Tham Lod Rockshelter
Spirit Cave analog
Late Pleistocene to Holocene (c.35000–10000 BP Hoabinhian)·Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers·🇹🇭 Mae Hong Son Province, Pang Mapha District, karst upland near Ban Mae Lana, Thailand
About
About Tham Lod Rockshelter
Large karst rockshelter 50×15 m at 650 m elevation in Pang Mapha karst upland, Mae Hong Son, Thailand, spanning 35,000–10,000 BP. Hoabinhian pebble-tool sequence (Sumatraliths, short axes) with burials, freshwater shell and ochre, showing late Pleistocene–Holocene hunter-gatherer continuity before Neolithic spirit cave tradition.
Why it mattersHoabinhian karst rockshelter spanning 35,000–10,000 BP before Neolithic
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Hoabinhian continuity vs Neolithic replacement?
- 02Burials contemporaneous or intrusive?
Theories
- 01Northern Thailand Hoabinhian persistence model: Tham Lod → Spirit Cave → Ban Chiang
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.35000 BP
- Period
- Late Pleistocene to Holocene (c.35000–10000 BP Hoabinhian)
- Culture
- Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers
- Builders
- Hoabinhian foragers
- Purpose
- Karst rockshelter showing continuous Hoabinhian technology
- Abandoned
- c.10000 BP
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.35000 BP
Initial construction
c. 1512 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
19.5639° N · 98.2792° E · 650 m · 2 mapped features
Main rockshelter chamber
settlement50×15 m chamber with Hoabinhian tools and hearths
19.5642° N · 98.2795° EBurial niche rear
burialRear niche flexed burials with shell and ochre
19.5636° N · 98.2789° E