Paleolithic Complex of the Miệng Hổ Site and Its Place in the Nguom Culture

Abstract

Purpose. A unique place in the archeology of the Paleolithic of Southeast Asia is occupied by the Nguomian culture which specificity lies in the predominance of tools made on flakes in the technical and typological complex. Despite the fact that the main sites of this culture, the Nguom rockshelter, was discovered in 1981, the discovery of special archaeological material different from the Hoa Binh and Son Vi cultures occurred much earlier and is associated primarily with the materials of the Miệng Hổ rockshelter. Information about the stone inventory of this site is very fragmentary in Russian publications. The purpose of this study is to determine the technical and typological characteristics of one of the key sites of the Nguom industry – the Miệng Hổ rockshelter.
Results. The collection of the Miệng Hổ rockshelter, obtained as a result of three years of excavations (1972–1973, 1980), contains 998 specimens, of which 631 items are industrial waste. Also, in the collection there is a group of artifacts in the amount of 131 objects, after studying which it was concluded that these tools were multifunctional, combining the functions of chippers, graters, and possibly hammers. 34 objects were represented by large-sized pebble tools. There is a small group of side scrapers made on large flakes, with retouching on the ventral and proximal sides. The large group of scrapers (137 specimens) is very diverse. The following types are presented: side scrapers with a backing, side scrapers without a backing, scrapers with a ¾ perimeter blade, double and oval scrapers. The largest group is end scrapers (62 specimens). The next most representative group is the group of punctures and checks (65 specimens). All of them are distinguished by the presence of “shoulders” at the base of a sharp sting created by intensive retouching.
Conclusion. A technical and typological analysis of the entire studied complex shows that the system of production of small flakes and flake tools played a more significant role in the overall technological strategy, while large pebble tools were also preserved throughout most of the studied period. In general, the tool component of Miệng Hổ is similar to the tool set of the Nguom rockshelter, with which Vietnamese researchers quite rightly drew analogies.