(HBO) – The Hoa Binh Civilisation is a renowned prehistoric civilisation in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. It is associated with French archaeologist Madeleine Colani (1866 - 1943), who discovered, studied, and named this civilisation between 1926 and 1931.
Street QH7 in Quynh Lam ward of Hoa Binh city has the
honour to be named after M. Colani, who gave the Hoa Binh Civilisation its
name.
The Hoa Binh Civilisation existed in not only
Vietnam but also across Southeast Asia. Hoa Binh province is home to the
biggest number of relic sites dating back to this civilisation. As those sites
own the most typical features of the civilisation, international scientists
agreed to name it Hoa Binh.
M. Colani was a geologist, palaeontologist, and
archaeologist who made substantial contributions to the formation and
development of archaeology in Vietnam and Indochina as a whole. Aside from the
Hoa Binh Civilisation, she was also linked with the discovery of the Bac Son,
Ha Long, and Sa Huynh civilisations and the Plain of Jars in Indochina during
the French colonial rule.
From 1926 to 1932, through surveys and
investigations in limestone mountainous areas in the provinces of Hoa Binh,
Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Quanh Binh, Colani discovered and excavated 54 relic
sites of the Hoa Binh Civilisation in northern Vietnam, most of which were
located in Hoa Binh. Findings indicated a Stone Age civilisation that existed
before the previously found Bac Son Civilisation.
In the study "Decouverte du Paléolithique dans
la province de Hoa Binh” (Discovery of the Palaeolithic in the province of Hoa
Binh) published on the anthropology journal in 1927, she mentioned the term
"Hoa Binh Civilisation” for the first time and pointed out its basic
characteristics and three development phases from the late Old Stone Age to the
New Stone Age.
At the first conference on prehistoric studies
of the Far East held in Hanoi in January 1932, Colani presented sufficient
evidence testifying to the existence of an ancient civilisation different from
the already known prehistoric civilisations in the world. Her proposal to name
this civilisation Hoa Binh was also approved.
As 2022 marks the 90th year since the world’s
recognition of the Hoa Binh Civilisation, at the start of this year, the
provincial People’s Committee issued Plan No 50/KH-UBND on the organisation of
cultural, sports and tourism events to celebrate this anniversary.
Notably, the provincial People’s Council
released Resolution No 177/NQ-HDND on August 29 to name Street QH7 in Quynh Lam
ward of Hoa Binh city after the archaeologist. This is one of the most
beautiful streets in the vicinity of Hoa Binh Square. The street nameplate is
scheduled to be unveiled on the 90th anniversary of the Hoa Binh Civilisation
recognition./.
The Government Office with Document No. 2082/VPCP-KGVX, dated March 29, 2024, sent out the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha regarding the submission of the "Mo Muong" and "Cheo art" dossiers to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In the evening of March 28th, in Hoa Binh, the Department of Grassroots Culture (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) coordinated with the provincial Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the city to organize a mobile propaganda contest to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7th, 1954 - May 7th, 2024) with the theme "Returning to Dien Bien”. There ứa the attendance of Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; the representatives of the leaders from a number of departments, branches and numerous veterans and Hoa Binh people.
In responding to the movement of "All people stay united to build cultural lifestyle”, over the years, Kim Boi district has conducted many practical and effective activities to promote solidarity and mutual support among the local community in sustainable poverty reduction and building cultural lifestyle and a healthy cultural environment, and maintaining national cultural identity.
Hoa Binh Pedagogical College has just held the closing ceremony of the training class and issued the certificate of the language of Muong ethnic people to the oficials, civil servants and public employees of courses I and II in 2023.
Hoa Binh is an ancient land home to limestone mountains running along the southeast direction and in parallel with Truong Son Mountain Range in the West, forming many basins and valleys with a rich diversity of fauna and flora. Humans came to reside here in the pre-historic period, creating the world-famous Hoa Binh Civilisation.