Papers by Rasmi Shoocongdej
Quaternary
Ban Rai Rockshelter in northwest Thailand, dating to the Terminal Pleistocene and Middle Holocene... more Ban Rai Rockshelter in northwest Thailand, dating to the Terminal Pleistocene and Middle Holocene, includes evidence for hunter-gatherer exploitation of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and arthropods. Abundant faunal remains, identified throughout site deposits, include macaques (Macaca sp.) and Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), but these identifications are influenced by an assemblage largely comprised of preserved tooth elements and fragmented bone. Area 3 at Ban Rai has the largest abundance and diversity of faunal remains recovered and identified in this study. Here, we examine the zooarchaeological assemblage from Ban Rai Rockshelter, to understand long-term hunter-gatherer subsistence change, influenced by site preservation, during and after the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Our results support the presence of the exploitation of arboreal taxa during the Early and Middle Holocene in northwest Thailand.
SPAFA JOURNAL, Aug 31, 2022
This report presents a summary of introduction to the workshop and lecture series on cultural her... more This report presents a summary of introduction to the workshop and lecture series on cultural heritage and tourism organized by the authors with financial and logistic support from Silpakorn University's Faculty of Archaeology. It provides a short description of workshop background, speakers and their abstracts as publicly disseminated on a webpage of the
An enormous mammal teeth discovered in the late Pleistocene archaeological site plays an importan... more An enormous mammal teeth discovered in the late Pleistocene archaeological site plays an important evidence identifying to mammalian species which its habitat is fundamental information in reconstructing paleoenvironment. In the late Pleistocene, some regions of the world including the inner part of Southeast Asia e.g. the Tham Lod Rockshelter was also affected by the environment change. The aim of this research is to identify mammalian species and to use mammalian species to reconstructing forest by the morphology and size classification of mammal teeth. As teeth are clear character and well preserved part than other bone, they can be clearly identified to genus and species taxa and applied for paleoenviroment interpretation. Moreover, some dental morphological feature such as size can assist to interpret the paleoenviroment change. This research is focused on paleontological aspect which will help to interpret the paleoenviroment at Tham Lod rockshelter in late Pleistocene epoch. ...
The Oxford Handbook of Early Southeast Asia, 2022
This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the Hoabinhian in the context of So... more This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the Hoabinhian in the context of Southeast Asian prehistory, including the variability and distribution of Hoabinhian sites and assemblages and the nature and significance of archaeological data from the Late Pleistocene and Post-Pleistocene in Mainland Southeast Asia. The term “Hoabinhian” was initially applied during the Colonial Period to hunter-gatherer sites, mainly caves, located in Hoa Binh Province of northern Vietnam. Based largely on stone tool morphology, Hoabinhian sites are now widely distributed across Southeast Asia and southern China. Only a few excavated sites have been securely dated, and so, relative dating remains the main chronological approach, based on formal typological criteria. A simple definition of the Hoabinhian concept with regard to tool types should be reevaluated. However, new discoveries have suggested a holistic view of Late Pleistocene and Holocene culture as the analytical methods of e...
Scientific Reports, 2021
The late Pleistocene settlement of highland settings in mainland Southeast Asia by Homo sapiens h... more The late Pleistocene settlement of highland settings in mainland Southeast Asia by Homo sapiens has challenged our species’s ability to occupy mountainous landscapes that acted as physical barriers to the expansion into lower-latitude Sunda islands during sea-level lowstands. Tham Lod Rockshelter in highland Pang Mapha (northwestern Thailand), dated between 34,000 and 12,000 years ago, has yielded evidence of Hoabinhian lithic assemblages and natural resource use by hunter-gatherer societies. To understand the process of early settlements of highland areas, we measured stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of Tham Lod human and faunal tooth enamel. Our assessment of the stable carbon isotope results suggests long-term opportunistic behavior among hunter-gatherers in foraging on a variety of food items in a mosaic environment and/or inhabiting an open forest edge during the terminal Pleistocene. This study reinforces the higher-latitude and -altitude extension of a forest-gra...
