Spirit Cave, Thailand

19.56780555555698.281083333333Koordinaten: 19 ° 34 '4 " N, 98 ° 16' 52" E

The Phimaen Cave ( Spirit Cave, Thai ถ้ำ ผี แมน, Tham Phi Maen ) is a part of the cave system of Tham Nam Lot ( Thai: ถ้ำ น้ำ ลอด, also: Tham Lot Pang Mapha - ถ้ำ ลอด ปาง มะ ผ้า ) in the district of Pang Mapha, Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand.

In the cave system there are archaeological sites, it was inhabited 9000-5500 BC by hunter-gatherers of Hoabinhian.

Location and excavations

The site is located at about 650 meters above sea level in a range of hills, about nine kilometers from the nearest village of Ban Lot. He was processed archaeological Chester Gorman in the 1960s. Two other localities are also within the Tham Nam Lot cave system: the Banyan Cave ( Banyan Valley Cave ) and the steep cliffs Cave ( Steep Cliff Cave ).

Neolithic and Agriculture

The site is dated to the Neolithic period, which is usually regarded as the completion of the technological development of the Stone Age. At this time the targeted cultivation of crops began by humans. So were also found in the Phimaen Cave traces of almonds, Terminalia, betel, peas, peppers, cucumbers and gourds. Although these findings do not differ from their naturally occurring related species and are therefore more likely to be seen as a result of a gatherer society, but are still considered an important precursor of the targeted cultivation of crops in Southeast Asia.