10,000-year-old caves discovered
10 December 2006 (The Nation) - A series of caves in North Thailand prove to yield significant archaeological material. The location of the caves remain undisclosed, but are slated for research and eco-tourism in the future.
10,000-year-old caves discovered
Exploration uncovers 176 caves, which can provide answers about life in the North
Scientists have recently made significant cave discoveries in the Pang Mapha district of Mae Hong Son.
They are excited about the geological, ecological and archaeological importance of the finds.
A few of the caves will be opened to tourists but most will be preserved for research.
…
Silpakorn University archaeologist Dr Rasmi Shookongdej said finds from the caves and their surrounding areas were important. After three years the team still has much to study.
“The traces we found tell us how people in the area used caves in their age, which is more than 10,000 years ago. We found burial sites, skeletons and stone and iron tools,” Rasmi said.
The 176 caves have been divided into three categories - tourists can visit 15, 112 will be saved for research and 49 have yet to be classified.
The 15 tourist caves have been divided again - seven are for adventure tourists, four for general tourism and another four have religious significance.
Of those set aside for research, dozens could be opened to visitors later, Kasem added. But, priority was study.
Related Books:
Caves of Northern Thailand by P. Sidisunthorn, S. Gardner and D. Smart
Patterns of habitation and burial activity in the Ban Rai Rock Shelter, Northwestern Thailand by C. Treerayapiwat
Caves of Malaysia
Caves, temples and charms of Thai south
Thailand’s rock art
Cabinet to get report on conservation of caves in Sabah
Archaeology in a war zone
Tags: cave burials, iron tools, Mae Hong Son province, Pang Mapha, Rasmi Shookongdej, Silpakorn University, stone tools, Thailand archaeology
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December 11th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
This news is quite interesting, although its not exactly new news, as much of the info is taken from the recently published Caves of Northern Thailand book.!!
December 13th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Really? Haha, perhaps that’s an indication of how up-to-date some media are. Maybe it was a slow news day and it was something in the story bank.