We are delighted to present this special section of the SPAFA Journal as the outcome of selected ... more We are delighted to present this special section of the SPAFA Journal as the outcome of selected papers from the “Integrating Local Perspectives into Southeast Asian Archaeology” panel presented at the 21 st Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Conference in September 2018 in Hue, Vietnam. The panel seeks to explore a broader range of viewpoints in conceptualization and practice by integrating local or indigenous knowledge into the archaeology of Southeast Asia. This section consists of several novel research articles, each article having its own uniqueness presenting regional research issues such as indigenous cosmology, prehistoric periodization, and heritage management. These articles not only advance our archaeological knowledge but also reflect a range of theoretical and methodological issues from local and non-local viewpoints in contemporary archaeology and critical heritage studies in Southeast Asia. The papers in this section may serve as a functional venue for a cross-disci...
aims to understand the general health status of the population, the difference in health status b... more aims to understand the general health status of the population, the difference in health status between sexes within the population group and also the difference between the other groups in Northeast Thailand. This health status of the population is investigated from the human remains about 305 skeletons which were uncovered from the secondary jar burials at Non Pacha Kao archaeological site, Ban Krabueang, Bua Yai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The absolute and relative dating for these remains is approximately 1,000-2,500 BP which spans straight to from the Late Prehistoric to the Early Historic period of Thailand. This study is based on the macro examination using four health indicator groups i.e. (1) palaeodemographic data, (2) oral health status, (3) signs of malnutrition and metabolic lesions, (4) signs of degenerative joint and bone trauma.
Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology, 2017
Thailand has a long and complex history regarding the investigation of the past through the mater... more Thailand has a long and complex history regarding the investigation of the past through the material remains discovered during the “pre-modern era,” long before the introduction of scientific archaeology in the 19th century. Archaeological tradition in Thailand developed differently than in the west, with close ties to Buddhism and the formation of nation-states. The traditional archaeology of Thailand is a part of history, thus historical approaches are the primary approaches in archaeological research in Thailand. However, modern Western archaeology was introduced after World War II, and consequently, the development of archaeological research in Thailand has been directly influenced and effected by Western archaeology since then.
Antiquity, 2021
Established chronologies indicate a long-term ‘Hoabinhian’ hunter-gatherer occupation of Mainland... more Established chronologies indicate a long-term ‘Hoabinhian’ hunter-gatherer occupation of Mainland Southeast Asia during the Terminal Pleistocene to Mid-Holocene (45 000–3000 years ago). Here, the authors re-examine the ‘Hoabinhian’ sequence from north-west Thailand using new radiocarbon and luminescence data from Spirit Cave, Steep Cliff Cave and Banyan Valley Cave. The results indicate that hunter-gatherers exploited this ecologically diverse region throughout the Terminal Pleistocene and the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, and into the period during which agricultural lifeways emerged in the Holocene. Hunter-gatherers did not abandon this highland region of Thailand during periods of environmental and socioeconomic change.
Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2021
Thailand and Laos, located in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), harbor diverse ethnol... more Thailand and Laos, located in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), harbor diverse ethnolinguistic groups encompassing all five language families of MSEA: Tai-Kadai (TK), Austroasiatic (AA), Sino-Tibetan (ST), Hmong-Mien (HM), and Austronesian (AN). Previous genetic studies of Thai/Lao populations have focused almost exclusively on uniparental markers and there is a paucity of genome-wide studies. We therefore generated genome-wide SNP data for 33 ethnolinguistic groups, belonging to the five MSEA language families from Thailand and Laos, and analyzed these together with data from modern Asian populations and SEA ancient samples. Overall, we find genetic structure according to language family, albeit with heterogeneity in the AA-, HM-, and ST-speaking groups, and in the hill tribes, that reflects both population interactions and genetic drift. For the TK speaking groups, we find localized genetic structure that is driven by different levels of interaction with other groups i...
Transcending the Culture–Nature Divide in Cultural Heritage, Dec 1, 2013
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2020
Paleoecology of Southeast Asian Caprines human impacts on Thai ecosystems. In addition to the los... more Paleoecology of Southeast Asian Caprines human impacts on Thai ecosystems. In addition to the loss or reduction of grasslands after the latest Pleistocene when rainforests became dominant and besides the human hunting and predation pressure, the high interspecific competition likely contributed to the extirpation of Himalayan gorals in Thailand. Developing a strategic plan for the future biodiversity conservation, a long-term historical isotope approach allowed us to predict the contrasting habitat suitability, a lowland grassland, for these two threatened goral species as testified by their ecological persistence during the Pleistocene.
The Hmong-Mien (HM) and Sino-Tibetan (ST) speaking groups are known as hill tribes in Thailand; t... more The Hmong-Mien (HM) and Sino-Tibetan (ST) speaking groups are known as hill tribes in Thailand; they were the subject of the first studies to show an impact of patrilocality vs. matrilocality on patterns of mitochondrial (mt) DNA vs. male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) variation. However, HM and ST groups have not been studied in as much detail; here we report and analyze 234 partial MSY sequences (∼2.3 mB) and 416 complete mtDNA sequences from 14 populations that, when combined with our previous published data, provides the largest dataset yet for the hill tribes. We find a striking difference between Hmong and IuMien (Mien-speaking) groups: the Hmong are genetically different from both the IuMien and all other Thai groups, whereas the IuMien are genetically more similar to other linguistic groups than to the Hmong. In general, we find less of an impact of patrilocality vs. matrilocality on patterns of mtDNA vs. MSY variation than previous studies. However, there is a d...
