geographie und Chronologie eines steinzeitlichen Technokomplexes in Südostasien. Linden Soft Verlagsges.mbH, Köln. 194pp, pls. I-LX, 1 map. -- [6339]: Sayavongkhamdy, T. & Bellwood, P. 2000: Recent archaeological research in Laos. - Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin 19 (Melaka Papers, Volume 3), 101-110. -- [8997]: Schmidt, C. 2009: Laos: Megaliths of Xieng Khouang Province. - Research Paper, unpublished. -- White, J.C.; Bouasisengpaseuth, B. 2008: Archaeology of the Middle Mekong: Introduction to the Luang Prabang Province Exploratory Survey. Pp. 36–52 in: Y. Goudineau & M. Lorrillard (Eds.): Recherches nouvelles sur le Laos - New research on Laos. Études thématiques 18. Vientiane-Paris: École française d’Extrême-Orient -- [5493]: Zillig, W. 2005: Laos 2003-04. URL: www.student.kuleuven.ac.be/~s0167070/expeditions/l…