New Evidence for Southeast Asian Pleistocene Foraging Economies: Faunal Remains from the Early Levels of Lang Rongrien Rockshelter, Krabi, Thailand

Abstract

This study reports on analysis of a sample of animal bones from Pleistocene levels of Lang Rongrien Rockshelter, Thailand. Analysis identified small proportions of marine and/or freshwater fish bone, freshwater/terrestrial snail shells, and bird bones, as well as large proportions of tortoise, turtle, and mammal bones. Comparison with three other faunal assemblages underscores salient characteristics consisting of a high proportion of turtle and tortoise and an absence of pigs in the Lang Rongrien sample. Analysis of the faunal assemblage suggests that, in contrast to other sites such as Niah Cave and Moh Khiew that were occupied on a long-term basis, the Pleistocene levels of Lang Rongrien were intermittently occupied by foragers who may have been practicing a seasonal round that involved transhumance from interior to coast.