The source of Nghe An's cultural heritage: Part 1: The beginning
Nghe An is a land with an ancient culture, appearing among the earliest in Vietnamese history. People have discovered apes in Tham Om cave (Quy Chau), many tools from the Paleolithic period in Tham Hoi cave (Con Cuong), Chua cave (Tan Ky)...
Traces of apes and ancient cultures
As many days of Vietnamese history with ups and downs, Nghe An history also has as many times with such ups and downs. In the process of building and defending the country, Nghe An and the nation have overcome storms and bloodshed to survive and develop. The eighteen Hung Kings who founded the country left many archaeological cultural sites and immortal legends with famous generals, mandarins, scientists and cultural figures on Nghe An land. Considered a land of "spiritual land and talented people", it has a diverse, rich and diverse number of relics and scenic spots, dating back to the beginning of time. Each relic is associated with historical events and traditional festivals imbued with the identity of Nghe An. To help readers understand more clearly and deeply about the potential of Nghe An's historical and cultural relics, and at the same time remind and educate the younger generation to always remember and be proud of their national origins. Nghe An Newspaper has produced a series of articles "The source of Nghe An's cultural heritage". The editorial board will introduce to readers relics that have been ranked at provincial and national levels through four historical periods: ancient, medieval, modern and modern. To complete this topic, we have received help from scientists and researchers at the central and local levels. Especially the units: Provincial Monuments and Landscapes Management Board, Department of Cultural Heritage - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, General Museum, Soviet Nghe - Tinh Museum, Kim Lien Relic Site, Provincial Library... and leaders of localities with relics. In the process of synthesizing documents and presenting articles, it is inevitable that there will be shortcomings, we hope that readers near and far will contribute and exchange ideas. The topic refers to documents of scientists and researchers at the central and local levels. |
Tham Om Cave is located on the right bank of Ban Tham Stream, a tributary of Hieu River. In the red sediment layer of the Canh Tan period, archaeologists found 5 human teeth (including 1 upper canine tooth, 3 upper molars and 1 baby tooth). Based on the sediment containing human teeth, researchers believe that the ape man in Tham Om lived about 200,000 years ago. Today, the floor of Tham Om Cave is 17m higher than the water level of Ban Tham Stream in the dry season. Over time, Tham Om Cave and the limestone block have been raised. The ape man rarely lives in the cave but mainly lives on the alluvial terraces in Ban Tham Valley. This place is cool, close to the water source without fear of flooding. They lived in primitive groups, gathering and hunting with wooden sticks and crudely chiseled stone tools. That is when clans and tribes were formed. This is also the time when the Paleolithic era transitioned from its early to its late stages.
Houses are still located next to the Con So Diep site.
The owners of Hoa Binh culture were hunters. In their homes, bones of wild animals that they hunted were often found. Pebble tools were typical of Hoa Binh culture and primitive people. Another characteristic was that Hoa Binh residents often buried their dead right in their homes. In Tham Hoi cave as well as in Chua cave, graves of people from that time were found. In the tomb in Chua cave, there was also a stone axe.
Following the Hoa Binh culture is the Bac Son culture. It was the tribes that owned the Hoa Binh culture, on the path of development, that created the Bac Son culture. In some caves in Nghe An, stone axes were found with a very small part of the edge of the blade sharpened. Unfortunately, there are still very few traces of the Bac Son culture in Nghe An. Therefore, in this period, we would like to emphasize the tribes that created the Quynh Van culture - the first typical site discovered is Vo Diep islet in Quynh Van commune (Quynh Luu).
Con Vo Diep in Quynh Van commune is called Con Thong Linh, located next to National Highway 1, 57 km from Vinh City. Thanks to archaeological excavations, we know that Con Vo Diep (Quynh Van) is a place where primitive people lived. In Con Diep in Quynh Luu, archaeologists have found many stone tools of primitive people. The Quynh Van tribes did not know how to grind stone tools but knew how to grind bone tools and developed pottery making techniques.
In addition, archaeologists also found their kitchens, which were piles of coal ash, with smoky stones in the middle. Some of the stones were cracked due to being burned by fire. The coal ash often contained animal bones, fish bones and crab claws. Through these traces, we can partly know the economic activities of the Quynh Van tribes. The residents of the Quynh Van culture tribes lived mainly by catching scallops on the coast and brackish water. In the scallop mounds, the vertebrae and fins of quite large sea fish were also found. To catch such fish, primitive people had to have boats to go out to sea.
