The Neolithic transition in Vietnam: Assessing evidence for early pig management and domesticated dog

Abstract

The onset of Neolithic food-producing cultures during the Mid Holocene in Southeast Asia (SEA) constituted major social and demographic change. In northern Vietnam, the Late Holocene site of Man Bac has been argued to capture this shift in population and material culture. This paper provides an updated faunal record of Man Bac and assesses the evidence for dog domestication and pig management at the site. Using a mixed method approach combining morphometric analyses, cluster analysis, mortality profiles, and body part representation, dogs are confidentially determined to be domesticated, and pigs are argued to represent an early management strategy. Direct 14C dating on select pig and dog elements provide the current earliest date for these domesticated animals in northern Vietnam and reflects the early expansion of farming communities into Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA).