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The Hoabinhian of Southeast Asia and its Relationship to Regional Pleistocene Lithic Technologies

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Book cover Lithic Technological Organization and Paleoenvironmental Change

Part of the book series: Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation ((STHE,volume 9))

Abstract

The Hoabinhian is a distinctive Pleistocene stone artifact technology of mainland and island Southeast Asia. Its relationships to key patterns of technological change both at a global scale and in adjacent regions such as East Asia, South Asia, and Australia are currently poorly understood. These key patterns are important indicators of evolutionary and demographic change in human prehistory, so our understanding of the Hoabinhian may be substantially enhanced by examining these relationships. In this paper I present new evidence of ancient Hoabinhian technology from northwest Thailand and examine connections between Hoabinhian technology and the innovation of other important Pleistocene technological processes such as radial core geometry. I present some claims about the evolutionary significance of the Hoabinhian and recommend future research priorities.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Rasmi Shoocongedej for the opportunity to be involved in the work at Tham Lod, to Sue O’Connor for the access to the Jerimalai lithic assemblage, to Ya-Mei Hou for the advice on the Donggutuo assemblage, and to Scot Kelchner for the advice on bamboo phylogenetics. Any errors remain my own.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Ben Marwick

  2. Center for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

    Ben Marwick

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Correspondence to Ben Marwick .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA

    Erick Robinson

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    Frédéric Sellet

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Marwick, B. (2018). The Hoabinhian of Southeast Asia and its Relationship to Regional Pleistocene Lithic Technologies. In: Robinson, E., Sellet, F. (eds) Lithic Technological Organization and Paleoenvironmental Change. Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64407-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64407-3_4

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