Tham Lod rockshelter (Unit 1)
Basic information
Sample name: Tham Lod rockshelter (Unit 1)

Reference: R. Shoocongdej and A. Wattanapituksakul. 2020. Faunal assemblages and demography during the Late Pleistocene (MIS 2-1) to Early Holocene in Highland Pang Mapha, Northwest Thailand. Quaternary International 563:51-63 [ER 3710]
Geography
Country: Thailand

State: Mae Hong Son



Coordinate: 19° 34' 19" N, 98° 16' 38" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3710

Unit number: 1

Unit order: below to above

Max Ma: 0.03238

Min Ma: 0.022257

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "Tham Lod rockshelter is located in the Tham Lod Nature and Wildlife Educational Center in northern Thailand, approximately 640 m above sea level, and 250 m from the Lang River".
Based on several radiocarbon ages, "the lower part of the Late Pleistocene sequence (Unit 1) is estimated to range from 22,257 to 32,380 years BP".

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: human accumulation,rock shelter

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "The rockshelter forms part of a huge semi-circular karstic limestone doline, facing to the north. The karstic features are developed in Middle Carboniferous limestones".
"Based on the stratigraphic profile and chronological data, the sequence is divided into three main geoarchaeological units or "Cultural Layers" that can be correlated to the successive settlement phases". The first cultural layer (Unit 1), the lowest part of the sequence, "provides evidence for the presence of hunter-gatherers".
"The Tham Lod lithic assemblage involved a total of 102,386 items recovered from all three cultural layers. These can be subdivided into cores, flake tools, and pebbles, with the majority being produced from locally available grey sandstone cobbles and pebbles collected from the nearby Lang River". The site "appears to have been used as a lithic workshop (tool manufacturing and maintenance), as supported by the high densities of lithic artifacts and refuse".

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,turtles,fishes

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 1089 specimens

Years: 2002

Sampling comments: "In 2002, the Highland Archaeology Project excavated three areas at the base of the rockshelter, covering a transect from the cliff slope to the lower plain: Area 1 (a 6 m2 trench), Area 2 (a 12 m2 trench), and Area 3 (an 18 m2 trench)".
The register below corresponds to the remains found throughout Cultural Layer 1 (Unit 1) across all three excavation areas.

Metadata
Sample number: 3928

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-03-26 11:42:04

Modified: 2023-05-30 00:31:24

Abundance distribution
23 species
2 singletons
total count 1089
geometric series index: 28.7
Fisher's α: 4.121
geometric series k: 0.7569
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7731
Shannon's H: 2.0131
Good's u: 0.9982
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Macaca sp.9
also 14 Cercopithecidae indet.
Colobinae indet.2
Ursus thibetanus663 kg browser-frugivore
also 35 "Ursus spp."
Arctonyx collaris1 invertivore
also 25 Carnivora indet.
Elephas sp.5
Rhinoceros sondaicus7
Sus scrofa7054 kg herbivore
Muntiacus sp.13
Cervus eldii23
"Panolia eldii"
Cervus unicolor163100 kg grazer-browser
"Rusa unicolor"; also 259 Cervus sp. "Panolia/Rusa sp."
Axis sp.140
also 186 Cervidae indet.
Bubalus arnee16
Bos gaurus26481 kg
Bos javanicus7488 kg
Capricornis sumatraensis21
Naemorhedus griseus68
Naemorhedus goral925 kg
Bandicota indica1
also 1 Bandicota sp.
Rhizomys sp.2
Cannomys badius7
also 27 Rhizomyinae indet.
Hystricidae indet.30
Testudines indet.458
also 9 Reptilia indet.
Cyprinidae indet.5