Discovered some prehistoric caves in Tuyen Quang

Archaeologists have collected a set of archaeological artifacts, mostly stone and pottery found on the edge of the cave. The stone collection consists of nearly a dozen polished stone axes, including quadrilateral axes, two shoulder axes and one shoulder ax.

On September 24, Associate Professor, Dr. Trinh Nang Chung, Vietnam Institute of Archeology, Head of Archaeological Survey Team in Tuyen Quang Province, said during the survey and archaeological survey in July 2018 at Tuyen Quang province, Institute of Archeology and Tuyen Quang Museum have discovered many places with cultural vestiges of caverns in the limestone mountains of Chiem Hoa district. It is Pu Chua cave in Minh Quang commune and Hang cave, Monkey cave in Phuc Son commune.

The above relics are characterized by the topography of the caves distributed on the slopes of low limestone mountains, near rivers and near streams. Pu Chua Cave is located in Ban hamlet, Minh Quang commune. The cave is distributed in the middle of the southeast side of a large mountain, at a height of more than 50m above the foot of the mountain. The small arched cave opens to the southeast, overlooking a large valley. The way to the cave is very convenient. The surface of the cave is quite flat and over 100m2, deep inside the cave, it is divided into many niches, the dome-shaped ceiling is less of a droopy. Most of the cave area receives natural light, favorable for people to reside. About 200m away from the cave to the southeast, a large stream flows through.

The survey results initially showed that traces of prehistoric people found concentrated mainly near the cave entrance. Based on the excavation hole in the cave, the archaeological culture is quite thin about 0.4m. Archaeologists have collected a set of archaeological artifacts, mostly stone and pottery found on the edge of the cave. The stone collection consists of nearly a dozen polished stone axes, including quadrilateral axes, two shoulder axes and one shoulder ax.

About the ax shape: The big part of the blade, the part of the governor is shrunk and both are grinded from both sides, however, on the ax body, there are many marks. Pottery has dozens of pieces including many pieces of mouth, body and bottom. Surveying the pieces of pottery shows that they are mainly made with turntable, only a few pieces with traces are squeezed. Most have decorative patterns on the surface with technical motifs to create ancient patterns such as twisting the rope, or carving the wave pattern in succession. These ceramic pieces can be broken from various types of pots, pots and pots with different sizes.

Based on the overall study of relics, in the sedimentary stratigraphic structure, the researchers initially said that Pu Chua cave is a relic of prehistoric people, dating to the post-Stone Age. new, dated to about 4,000 years ago. This is the first time to discover the relics of late Neolithic cultural inhabitants in Chiem Hoa and Tuyen Quang districts.

Hang Ngan and Monkey cave belong to Ban Bien commune, Phuc Son commune. The survey team only surveyed the surface, has not conducted excavation and exploration but has discovered nearly ten stone chipping tools, including rough cutting tools, sharp tools. These are rudimentary labor tools that are versatile of prehistoric people. In a cave wall, there are traces of sediments containing pieces of stone, snails of tail snails, tail snails and animal teeth. Based on the remaining vestiges, Ngan and Monkey cave are the residence sites of prehistoric inhabitants of the Stone Age, possibly earlier than Pu Chua cave.

From the archaeological evidence mentioned above, it can be concluded that Chiem Hoa is a land with archaeological potential. Currently, the authorities are planning to explore the Pu Chua cave and survey the entire limestone block of Chiem Hoa district in the future.