Spirit Cave Mae Hong Son
Tham Phi Man · Spirit Cave (Tham Lod Rockshelter) · Mae Hong Son Spirit Cave
Upper Paleolithic 18,000 BP → Hoabinhian 10,000–5500 BP → Neolithic 5300 BP pottery·Hoabinhian Tenasserim Shan Hills — Spirit Cave foragers (Tham Lod Rockshelter)·🇹🇭 Thailand, North Thailand, Mae Hong Son Province, Pang Mapha District, Spirit Cave (Tham Lod) rockshelter on Mae Hong Son–Pai karst corridor 110 km north of Mae Hong Son town, Shan Hills Tenasserim, Thailand
About
About Spirit Cave Mae Hong Son
Spirit Cave Mae Hong Son — Hoabinhian rock shelter (18,000–5500 BP, Tham Lod Rockshelter) in Shan Hills karst at Pang Mapha 110 km N Mae Hong Son, excavated 1966 by C. Gorman (Univ. Hawaii) and revisited 1990s as Tham Lod. Spirit Cave revealed Hoabinhian sumatralith choppers, cord-marked pottery (9200 BP early ceramics pre-Jomon), charred rice (5300 BP wild/managed), betel and legumes, and hunter–gatherer seasonality camps. Gorman's pollen proved early Holocene cultural plant use bridging Hoabinhian foraging to paddy. Tham Lod 40,000 BP deeper. Limestone rockshelter 200 m2 at 700 m altitude with Hoabinhian→Neolithic stratification.
Why it mattersEarliest Hoabinhian ceramics 9200 BP and rice 5300 BP — bridging foraging to paddy in Shan karst
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 019200 BP pottery independent invention vs Jomon diffusion?
Theories
- 01Shan karst as Hoabinhian pottery heartland before Jomon
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.18,000 BP Hoabinhian sumatralith foundation (Tham Lod 40k earlier)
- Period
- Upper Paleolithic 18,000 BP → Hoabinhian 10,000–5500 BP → Neolithic 5300 BP pottery
- Culture
- Hoabinhian Tenasserim Shan Hills — Spirit Cave foragers (Tham Lod Rockshelter)
- Builders
- Hoabinhian karst foragers of Shan–Tenasserim
- Purpose
- Karst-seasonality rock shelter documenting Hoabinhian pottery 9200 BP and pre-paddy rice before Neolithic
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.18,000 BP
Hoabinhian sumatralith hunters occupy karst shelter
c.9200 BP
Earliest Hoabinhian cord-marked pottery fired
1966
Gorman discovers early ceramics and rice at Spirit Cave
On the ground
Structures & features
19.3990° N · 98.0480° E · 700 m · 2 mapped features
Inner Hoabinhian Pottery Stratification
layer9200 BP cord-marked pottery Hoabinhian stratification at shelter inner recess 80 cm
19.3995° N · 98.0485° EEntrance Rice Parched Hearth
hearth5300 BP parched rice hearth and sumatralith chopper scatter at shelter mouth
19.3985° N · 98.0475° E
Gallery