(HBO) – Through many excavations of caves and dweling places of prehistoric humans in Hoa Binh province, Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the Centre for Prehistoric Southeast Asian Studies, has made many discoveries of the Hoa Binh Civilisation, proving that it was much older and diverse than what have been known so far.
Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the Centre for
Prehistoric Southeast Asian Studies, has made many discoveries of the Hoa Binh
Civilisation.
The Hoa Binh Civilisation was discovered by
French archaeologist Madeleine Colani in 1925. She perceived that it was a
Stone Age civilisation dating back to the Holocen epoch, about 10,000 years
ago.
In 1981, a snail shell sample found in an
excavation of Trai Hamlet Cave in Tan Lap commune (Lac Son district) by the
Institute of Archaeology was sent to Berlin for examination, and the result was
astonishing: the sample was 18,400 years old plus/minus 200 years. At that
time, Dr. Chester Gorman visited Vietnam and suggested Dr. Nguyen Viet sieve
objects unearthed at Trai Hamlet Cave. As a result, hundreds of withered and
burned seeds, another hundreds of animal bone pieces, and more than 200 stone
tools dating back over 17,000 years were collected.
Findings in the sixth dig at the Trai Hamlet
Cave and the second at the Vanh Village stone shelter, carried out in 2022,
revealed that the period of 22,000 years ago was not the earliest stage of the
Hoa Binh Civilisation.
Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the Centre for
Prehistoric Southeast Asian Studies, said aside the new discoveries about the
age of the Hoa Binh Civilisation, researchers have also found a surprisingly
high density of artefacts at the Trai Hamlet Cave and the Vanh Village stone
shelter.
He noted there may be few places in the world
where hunters and gatherers left so many vestiges dating back to the late
Pleistocen and early Holocen epochs in. There are up to 44,000 snail shells
found at the Trai Hamlet Cave, compared to the 9,000 shells at Con Moong Cave
in Thanh Hoa province and 11,000 at Sung Sam Cave in Hanoi. The number of snail
shells discovered at the Vanh Village stone shelter is equal to that at the
Trai Hamlet Cave. Meanwhile, the number of bone pieces is about 500 per cubic
metre of deposits. Stone tools at the two relic sites number more than 70 and
300 per cubic metres of deposits, respectively.
At Trai Hamlet Cave, there are thousands of
slabs weighing 5-10kg each used as tables for preparing food and making tools.
Hundreds of tools with sharpened blades have also been found at Trai Hamlet
Cave and the Vanh Village stone shelter, and the oldest of them is about 17,000
years old, Viet went on.
One of the important discoveries at Trai Hamlet
Cave is evidence of primitive humans’ artistic mindset. Researchers unearthed
two rocks with unusual shapes in 1982 and many more in 2004, including a thin
one with zigzag and fishbone diagrams inscribed on it. In 2008, some other
rocks with similar zigzag lines were found. One of the objects collected in
2004 dates back 17,000 years ago. They represent the first artworks by humans
in Vietnam, according to the archaeologist./.
Once a vibrant part of the daily life for the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province, traditional Muong singing styles such as "thuong rang bo meng” and "hat dup giao duyen” had faded over time. Today, local authorities and communities are working to restore and celebrate this cultural art form, recognising its value in preserving the group’s heritage.
Gau Tao Festival, one of the most important traditional festivals of the Mong ethnic minority group in Mai Chau district was held at the Pa Co stadium in Pa Co commune on January 11.
The ancient stone engravings dating back thousands of years in Suoi Co valley in My Thanh commune, Lac Son district, used to astonished domestic archaeologists. What their meaning is and what message they convey are the questions to which scientists are seeking answers.
Preserving and promoting unique cultural identities of ethnic communities in Hoa Binh province is considered a crucial task amid in the international integration trend.
More than just a cultural and historical attraction, the Muong Cultural Heritage Museum is playing a vital role in fostering sustainable tourism in the Northwestern region of Vietnam, particularly in Hoa Binh province. It stands as a model for the emerging trend of "responsible tourism," cleverly blending the preservation of cultural heritage with community economic development, raising awareness of Muong ethnic cultural values while promoting green tourism and sustainable growth.
The provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on December 24 organised a conference to report on the results of collecting, researching, restoring, and preserving "Bi doi”, a musical instrument of the airophonic family and a traditional instrument of the Muong ethnic people in Da Bac district.
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