Tropical limestone forest resilience and late Pleistocene foraging during MIS-2 in the Tràng An massif, Vietnam

Rabett, Ryan; Ludgate, Natalie; Stimpson, Christopher; Hill, Evan; Hunt, Chris; Ceron, Jasminda; Farr, Lucy; Morley, Mike W.; Reynolds, Tim; Zukswert, H.; Simpson, David J.; Nyíri, Borbála; Verhoeven, Mo A.; Appleby, Jo; Meneely, Julie; Phan, Lộc Kế; Dong, N.-N.; Lloyd-Smith, Lindsay; Hawkes, Jason; Blyth, Alison J.; Tâń, Nguyêń Cao

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.06.010

Cited by 30 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Marwick and Gagan () characterise MIS 3 at Tham Lod rockshelter, Thailand, as a period of wetter and more unstable conditions than MIS 2, while Hunt et al () inferred more open environments during MIS 2 at Niah Cave in Borneo and Wurster et al () reported a spatially varied pattern of climate‐driven forest contraction across Pleistocene Sundaland. Rabett et al () and Mai Huong and Van Hai () note the persistence of limestone forest in North Vietnam during MIS 2 and the terminal Pleistocene, respectively. Rabett et al () demonstrate that local karst uplands formed tropical forest refugia in MSEA during glacial periods, however, Viet () suggests that during MIS 2, forest composition in North Vietnam was substantially different due to the expansion of taxa currently restricted to montane environments, such as Juglans .…”

Section: Con Moong Cave: Climatic Geomorphological and Archaeologicamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rabett et al () and Mai Huong and Van Hai () note the persistence of limestone forest in North Vietnam during MIS 2 and the terminal Pleistocene, respectively. Rabett et al () demonstrate that local karst uplands formed tropical forest refugia in MSEA during glacial periods, however, Viet () suggests that during MIS 2, forest composition in North Vietnam was substantially different due to the expansion of taxa currently restricted to montane environments, such as Juglans .…”

Section: Con Moong Cave: Climatic Geomorphological and Archaeologicamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, geoarchaeological research has demonstrated that caves are taphonomically complex spaces, due to the interaction of diverse depositional and post‐depositional agencies within a confined space (Goldberg & Bar‐Yosef, ; Goldberg & Sherwood, ; Karkanas, Bar‐Yosef, Goldberg, & Weiner, ; Mallol & Goldberg, ; Morley & Goldberg, ; Morley et al, ; Stiner et al, ; Weiner, Goldberg, & Bar‐Yosef, ). The small body of geoarchaeological research targeting caves in Southeast Asia suggests that tropical conditions may have a profound effect upon archaeological site formation processes (Bacon et al, ; Barker et al, ; Gillieson, ; Lewis, ; Mijares et al, ; Morley, ; Rabett et al, ; Stephens, Rose, & Gilbertson, ; cf. Shahack‐Gross, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While Chinese speleothems provide high-resolution proxy records of precipitation for the wider region, the resulting effects on landscapeto site-scale palaeoenvironments remain poorly resolved, due to the limited preservation of traditional palaeoecological proxies and the complex environmental mosaics that characterise MSEA (Wurster & Bird, 2016). While MIS 3 and MIS 4 were characterised by relatively open environments across much of Sundaland (Hunt et al, 2012;Wurster & Bird, 2016), faunal evidence from Laos and Vietnam suggests forest species persisted there under humid conditions Milano et al, 2018) Rabett et al (2017) and Mai Huong and Van Hai (2009) note the persistence of limestone forest in North Vietnam during MIS 2 and the terminal Pleistocene, respectively. Rabett et al (2017) demonstrate that local karst uplands formed tropical forest refugia in MSEA during glacial periods, however, Viet (2008) suggests that during MIS 2, forest composition in North Vietnam was substantially different due to the expansion of taxa currently restricted to montane environments, such as Juglans.…”

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The Pleistocene geoarchaeology and geochronology of Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam: Site formation processes and hominin activity in the humid tropics

