Abstract: |
This paper presents preliminary results of ongoing research at Tham Lod rock shelter, located in Tham Lod village, Pang Mapha district, Mae Hong Son province, northwestern Thailand. This site was excavated by the Highland Archaeology project between April and August 2002. The research aims include to: 1) investigate and reconstruct the paleoenvironment in highland Pang Mapha, 2) study the relationships between humans and their environments, and 3) study the past social and cultural development in highland Pang Mapha by establishing a local cultural chronology. The results of the excavations allow the establishment of a chronology for the region
tentatively, it spans the late Pleistocene to Recent (ca. 35,000 BP to about 300 years ago). Preliminary results of analyses indicate Tham Lod rock shelter was used as a cemetery, a workshop for the production of pebble tools, and was probably visited regularly by small groups of hunter-gathers from the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene as suggested by the high density of artifacts from each layer.
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