Redécouverte d’une faune pléistocène dans les remplissages karstiques de Tam Hang au Laos : Premiers résultats

Tam Hang, localisé dans le Nord-Est du Laos, dans la province de Hua Pan, est un site de référence, non seulement pour ses nombreux vestiges archéologiques et humains, mais aussi pour ses deux assemblages fauniques, dont le contenu suggère des âges différents dans le Pléistocène. Découvert en 1934 par Jacques Fromaget, son exploitation a été reprise en 2003. Lors de cette nouvelle campagne, nous avons extrait de l’épaisse couche de brèche calcaire qui affleurait massivement à Tam Hang sud, 575 dents isolées de mammifères. Cet assemblage correspond à celui qu’Arambourg et Fromaget [C. Arambourg, J. Fromaget, Le gisement quaternaire de Tam Nang (Chaîne Annamitique septentrionale). Sa stratigraphie et ses faunes, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 203 (1938) 793–795.] caractérisent par la présence d’ Ursus premalayanus et par la rareté de Pongo pygmaeus. La détermination systématique et l’analyse des dents montrent que cet assemblage comprend plusieurs sous-espèces archaïques, typiques du Pléistocène moyen. La composition de la faune suggère des conditions écologiques que l’on retrouve également dans les autres sites pléistocènes d’Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Enfin, l’analyse des processus de conservation et de dépôt permet de rappeler brièvement quels sont les facteurs taphonomiques spécifiques des milieux karstiques.Tam Hang, located in northeastern Laos, in the Hua Pan province, is a reference site not only for its numerous archaeological and human remains, but also for its two faunal assemblages, whose composition suggests different dating in the Pleistocene. Discovered in 1934 by Jacques Fromaget, a new excavation of the site has been undertaken in 2003. During this campaign, at Tam Hang south, 575 isolated teeth of mammals were extracted from a deep layer of calcareous breccia. This assemblage corresponds to that one described by Arambourg and Fromaget [C. Arambourg, J. Fromaget, Le gisement quaternaire de Tam Nang (Chaîne Annamitique septentrionale). Sa stratigraphie et ses faunes, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 203 (1938) 793–795.], as characterized by the presence of Ursus premalayanus, and the rarity of Pongo pygmaeus. Systematics and analysis of teeth show that this new assemblage is composed of archaic subspecies, characteristic of the Middle Pleistocene. The faunal composition suggests ecological conditions also found in other Pleistocene sites of the South-East-Asia mainland area. Finally, the analysis of the process of preservation and deposition enables a brief description of the taphonomy specific of karstic systems.</p

Tam Hang Rockshelter: Preliminary Study of a Prehistoric Site in Northern Laos

In February 1934, Jacques Fromaget, from the Geological Service of Indochina, discovered the Tam Hang site in northern Laos. The site is a rockshelter, located on the southeastern slope of the Annamitic Chain on the edge of the P’a Hang cliff. The geologist’s excavation revealed considerable faunal remains from the middle Pleistocene as well as human biological and cultural remains from the pre-Holocene period. One of the human skeletons discovered by Fromaget buried beneath the shelter has recently been radiocarbon-dated to 15,740G80 b.p. After being relocated by Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, an international team carried out new excavations in April 2003. Undisturbed cultural layers from the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene have been identified. The presence of pottery and a lithic industry suggests the use of the site from at least the late Pleistocene into the Holocene. This particularity confers on the site a character rarely found in mainland Southeast Asia. This preliminary study describes the 2003 excavation, the cultural elements found, and presents the historical and archaeological significance of the site in the international context of the quest for human origins that prevailed in the 1930s

Faunas from Tam Hang cave fillings (Laos): preliminary results

International audienc

Redécouverte d'une faune pléistocène dans les remplissages karstiques de Tam Hang au Laos : premiers résultats.

12 pagesThe discovery of a Pleistocene fauna in karstic fills at TamHang in Laos: preliminary results. TamHang, located in northeastern Laos, in the Hua Pan province, is a reference site not only for its numerous archaeological and human remains, but also for its two faunal assemblages, whose composition suggests different dating in the Pleistocene. Discovered in 1934 by Jacques Fromaget, a new excavation of the site has been undertaken in 2003. During this campaign, at Tam Hang south, 575 isolated teeth of mammals were extracted from a deep layer of calcareous breccia. This assemblage corresponds to that one described by Arambourg and Fromaget [C. Arambourg, J. Fromaget, Le gisement quaternaire de Tam Nang (Chaîne Annamitique septentrionale). Sa stratigraphie et ses faunes, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 203 (1938) 793–795.], as characterized by the presence of Ursus premalayanus, and the rarity of Pongo pygmaeus. Systematics and analysis of teeth show that this new assemblage is composed of archaic subspecies, characteristic of the Middle Pleistocene. The faunal composition suggests ecological conditions also found in other Pleistocene sites of the South-East- Asia mainland area. Finally, the analysis of the process of preservation and deposition enables a brief description of the taphonomy specific of karstic systems.Tam Hang, localisé dans le Nord-Est du Laos, dans la province de Hua Pan, est un site de référence, non seulement pour ses nombreux vestiges archéologiques et humains, mais aussi pour ses deux assemblages fauniques, dont le contenu suggère des âges différents dans le Pléistocène. Découvert en 1934 par Jacques Fromaget, son exploitation a été reprise en 2003. Lors de cette nouvelle campagne, nous avons extrait de l'épaisse couche de brèche calcaire qui affleurait massivement à Tam Hang sud, 575 dents isolées de mammifères. Cet assemblage correspond à celui qu'Arambourg et Fromaget [C. Arambourg, J. Fromaget, Le gisement quaternaire de Tam Nang (Chaîne Annamitique septentrionale). Sa stratigraphie et ses faunes, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 203 (1938) 793–795.] caractérisent par la présence d'Ursus premalayanus et par la rareté de Pongo pygmaeus. La détermination systématique et l'analyse des dents montrent que cet assemblage comprend plusieurs sous-espèces archaïques, typiques du Pléistocène moyen. La composition de la faune suggère des conditions écologiques que l'on retrouve également dans les autres sites pléistocènes d'Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Enfin, l'analyse des processus de conservation et de dépôt permet de rappeler brièvement quels sont les facteurs taphonomiques spécifiques des milieux karstiques