McAdams

Morley²,

Fu³

et al. 2019

Geoarchaeology

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This paper presents the results of geoarchaeological and geochronological investigations at Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam. Beneath the published, terminal Pleistocene sequence, recent excavations have uncovered a ~5 m stratigraphic sequence containing flaked stone artifacts and sedimentary features that indicate extensive post‐depositional change. As the effects of tropical conditions on Pleistocene cave sediments are poorly resolved, a range of complementary techniques was selected to reconstruct the nature of on‐site sedimentation and occupation, while assessing the taphonomy of archaeological and palaeoecological materials. Our approach incorporates microstratigraphic, geochemical and sedimentological analyses, using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to estimate the time of sediment deposition in the cave. This case study has broad application to tropical zones worldwide. Sedimentation began in early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4, while micromorphologically observed human occupation commenced before 42 thousand years ago (ka). By placing our results within the context of published, high‐resolution regional records of climate, we demonstrate that on‐site rhythms of Pleistocene occupation correlated with environmental changes in the region. During MIS 3, episodic abandonment of the site coincided with periods of drier conditions, while rapid climate fluctuations in MIS 2 corresponded with short‐lived occupation events and a switch to predominantly geogenic deposition in the cave.

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Section: Con Moong Cave: Climatic Geomorphological and Archaeologicamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Con Moong Cave: Climatic Geomorphological and Archaeologicamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Pleistocene geoarchaeology and geochronology of Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam: Site formation processes and hominin activity in the humid tropics

McAdams

Morley²,

Fu³

et al. 2019

Geoarchaeology

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“…Rongrien (Anderson 1997) and Tràng An (Rabett et al 2011(Rabett et al , 2017 both in Thailand, Tabon Cave in Palawan, Philippines (Lewis 2007) and Liang Bua in Flores, Indonesia ). In Africa, charcoal found alongside Late Stone Age lithic in Njuinye, Cameroon, was dated to c. 35,000 BP (Mercader and Martı́ 2003).…”

Section: Archaeological Evidence Of Hunter-gatherer Use Of Fire In Humentioning

confidence: 99%

The formation of fire residues associated with hunter-gatherers in humid tropical environments: A geo-ethnoarchaeological perspective

Friesem

Lavi

Madella

et al. 2017

Quaternary Science Reviews

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 Multi-proxy micro-geoarchaeological approach is suggested to study fire in tropical forests  Hearths by immediate-return hunter-gatherers are ephemeral leaving a low signal  Waste areas better preserve fire residues but in a secondary context  Humid tropical environments are characterised by acidity and intensive biological activity  In humid tropical environments charcoal and phytolith preserve better than ash and bone

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Investigating the palaeoenvironmental context of Late Pleistocene human dispersals into Southeast Asia: a review of stable isotope applications

McAllister-Hayward

Morley

Tyler

et al. 2022

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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We review palaeoenvironmental applications of stable isotope analysis to Late Pleistocene archaeological sites across Southeast Asia (SEA), a region critical to understanding the evolution of Homo sapiens and other co-existing Late Pleistocene (124–11.7 ka) hominins. Stable isotope techniques applied to archaeological deposits offer the potential to develop robust palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, to contextualise the occupational and non-occupational history of a site. By evaluating the published research in this field, we show that sediments, guano, tooth enamel, speleothem and biomolecular material such as leaf waxes have great potential to provide site-specific palaeoenvironmental records and local and catchment-scale landscape context to hominin dispersal in the region. However, stable isotope techniques used in these contexts are in their infancy in SEA, and the diagenetic controls associated with hot and humid environments that typify the region are not yet fully understood. Additionally, availability of sources of stable isotopes varies between sites. Nonetheless, even the limited research currently available shows that stable isotope analyses can aid in developing a better understanding of the role of the environment on the nature and timing of dispersals of our species eastwards into SEA and beyond.

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Tropical limestone forest resilience and late Pleistocene foraging during MIS-2 in the Tràng An massif, Vietnam

Cited by 30 publications

References 98 publications

The Pleistocene geoarchaeology and geochronology of Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam: Site formation processes and hominin activity in the humid tropics

The Pleistocene geoarchaeology and geochronology of Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam: Site formation processes and hominin activity in the humid tropics

The formation of fire residues associated with hunter-gatherers in humid tropical environments: A geo-ethnoarchaeological perspective

Investigating the palaeoenvironmental context of Late Pleistocene human dispersals into Southeast Asia: a review of stable isotope applications

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