The open-air site of Huai Hin (Northwestern Thailand): Chronological perspectives for the Hoabinhian

Abstract

The Hoabinhian is well known in Southeast Asian prehistoric studies, where it has been considered both a chronological period and a cultural entity. However, recent work suggests it should more appropriately be considered a functional technocomplex. Although most often described from sites in Vietnam and Thailand, it has also been recognized in northern Sumatra and Cambodia. Here, we present a series of Hoabinhian stone tools discovered during fieldwork carried out by the Thai-French Paleosurvey at the Huai Hin site found on the eastern bank of the Salaween River near the Thai-Burmese border. Although the technological analysis of this material supplies new evidence for Hoabinhian regional variability, new dates from this open-air site also provide a useful reference point for constructing a regional chrono-cultural sequence for Southeast Asian prehistory.