Tham Lod rockshelter (Unit 3)
Basic information
Sample name: Tham Lod rockshelter (Unit 3)
Reference: R. Shoocongdej and A. Wattanapituksakul. 2020. Faunal assemblages and demography during the Late Pleistocene (MIS 2-1) to Early Holocene in Highland Pang Mapha, Northwest Thailand. Quaternary International 563:51-63 [ER 3710]
Geography
Country: Thailand
State: Mae Hong Son
Coordinate: 19° 34' 19" N, 98° 16' 38" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Section: 3710
Unit number: 3
Unit order: below to above
Max Ma: 0.01364
Min Ma: 0.01155
Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)
Geography comments: "Tham Lod rockshelter is located in the Tham Lod Nature and Wildlife Educational Center in northern Thailand, approximately 640 m above sea level, and 250 m from the Lang River".
Based on several radiocarbon ages, the upper part of the sequence (Unit 3) is dated to between 11,550 and 13,640 years BP".
Based on several radiocarbon ages, the upper part of the sequence (Unit 3) is dated to between 11,550 and 13,640 years BP".
Environment
Lithology: not described
Taphonomic context: human accumulation,rock shelter
Archaeology: burials,stone tools
Habitat comments: "The rockshelter forms part of a huge semi-circular karstic limestone doline, facing to the north. The karstic features are developed in Middle Carboniferous limestones".
"Based on the stratigraphic profile and chronological data, the sequence is divided into three main geoarchaeological units or "Cultural Layers" that can be correlated to the successive settlement phases". The third cultural layer (Unit 3), the upper part of the sequence, "includes the burials of four human skeletons that are contemporaneous with the last period of the second settlement".
"The Tham Lod lithic assemblage involved a total of 102,386 items recovered from all three cultural layers. These can be subdivided into cores, flake tools, and pebbles, with the majority being produced from locally available grey sandstone cobbles and pebbles collected from the nearby Lang River". The site "appears to have been used as a lithic workshop (tool manufacturing and maintenance), as supported by the high densities of lithic artifacts and refuse".
"Based on the stratigraphic profile and chronological data, the sequence is divided into three main geoarchaeological units or "Cultural Layers" that can be correlated to the successive settlement phases". The third cultural layer (Unit 3), the upper part of the sequence, "includes the burials of four human skeletons that are contemporaneous with the last period of the second settlement".
"The Tham Lod lithic assemblage involved a total of 102,386 items recovered from all three cultural layers. These can be subdivided into cores, flake tools, and pebbles, with the majority being produced from locally available grey sandstone cobbles and pebbles collected from the nearby Lang River". The site "appears to have been used as a lithic workshop (tool manufacturing and maintenance), as supported by the high densities of lithic artifacts and refuse".
Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,turtles,fishes
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 388 specimens
Years: 2002
Sampling comments: "In 2002, the Highland Archaeology Project excavated three areas at the base of the rockshelter, covering a transect from the cliff slope to the lower plain: Area 1 (a 6 m2 trench), Area 2 (a 12 m2 trench), and Area 3 (an 18 m2 trench)".
The register below corresponds to the remains found throughout Cultural Layer 2.2 (Unit 3) across all three excavation areas.
The register below corresponds to the remains found throughout Cultural Layer 2.2 (Unit 3) across all three excavation areas.
Metadata
Sample number: 3930
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-03-26 12:32:01
Modified: 2023-05-30 00:31:19
Abundance distribution
19 species
2 singletons
total count 388
geometric series index: 25.5
Fisher's α: 4.185
geometric series k: 0.7873
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8830
Shannon's H: 2.3691
Good's u: 0.9949
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| Colobinae indet. | 2 | |
| Ursus thibetanus | 3 | 63 kg browser-frugivore |
| also 4 "Ursus spp." and 7 Carnivora indet. | ||
| Elephas sp. | 1 | |
| Rhinoceros sondaicus | 2 | |
| Sus scrofa | 10 | 54 kg herbivore |
| Muntiacus sp. | 24 | |
| Cervus eldii | 21 | |
| "Panolia eldii" | ||
| Cervus unicolor | 74 | 100 kg grazer-browser |
| "Rusa unicolor"; also 41 Cervus sp. "Panolia/Rusa sp." | ||
| Axis sp. | 67 | |
| also 61 Cervidae indet. | ||
| Bubalus arnee | 3 | |
| Bos gaurus | 41 | 481 kg |
| Bos javanicus | 30 | 488 kg |
| Capricornis sumatraensis | 11 | |
| Naemorhedus griseus | 41 | |
| Naemorhedus goral | 4 | 25 kg |
| Cannomys badius | 1 | |
| also 3 Rhizomyinae indet. | ||
| Hystricidae indet. | 4 | |
| Testudines indet. | 45 | |
| also 2 Reptilia indet. | ||
| Cyprinidae indet. | 4 | |