So about 5 thousand years ago, people lived in many places in Nghe An, from the mountains to the sea.
Bau Tro Culture
The rice-growing inhabitants of the late Neolithic era in the plains and coastal areas were none other than the descendants of the tribes who had previously established the Quynh Van culture. The culture they created was called the Bau Tro culture by archaeologists.
During this period, the most common tool was the stone axe. The stone axe blades of this period can be divided into two types: one rectangular or trapezoidal and one with a small handle to fit the handle. The type of axe with a handle to fit the handle is called a shouldered axe. The stone axes in Nghe An have an oval or lens-shaped cross-section. They knew how to choose suitable types of stone to make whetstones like today. There were types of whetstones made of sandstone, with hard grains, used for initial grinding. There were types made of smooth slate, used to polish and sharpen the blade when the axe was already in shape. There were some small stone axe blades, polished to a shiny, square, and pretty appearance, proving that the stone sharpening technique had reached a high level. Tribes in areas with stones to make axes often set up workshops to make stone axes to exchange with other regions.
Van Market is held on the Con So Diep site.
In addition to making axes, pottery making also developed. The Bau Tro culture residents gradually abandoned the type of pottery with a pointed bottom and the technique of molding pottery by hand, moving towards using round-bottomed pottery made with a turntable. The later the pottery became, the better and more beautiful it became. In the sites in Con Diep Trai Mung (Quynh Son, Quynh Luu), shallow-bottomed pottery was found, with a round base but a four-sided mouth. In Con Diep in Quynh Luu, a special pottery was found, like a cup placed in a plate with a high rim, but the cup and plate were stuck together. At this stage, primitive people also used red stones to grind and then apply on the pottery. Archaeologists have found red-lacquered pottery (or yellow-ochre pottery) in Ru Ta (Dien Chau), Trai Oi (Quynh Luu)...
The tribes of the late Neolithic period in Nghe An, the owners of Bau Tro Culture, were also rice farmers. Thanks to the development of rice agriculture, the tribes of Bau Tro culture were able to live on many different terrains. Their material and spiritual life was also richer in many aspects. At that time, they knew how to weave. Evidence of weaving is the small spinning wheels (also called spinning plumb bobbins) made of terracotta found in many sites. People at this time also had more jewelry, not just wearing shells and snails like before. And this was also the stage of matriarchal clan communes.
They continued to live in caves in limestone mountain ranges such as Tham Me Muon, Tham Pong and Tham Ke Sang caves (15 km northwest of Quy Chau district), Ke Tien cave, Ke Tham cave and Ban Pun rock shelter in the Nam Quang river valley, near Moong village (Que Phong), or Hoong Con cave (Chau Cuong), Pieng Po cave (Lien Hop) in Quy Hop land... Nghe An mountain people liked to wear jewelry more than coastal people. In Tham Pong cave, many pottery items of many different types were found. However, the most typical of the mountain tribes during this period was wet rice agriculture which became the spearhead economy. They grew rice on low-lying areas along the Hieu river.
1. Currently, Tham Om Cave is located in Chau Thuan Commune, Quy Chau District. About 7 km from Highway 48. From Bua Cave, following the asphalt road to Chau Thuan Commune, we can reach Tham Om Cave. Tham Om in Thai means Big Cave. This is a beautiful cave with diverse natural formations and archaeological value. Along with Bua Cave, Tham Om Cave was included in the goal of restoration and investment by Quy Chau District to serve tourists. As a mountainous district with many difficulties, investing in cave tourism development for Quy Chau is too much work, requiring the participation of the province and domestic and foreign investors. 2. Con So Diep (Quynh Van, Quynh Luu) used to be a place of residence for primitive people. In 1974, Van market - a rural market of Quynh Van commune people was relocated to the archaeological site. On October 9, 2006, the Provincial Monuments and Landscapes Management Board sent Official Dispatch No. 165/CV - NV and on February 1, 2007, sent Official Dispatch No. 19/CV - NV on reporting the results of the survey to establish a profile of the archaeological site and clearing the area of Van market, Quynh Van to reserve a position to establish a profile to rank the archaeological site of Con Diep Quynh Van. Currently, the new Van market has been approved for planning on a 1.4 hectare land plot located right on the Van - Bang inter-commune road with a total investment of 25 billion VND, expected to be completed and put into use in 2015. |
Thanh Thuy - Thanh Le
