No abstract

History, legend and memory have long pointed to Co Loa, an earthwork enclosure outside Hanoi, as the seat of an indigenous power that gave identity to the people of the Bac Bo region, north Vietnam. Survey, excavation and a set of radiocarbon dates now put this site on the historical map. The main rampart of the middle circuit was built in the later centuries BC, before the coming of Han Imperial China. Nor was this rampart the first defence. The authors show the potential of archaeology for revealing the creation and development of a polity among the prosperous people of the Dongson culture.

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We report on the first prehistoric identifications of the Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) in the prehistoric archaeological record of Vietnam, the earliest known example of this species in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA). The two bone fragments, a proximal tarsometatarsus and a distal tibiotarsus, were found in the hunter–gatherer midden/cemetery site of Con Co Ngua in Thanh Hoa Province, and date to c. 6000 – 5500 BP. The tarsometatarsus has been modified into an edge ground implement similar to artefacts recorded at other archaeological sites in the region. Modifications to the functional end suggest that the implement is consistent with the manipulation and/or manufacture of plant‐based fibres. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Square C6, D6. A young adult female, 18-20 years old, poorly preserved, missing all elements below the pelvis, the right os coxa, both hands, several ribs, lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, left clavicle, and part of the cranium. In situ orientation is east-west, burial is supine and facing up. Grave goods consist of a globular pot placed to the right of the face. The 2 nd vessel is a footed cup with curvilinear/incised motifs, placed to the left of the left distal humerus. MB99M3: Square A4, B4. A young adult female, 18-20 years old, only missing the left metacarpals and rib fragments. Orientation is northwest-southeast, burial is positioned supine and facing north. Grave goods consist of one vessel placed beyond the feet: it is footed with walls thinning towards the rim and straight with a decorative motif consisting of bands of cordmarking surrounding a middle band of burnishing (removed prior to photography). MB99M3 APPENDIX 1 BURIAL DESCRIPTIONS 137 MB99M4: Square C5, C6. A moderately to poorly preserved infant skeleton >1 year old. Most of the cranium, several ribs, the left wrist and hand, most of the pelvic bones, and the patella were not recovered. From those elements recovered in situ, orientation was observed to be east-west, burial position is supine, facing upwards. Three stones are present near the body; one at the head, one at the feet, one right of the pelvis, but no grave goods were recovered. MB99M4 MB99M5a: Square D3. A nearly complete skeleton of an approximately 4-5 year old subadult. Burial orientation is east-west, position is supine, facing upwards. Part of the cranium, many ribs, the left clavicle, left forearm, most of both os coxae, the right metacarpals, and neither of the patellae were recovered. This burial overlaps MB99M5b and both were removed en-bloc. One small globular pot was placed to the left of the cranium. MB99M5a and MB99M5b D. HUFFER AND T.H. HIEP 138 MB99M5b: Square D3, E3. A partially complete skeleton of an adult male approximately 30-50 years old. The entire torso, from clavicle to pelvis is overlapped by MB99M5a. This individual is flexed, oriented southwest-northeast, interred on its right side, facing southeast. The arms are flexed at the elbow at approximately 45 0 , as are the legs, and the hands are next to or underneath the head. The only grave good recorded as definitely belonging to this burial is a small globular pot, placed to the right of the cranium. 2001 Sex and age-at-death estimates for the 1999 sample was carried out by H. Matsumura. No pottery illustrations are available for the 2001 burials (Appendix 2). MB01M1: Square C2. A nearly complete skeleton of a subadult approximately 9 years old. Only the right clavicle, a few right ribs, the distal left radius and ulna and the left hand are missing. In situ orientation is northeast-southwest, burial position is supine, and facing direction is south. A large, redware, paddle-impressed globular pot was interred inverted in front of the face; soot blackened on the base. The second vessel is a large, redwar...