A Mortuary and Osteoarchaeological Analysis of Skeletons Recovered in Doi 4 Cave, Tam Chuc, Ninh Binh, Northern Vietnam

Kimberly A. Plomp1*, Tran Thị Minh1,2, Nguyen Lan Cuong3, Pham Thanh Son2, Do Van Hien4, Nguyen Xuan Trung5, Tran Phu Hien4, and Tran Thi Mai Huong4

Doi 4 Cave, located in the Ninh Binh province of Northern Vietnam, was used as a settlement site between 29,000 and 14,000 cal BP. An excavation conducted in 2023 discovered the intentional burial of three individuals, along with stone artefacts, mollusc shells, charcoal, and animal bones. Two individuals, M1a and M1b, were articulated and buried facing North in a side-flexed position. M1a was likely an older adolescent male while M1b was a child of 5 to 6 years of age. The third individual, M2, is a disturbed burial of an adult male, clustering immediately east of M1b. This paper will present an interpretative analysis of the mortuary treatment of the three individuals, along with palaeopathological analyses of stress and disease indicators. Multiple intentional burials dating to the Palaeolithic are relatively rare in Vietnam, making this find significant in terms of understanding Palaeolithic mortuary practices. Also, since M1a and M2b are both non-adults, our findings will provide unique insight into frailty and mortality of Palaeolithic populations in Vietnam and how such losses were treated within their communities.