The beginnings of pottery technology in Vietnam based on finds from the Xom Trai Cave in the Hoà Bình Province

Abstract

In the caves of South East Asia, artefacts from the Pleistocene period known as the Hoabinhian culture are found. They also include the oldest evidence of using pottery technology in this region. The adoption of the new technology can be seen as a deeper specialization within the hunter-gatherer economy. The use of pottery facilitates and accelerates the thermal processing of food (i.e., cooking or possibly roasting). In addition, some foods require prolonged or repeated cooking; otherwise, they may be toxic or difficult to digest. The article analyzes vessels fragments from the XomTrai Cave and additionally from the Hiem Cave – both in Hoà Bình Province in Vietnam. Based on physical characteristics, four formal and technological groups were distinguished, corresponding to three phases of use. The first is related to the decline of the Hoabinhian communities – the so-called Dabutian (the Da But culture), the second with the early Neolithic Phung Nguyen culture (or horizon), and the third with the early Bronze Age Go Mun culture.