Discover a unique way of shroud in Tuyen Quang

When excavating the human skeleton at Hang Phia Vai, belonging to Coc Ngan village, Xuan Tan commune, Na Hang district, Tuyen Quang, Prof. Nguyen Lan Cuong discovered a unique shroud: putting sea snail into the cavity eye. According to Professor Nguyen Lan Cuong, this shroud was first discovered in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

In November 2003, while implementing the 'Project to survey cultural and historical relics in the area of ​​Tuyen Quang hydropower reservoir', scientists discovered an important archaeological site - Hang Phia Vai, located in Coc Ngan village, Xuan Tan commune, Na Hang district, about 150 km north of Tuyen Quang town.

First discovered a unique shroud: Put sea snail in the eye socket.

In early 2005, the Institute of Archeology and Tuyen Quang Museum conducted excavation of this cave. This is a very beautiful cave, with shops overlooking the Coc Ngan stream - a place with many pebbles that prehistoric inhabitants of the cave used to manipulate tools. The cave is about 15 meters taller than the stream, and the cave looks to the west.

According to Dr. Trinh Nang Chung and Dr. Nguyen Gia Cho, the location of Phia Vai is in the shape of a cave, the rocks in the north and in the form of both rocky roofs in the south. The store is 35m wide, 11m deep and the ceiling is 4m high. Unfortunately, large limestone rocks collapsed from the ceiling, losing a large area that could not be excavated.

Archaeologists have dug 2 excavation holes with a total area of ​​40m ² and have discovered hundreds of artifacts that are mainly chopper, rudimentary chopper and stripped pieces . These tools, made from pebbles with common materials like basalt, liolith and quartz.

Especially during the excavation of Phia Couple cave , two burial relics and a fire monument have been discovered. Based on burial clothes, those who excavate said that the first tomb belongs to the metal age, about 3,000 years ago. The second tomb in the northeast, the southwestern direction, has a stone-buried stone tool - dating back to about 10,000 years ago.

Seeing the importance of the discovery, the Director of Tuyen Quang Quan Van Dung Museum decided to let painter Nguyen Dinh Hien wrap the second grave plaster and the fire to transfer to the Museum for research and display.

On May 6, 2006, we had to remove the gypsum from the upper part to take soil samples to preserve the grave for a long time. For two weeks, my colleagues and Tuyen Quang Museum revealed the skeleton of this priceless fossil sale. Dead people lie on their backs, 2 hands are straight. Although the shin bone is almost no longer, but based on the position of the left and right heel bone, close to the hip pelvis, we conclude that the deceased is buried in the shape of a pillow - a quarter The familiar burial position of cultural inhabitants of Hoa Binh, Da But, Quynh Van . Shoulder, shoulder, rib, and some knuckles are still well preserved.

Based on the wear of the teeth, the degree of attachment of the skull joint, the structure of the large sitting defect, the angle of the pelvic bone, the lower jaw, . we conclude that this is the remains of a woman, about 45 to 50 years old . Because the left arm bone is relatively intact, it is possible to calculate the height of this individual to 1.56 m. Especially the skull is on a stone shelf and the fossil is quite high. In the jaw on small molars, large mortars and canines are relatively intact, only missing entire front teeth. In the lower jaw not only is the entire incisor missing, but also the two canines, all the small molars on the left and the first small molars on the right. Affordable, people have pulled out the incisors like this custom of the inhabitants of the metal age of Phung Nguyen culture in Man Bac, Xom Roi, Dong Dau that we have discovered and announced.

Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Lan Cuong (left) and director Quan Van Dung (right) are handling the ancient human skeleton in Phia Couple.

People who excavate the cave Phia Vai carefully screened the excavated land, so the possibility of losing all incisors is unlikely. If this is the case, then the extraction of incisors has been strong since the Stone Age in Vietnam, although this custom is not as popular as the ancient people of the new stone age in China. This scientific assumption needs further research.

The skull is still quite intact, but is compressed, so it is squashed in the right vertex and occiput, making the 2 cords and the cheekbones distorted, not right with the original position. When I used a small needle to reveal two snails in the eye socket of this woman. This is a type of sea snail whose scientific name is Cypraea arabica. The snail lies on its back in the long left eye socket: 27,23mm, wide: 16mm. The snail in the eye socket must be long: 21,61mm, wide: 13,13mm lying slightly downwards. I narrowed my eyes slightly, looking at the eyes of the woman Phia Couple, strange, as if 'she was squinting at me .'.

When this woman was alive, people used this type of sea snail to exchange goods, like the currency today. During the burial, a snail was placed on each eye, so that when the skin of the flesh was gone, the snail would fall to the eye socket as if it were a pupil.

Based on the location of the hand bones, ribs and hip pelvis, we believe that this is a burial form, not a rebuilt skeleton . Looking back at the ancient skulls of Hoa Binh culture that I have studied such as Dieu Da Dieu, Mai Da Nuoc (Thanh Hoa), Dong Can, Hang Chim, Hang Muoi (Hoa Binh) and Nguom Stone Roof (Thai Nguyen), I've never encountered this. Ancient skulls similar to those found in Southeast Asia did not see a way to shroud the snail into the eye socket.

To be sure, I phoned Hanoi for Dr. Ngo The Phong - the eminent archaeologist of Southeast Asia, glad that he agreed with me.

This form of burial was repeated in the metal age, when I studied an ancient skull of a man about 50 to 55 years old found in Nga Van, Nga Son district (Thanh Hoa) in April 2000. . The only difference is that the skull and a part of the arm bone, a brass catheter is rebuilt in an ancient bronze drum. The ancient people of Nga Son also put in 2 eye sockets, but not snails but 2 coins of Ngu Thu.

Currently, we are continuing to study the Phia Phonai remains, so that there will be conclusions about the type of humanity of this woman.