PROTEOMICS, 2019
The first dental proteomic profile of Iron Age individuals (ca. 2000-1000 years B.P.), collected ... more The first dental proteomic profile of Iron Age individuals (ca. 2000-1000 years B.P.), collected from the site of Long Long Rak rock shelter in northwest Thailand is described. A bias toward the preservation of the positively charged aromatic, and polar amino acids is observed. It is evident that the 212 proteins identified (2 peptide, FDR <1%) comprise a palimpsest of alterations that occurred both ante-mortem and post-mortem. Conservation of amino acids within the taphonomically resistant crystalline matrix enabled the identification of both X and Y chromosome linked amelogenin peptides. A novel multiple reaction monitoring method using the sex specific amelogenin protein isoforms is described and indicate the teeth are of male origin. Functional analysis shows an enrichment of pathways associated with metabolic disorders and shows a capacity for harboring these conditions prior to death. Stable isotope analysis using carbon isotopes highlights the strongly C 3 based (80%) diet of the Long Long Rak cemetery people, which probably comprised rice combined with protein from freshwater fish among other food items. The combination of proteomics and stable isotope analysis provides a complementary strategy for assessing the demography, diet, lifestyle, and possible diseases experienced by ancient populations.
Science (New York, N.Y.), Jul 6, 2018
The human occupation history of Southeast Asia (SEA) remains heavily debated. Current evidence su... more The human occupation history of Southeast Asia (SEA) remains heavily debated. Current evidence suggests that SEA was occupied by Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers until ~4000 years ago, when farming economies developed and expanded, restricting foraging groups to remote habitats. Some argue that agricultural development was indigenous; others favor the "two-layer" hypothesis that posits a southward expansion of farmers giving rise to present-day Southeast Asian genetic diversity. By sequencing 26 ancient human genomes (25 from SEA, 1 Japanese Jōmon), we show that neither interpretation fits the complexity of Southeast Asian history: Both Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers and East Asian farmers contributed to current Southeast Asian diversity, with further migrations affecting island SEA and Vietnam. Our results help resolve one of the long-standing controversies in Southeast Asian prehistory.
Antiquity, 2017
Creating a facial appearance for individuals from the distant past is often highly problematic, e... more Creating a facial appearance for individuals from the distant past is often highly problematic, even when verified methods are used. This is especially so in the case of non-European individuals, as the reference populations used to estimate the face tend to be heavily biased towards the average facial variation of recent people of European descent. To evaluate the problem, a facial approximation of a young woman from the Late Pleistocene rockshelter of Tham Lod in northwestern Thailand was compared against the average facial variation of datasets from recent populations. The analysis indicated that the Tham Lod facial approximation was neither overtly recent in facial morphology, nor overtly European. The case is of particular interest as the Tham Lod individual probably belonged to a population ancestral to extant Australo-Melanesian peoples.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2017
This study reports on an analysis of human adaptations to sea level changes in the tropical monso... more This study reports on an analysis of human adaptations to sea level changes in the tropical monsoonal environment of Peninsula Thailand. We excavated Khao Toh Chong rockshelter in Krabi and recorded archaeological deposits spanning the last 13,000 years. A suite of geoarchaeological methods suggest largely uninterrupted deposition, against a backdrop of geological data that show major changes in sea levels. Although there is a small assemblage of mostly undiagnostic ceramics and stone artefacts, there are some distinct changes in stone artefact technology and ceramic fabric. There is a substantial faunal assemblage, with changes in both the mammalian and shellfish taxa during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition that correlate with local sea level fluctuation. This assemblage provides an opportunity to explore subsistence behaviours leading up to the transition to the Neolithic. We explore the implications for current debates on the prehistoric origins of agricultural subsistence in mainland Southeast Asia. The data highlight the importance of local contingencies in understanding the mechanisms of change from foragers to agriculturalists.
The zooarchaeological record of a recently excavated rockshelter site in peninsular Thailand is s... more The zooarchaeological record of a recently excavated rockshelter site in peninsular Thailand is summarized. Detailed identification of mammalian, reptilian, piscean and molluscan taxa indicate a unique foraging pattern of prehistoric humans throughout the late-Pleistocene to Holocene. KEY WORDS: vertebrate and molluscan assemblages, late-Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, Khao Toh Chong, Krabi, Thai land.
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Papers by Rasmi Shoocongdej
The Sub-regional Symposoum for The Fight Against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia, organized by UNESCO, 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand