Research data and code supporting 'Exploring Prehistoric Behavioral Responses to Environmental Change at Tràng An, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam'

Mid-Holocene coastline reconstruction from geomorphological sea level indicators in the Tràng An World Heritage Site, Northern Vietnam

“…Between 2007 and 2014 the Tràng An Archaeological Project (Rabett et al, 2009(Rabett et al, , 2011 conducted a targeted assessment of three prehistoric cave sites within the massif. Most recently, SUNDASIA (2016-2021) has been investigating human adaptation to cycles of sea transgression and regression during the past 60 ka (Rabett et al, 2017a;Utting, 2017;Rabett et al, 2019;Stimpson et al, 2019;O'Donnell et al, 2020) (Figure 2). 2020) 2 ) after Boyd and Lam (2004) 3 ) after UNESCO (2014a).…”

“…The recovery of perforated neritid shells from three archaeological cave sites in the massif implies, however, that while there is negligible evidence for marine resource use onsite prior to the Mid-Holocene, long-standing links appear nonetheless to have existed with the coast, extending back to as early as c. 17 ka cal BP (Rabett et al, 2019). Changes in the range of lithic raw materials utilised through time, from greater diversity before the LGM to reduced diversity thereafter (Phan, 2014;Utting, 2017), also hints that greater mobility may have been a feature of late Pleistocene communities; a contention that finds further support from preliminary lithic provenancing work and geological survey (Nguyen et al, 2012b). As such, the hunter-gatherer groups that frequented Tràng An may also have incorporated sites along the palaeo-coast in their annual or super-annual movements.…”

“…LGM suggest major shifts in site use or occupation associated with lowering sea levels (e.g. Utting, 2017). There are no known outcrops of igneous rock in the general vicinity of Tràng An, and various sources place the closest igneous outcrops between 50 and 80 km from the landscape complex (Nguyen et al 2012b, Tran, T.V., pers.…”