Tam Nang An rock shelter

DREYBRODT JOERG informations

Frédéric Urien - 23/06/2024

History:-- Hoabinhian site [4270] -- The villagers say the main chamber of Tham Nang Anh used to be the bedroom of a girlfriend of a former king. Furthermore the villagers pointed out a rock that is shaped like an elephant foot with toes on the right side of the wall of the cave entrance. A stalagmite in the back of the main chamber contains some wooden Buddha figures in a niche [5158] Explo history: --??? excavated by Sayavongkhamdy, T. [6339] Cave description: Citation: Analysis: [4270]: Hoabinhian site, only shown in Timetable; cave site, artefacts found [6339]:half dome, 7,5m wide at the entrance, 7m deep, 6m high at entrance. during excavation 2 pits appeared, apparently from A. Fromaget in the 1930ties Hoabinian Stone tools, Human and animal bones, pottery, iron tools (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. Equipment: Remarks:probably all records of Tham Nang Anh in archaeological context refer actually to the rock shelter References: [4270]: Moser, J. 2001: Hoabinhian. Geographie und Chronologie eines steinzeitlichen Technokomplexes in Südostasien. Linden Soft Verlagsges.mbH, Köln. 194pp, pls. I-LX, 1 map. [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. [6339]: Sayavongkhamdy, T. & Bellwood, P. 2000: Recent archaeological research in Laos. - Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin 19 (Melaka Papers, Volume 3), 101-110. -- 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