Geochemical fingerprinting of Pleistocene stone tools from the Tràng An Landscape Complex, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam

Abstract

Raw material analyses of prehistoric stone tool assemblages can reveal insight into mobility and exchange patterns in hunter-gatherer populations by reconstructing the circulation of stone throughout ancient landscapes. In Pleistocene Southeast Asia, stone tools are generally thought to have been fashioned from easily accessible local raw materials. However, despite the consistent presence of stone tools made of igneous raw material at prehistoric sites throughout the Tràng An Landscape Complex in northern Vietnam, there are no sources of igneous raw material in the immediate vicinity. This paper presents the results of geochemical sourcing analysis of late Pleistocene igneous stone tools from Tràng An: the first analysis of its type in mainland Southeast Asia. The results shed light on mobility and raw material provisioning strategies in Pleistocene mainland Southeast Asian hunter-gatherer populations and raise questions surrounding the relationship between technological organization, raw material, and expediency in Southeast Asian stone tool assemblages.