Ref ID:	24067
Ref Type:	Book Section
Authors:	Rabett, Ryan J. Piper, Philip J. Barker, Graeme
Title:	Bones from 'Hell': preliminary results of new work on the Harrisson faunal assemblage from the deepest part of Niah Cave, Sarawak
Date:	2006
Source:	Uncovering Southeast Asia's past: selected papers from the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists
Place of Publication:	Singapore
Publisher:	National University of Singapore Press
Abstract:	This paper reports the preliminary results of a detailed re-examination of the bone assemblage excavated in the 1950s and 1960s from Niah Cave, Sarawak, supplemented by studies of fauna collected in a renewed programme of investigations. Vertebrate faunal remains constitute the single largest component of the archaeological assemblage recovered from this site. The paper discusses interim findings regarding the identification and distribution of the macro-vertebrate remains from the earliest deposits in the West Mouth entrance to Niah Cave, known as the ‘Hell’ trenches. The 34-40,000-year-old sediments in which the famous Deep Skull was found appear to have formed a comparatively discrete and extremely rich archaeological horizon, extending beyond the confines of the original Hell trench system. The faunal material appears to have accumulated within a linear series of shallow depressions a few metres inside the lip of the West Mouth entrance, though the precise nature and duration of the occupation from which it derives remains to be ascertained. On the evidence of the density and range of material identified from this deposit, Niah Cave contains one of the most extensive repositories of evidence for early human subsistence behaviour in Southeast Asia. The composition and structure of the macro-vertebrate remains suggest that the early visitors to the cave practised a sophisticated hunting and fishing economy.
Date Created:	10/3/2006
Editors:	Bacus, Elisabeth A. Glover, Ian C. Pigott, Vincent C.
Page Start:	46
Page End:	59