Anatomically modern human in Southeast Asia (Laos)

International audienc

The Middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna from Tam Hang karstic deposit, northern Laos: new data and evolutionary hypothesis

International audienc

Ecological niche models of human land use in Late Pleistocene Southeast Asia suggest both abiotic and biotic variables can create bariiers to human dispersal. 168, page 278.

International audienc

Preliminary results from a recently discovered Holocene burial site in Northern Laos, Tam Pa Ping

International audienceSince 2003, archaeological research has been resumed in the Annamite Mountains of Huà Pan Province, northern Laos, with ongoing excavations at two modern human fossil-bearing sites, Tam Hang and Tam Pa Ling. These sites date to the terminal and Late Pleistocene. In December 2016, another cave site was discovered while conducting a geologic survey of the region, Tam Pa Ping. This new site is located on the Pa Hang Mountain within 100 m of these previously identified sites. Tam Pa Ping contained a single burial dating to 2996 +/- 47 years BP with associated grave goods. Osteological analysis suggests this individual is an adult male, approximately 30 years old, with perimortem trauma to the thorax. There is evidence of cultural continuity in both burial practice and antemortem body modification between this individual and those buried at Tam Hang. There are stylistic similarities in the grave goods at Tam Pa Ping and Tam Hang, and both sites show intentional use of a cave as a primary burial location. Similarly, individuals from both sites show evidence that their anterior maxillary incisors were removed before death as indicated by antemortem alveolar resorption. This individual has an average measured δ13Capatite of -7.13‰, an indication of more C4 than C3 vegetation consumption. This find suggests that this area was occupied, either continuously or sporadically, through several glacial events from the earliest securely dated evidence of modern human occupation in Southeast Asia to the current period and contributes to the limited skeletal samples in the region

Additional evidence for early modern human morphological diversity in Southeast Asia at Tam Pa Ling, Laos

Despite its geographic primacy as the intersection of dispersal paths to Australasia, mainland Southeast Asia has played little role in scenarios of early human migrations. Tam Pa Ling (TPL), a cave site in northern Laos, is the source of early modern human fossils - a partial cranium (TPL1) and a complete mandible (TPL2) - that represent the earliest anatomically modern humans in continental Southeast Asia and introduce new migration routes into the region during Marine Isotope Stage 3. In the current analysis, a new partial mandible from the site, TPL 3, is introduced, described, and evaluated using geometric morphometrics in the context of Pleistocene archaic, early modern and Holocene humans. In addition, the sedimentary context of TPL3 is described and refined through further quartz single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (SG-OSL) measurements and additional feldspar post-infrared infra-red stimulated luminescence (pIR-IRSL) techniques.The TPL3 mandible has discrete traits similar to eastern Asian early modern humans, including a well-developed chin and a lack of lateral corporal robusticity. It does, however, retain a relatively broad anterior mandibular arch that is more commonly associated with archaic populations. In this way, it is similar to the TPL2 mandible as well as other similarly-aged fossils from the region that show a mixture of archaic and derived traits. The combined quartz SG-OSL and feldspar pIR-IRSL techniques provide an age range of 70 ± 8-48 ± 5 ka for the depositional age of the layer containing the TPL3 mandible. This upper age estimate is ∼20 ka older than the depositional ages for the TPL1 and 2 fossils, extending the upper limit for the currently excavated sedimentary and associated fossil evidence

Anatomically modern human in Southeast Asia (Laos) by 46 ka

Uncertainties surround the timing of modern human emergence and occupation in East and Southeast Asia. Although genetic and archeological data indicate a rapid migration out of Africa and into Southeast Asia by at least 60 ka, mainland Southeast Asia is notable for its absence of fossil evidence for early modern human occupation. Here we report on a modern human cranium from Tam Pa Ling, Laos, which was recovered from a secure stratigraphic context. Radiocarbon and luminescence dating of the surrounding sediments provide a minimum age of 51-46 ka, and direct U-dating of the bone indicates a maximum age of ∼63 ka. The cranium has a derived modern human morphology in features of the frontal, occipital, maxillae, and dentition. It is also differentiated from western Eurasian archaic humans in aspects of its temporal, occipital, and dental morphology. In the context of an increasingly documented archaic-modern morphological mosaic among the earliest modern humans in western Eurasia, Tam Pa Ling establishes a definitively modern population in Southeast Asia at &sim50 ka cal BP. As such, it provides the earliest skeletal evidence for fully modern humans in mainland Southeast Asia.6 page(s