The Hoabinhian and after: Subsistence patterns in Southeast Asia during the late Pleistocene and early recent periods

Abstract

Abstract This paper brings together previously published material and the writer's analysis of recently excavated material from Spirit Cave, northern Thailand, in order to synthesize a chronology and a more detailed reconstruction of Hoabinhian exploitative patterns during the late Pleistocene/ early Recent periods in Southeast Asia. Hoabinhian subsistence patterns are described as the broad spectrum exploitation of both plants and animals. The transition from hunting and gathering to early plant domestication and a concomitant shift in population densities from upland to lowland bases in Southeast Asia is discussed and compared with similar early developments towards domestication in the Near East.