BURIALS AND HUMAN REMAINS IN THAI NGUYEN AFTER MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF DISCOVERY AND RESEARCH

Abstract

Thai Nguyen is a province which is rich in cultural history and revolutionary traditions. In the 70s and 80s of the twentieth century, in Than Sa commune, Vo Nhai district, Thai Nguyen province, Vietnamese archaeologists discovered archaeological relics such as Phieng Tung, Nguom, Na Ngun, Tham Choong, Ha Son 1, Ha Son 2, etc. dating from post-Stone Age to early Neolithic period. Among them, the discovery of Nguom relic has especially provided archaeologists with new insights into the development of Nguom industry - the industry of separating pieces of stones in the post-Stone Age of Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Since 2011, the Vietnam Archeology Institute in collaboration with Thai Nguyen Museum, Department of History - Thai Nguyen University of Education has restarted the mission and organized of a number of investigations and surveys, discovering 10 new monuments, setting the scientific basis for Thai Nguyen prehistoric research to enter a new stage. In this article, the author investigated and collected documents of burial and human remains in Thai Nguyen in a total of more than 30 archaeological relics discovered so far. On the basis of in-depth analysis of fuve human skeletons in three discovered relics, the author aims to investigate the burial and anthropological characteristics of the prehistoric people in Thai Nguyen. The research results will contribute to a brief reconstruction the life of ancient people in Thai Nguyen, supplementing the teaching in high schools. On the other hand, it will contribute to the determination of the anthropological composition of residents in Northeast Vietnam in particular and that of Vietnam in general.