Emergence and Diversification of the Neolithic in Southern Vietnam: Insights From Coastal Rach Nui

Matting Impressions from Lo Gach: Materiality at Floor Level

“…BP, was first introduced to Southern Vietnam during the foragerfarming transitions about 4000 BP. For example, spinning tools have been identified at An Son (Cameron 2002) and Rach Nui (Piper and Oxenham 2014;Oxenham et al 2015), two of the earliest agricultural settlement sites in the region, as well as historical sites belonging to the Funan culture (Cameron 2002).…”

Hunter-gatherer specialization in the late Neolithic of southern Vietnam – The case of Rach Nui

“…In addition, high concentrations of wood charcoal were mixed with the lime mortar and pottery fragments. These charcoal inclusions in the mortar have been interpreted to come from possible burning episodes of mollusc shell, a process used in the creation of lime mortar (Oxenham et al, 2015). There are impressions and silicified remains of organic material visible in some of the layers from Trench 1, as well as floors made of wood (Fig.…”

“…The analysis shows that overall there are low levels of bioturbation in Trench 1 (Table 4) perhaps because this trench corresponds to a settlement area where the past construction of solid surfaces restricted deep penetration by roots and burrowing animals. In fact, the hard surfaces were extremely difficult to excavate, and it was often necessary to break them up with a pick (Oxenham et al, 2015). Only four samples show potential modern contamination: H1 F41/1 A1, H1 L18 c.1018 C4, H1 L19/1 A4 1019/1 and H1 F2E A7 (Table 4 highlighted) and results from these particular samples are considered with caution.…”

“…The excavation of Trench 1 unearthed a layer of disturbed reworked Neolithic deposits mixed with more recent materials close to the modern ground surface, overlying a series of at least 14 solid surfaces and platforms that appear to have consisted of floors produced from a mixture of pottery fragments, sediment, and possibly shell lime mortar (Oxenham et al, 2015). These platforms were all orientated north-south and built consecutively one on top of the other.…”

The Prehistoric House: A Missing Factor in Southeast Asia

“…This void is being filled by Bellwood's fieldwork in southern Vietnam (Bellwood et al 2013;Oxenham et al 2015), where Neolithic Rach Nui, An Son and Loc Giang reveal superimposed floors associated with postholes that, with more extensive excavations, would doubtless illuminate house plans. These new excavation results are a reminder of a rectangular clay structure comprising a floor and walls representing the sixth mortuary phase at Khok Phanom Di.…”