Search for: All records

Established chronologies indicate a long-term ‘Hoabinhian’ hunter-gatherer occupation of Mainland Southeast Asia during the Terminal Pleistocene to Mid-Holocene (45 000–3000 years ago). Here, the authors re-examine the ‘Hoabinhian’ sequence from north-west Thailand using new radiocarbon and luminescence data from Spirit Cave, Steep Cliff Cave and Banyan Valley Cave. The results indicate that hunter-gatherers exploited this ecologically diverse region throughout the Terminal Pleistocene and the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, and into the period during which agricultural lifeways emerged in the Holocene. Hunter-gatherers did not abandon this highland region of Thailand during periods of environmental and socioeconomic change. 

{"Abstract":["This compendium includes five documents: 1) the "Buckley Letter" describing the radiocarbon analysis results for sample I-5324, 2) the "GaK-1026" sheet describing the radiocarbon analysis results for sample GaK-1026, 3) the "Geochron Letter" describing radiocarbon analysis results for sample GX-1612, 4) Ernestene Green's ca. 1965 field notes on her test excavations at Non Nok Tha, and 5) the "UGAMS Letter" describing the radiocarbon analysis results and methods for this study: Conrad, C. and E. Green. in prep. New Radiocarbon Dates from Non Nok Tha (Partridge Mound), Khon Kaen Province, Northeast Thailand. Archaeological Research in Asia.\n\nNon Nok Tha, Radiocarbon, Thailand, Khorat Plateau, Gakushuin Laboratory"]} 

Abstract Between 5 and 4 thousand years ago, crippling megadroughts led to the disruption of ancient civilizations across parts of Africa and Asia, yet the extent of these climate extremes in mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) has never been defined. This is despite archeological evidence showing a shift in human settlement patterns across the region during this period. We report evidence from stalagmite climate records indicating a major decrease of monsoon rainfall in MSEA during the mid- to late Holocene, coincident with African monsoon failure during the end of the Green Sahara. Through a set of modeling experiments, we show that reduced vegetation and increased dust loads during the Green Sahara termination shifted the Walker circulation eastward and cooled the Indian Ocean, causing a reduction in monsoon rainfall in MSEA. Our results indicate that vegetation-dust climate feedbacks from Sahara drying may have been the catalyst for societal shifts in MSEA via ocean-atmospheric teleconnections.