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

Xiao Fu,Dong T. Nguyen,Mike W. Morley,Richard G. Roberts,Conor McAdams,Nguyen G. Doi,Anatoly P. Derevianko,Alexander V. Kandyba

doi:10.1002/gea.21758

Abstract

AbstractThis 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.

Highlights

The late Pleistocene (~130–14 ka; Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005) prehistory of mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) remains poorly resolved due to a paucity of dated fossil and archaeological records (Marwick, 2009; Dennell and Porr, 2014; Morley, 2017; Rabett, 2018)
Recent fossil discoveries have pushed back the projected arrival of anatomically modern humans (AMH) in the region into Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4, 57 thousand years ago or earlier (Demeter et al, 2017; Westaway et al, 2017; Rabett, 2018; Shackelford et al, 2018), while morphological and genetic studies of fossil and modern populations hint at a complex history of interactions between diverse hominin species, including successive waves of modern humans (Liu et al, 2015; Bae et al, 2017; Corny et al, 2017; Sikora, 2017; Lipson et al, 2018; McColl et al, 2018)
Con Moong Cave (Thong, 1980; Su, 2009; Higham, 2014), CMC, is located in Cúcphương National Park, Thanh Hóa province, North Vietnam (Fig. 1a–c). It is a key site for understanding the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene archaeology of MSEA and provides the opportunity to understand of the effects of tropical conditions upon Pleistocene cave sediments more generally

Summary

Introduction

The late Pleistocene (~130–14 ka; Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005) prehistory of mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) remains poorly resolved due to a paucity of dated fossil and archaeological records (Marwick, 2009; Dennell and Porr, 2014; Morley, 2017; Rabett, 2018). Recent investigations and regional reviews demonstrate the potential of microstratigraphic assessment to refine interpretations of environmental context, chronology and hominin behaviour (Kourampas et al, 2009; Hunt and Barker, 2014; Sutikna et al, 2016; Clarkson et al, 2017; Mallol and Mentzer, 2017; Morley, 2017; Morley et al, 2017), but site-scale to micro-scale geoarchaeological methodologies are not yet routinely employed in MSEA or other tropical regions As these sites have the potential to address archaeological questions of global significance (Barker et al, 2007; Pääbo, 2015; Reyes-Centeno, 2016; Rabett, 2018), the development of a geoarchaeological framework of interpretation tailored to the taphonomic, stratigraphic and diagenetic factors active under humid tropical conditions is critical (Morley and Goldberg, 2017). We contextualise the reconstructed depositional history through reference to published regional palaeoecological reconstructions and assess the relationship between sedimentation and geomorphic change, regional shifts in Pleistocene climate and human occupation of CMC

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion