Figure 1
A map of Southeast Asia, highlighting the key cave localities in the research analysed in this review.
Figure 2
(A) Argillaceous chaotic breccia deposit cemented to the limestone cave wall of Lida Ajer; (B) Fractured angular clast protruding from the breccia cement; (C) Cervid tooth specimen incorporated into the breccia matrix.
Table 1
A summary of the method evolution used in the taphonomic analyses of Southeast Asian cave sites. A full review is available in the supplementary information.
| Theme | Author/Year | Cave site name | Study Location | Methodologies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breccia Depositional Components | Glover, 1979 | Ulu Leang I | Lealleang Valley Maros Sulawesi | Stratigraphic analysis Sediment analysis |
| Gilbertson et al., 2005 | Subis limestone Niah | Sarawak | Stratigraphic analysis Radiocarbon dating | |
| Duringer et al., 2012 | Nam Lot | Pà Hang Mountain Laos | 14C for recent deposits U/Th - detrital content pollution | |
| Tam Hang | Huà Pan province Laos | Cosmogenical burial - susceptible to reworking OSL | ||
| Duoi U’oi | 25 km from Hoà Binh city Man Duc Village Vietnam | Cosmogenical burial - susceptible to reworking OSL | ||
| Ma U’oi | Man Duc village Vietnam | Cosmogenical burial - susceptible to reworking OSL | ||
| O’Connor et al., 2017 | Lachitu | S2°38’0.20” E141°08’11.0” Oenake range Papau New Guinea | Carbon dating Bio/chronostratigraphic dating of cultural materials from archives | |
| Lena Hara | S08°24’51.9” E127°07’21.42” Papau New Guinea | Carbon dating Bio/chronostratigraphic dating of cultural materials from archives | ||
| Laili Cave | S08°54’48” E126°16’40.5” Timor-Leste | Carbon dating Bio/chronostratigraphic dating of cultural materials from archives’ into the methodology column for Laili Cave | ||
| Louys et al., 2017 | 32 sites Talaud | See Supplementary database | 14C dating Neutron tomographic imaging ESR dating OSL dating Micromorphology | |
| 4 sites Sangihe | 14C dating Neutron tomographic imaging ESR dating OSL dating Micromorphology | |||
| 19 sites Alor | 14C dating Neutron tomographic imaging ESR dating OSL dating Micromorphology | |||
| 19 sites Pantar | 14C dating Neutron tomographic imaging ESR dating OSL dating Micromorphology | |||
| 13 sites Timor Leste | 14C dating Neutron tomographic imaging ESR dating OSL dating Micromorphology | |||
| 25 sites Sumatra | 14C dating Neutron tomographic imaging ESR dating OSL dating Micromorphology | |||
| Celiberti et al., 2018 | Doi Pha Kan | Lampang Province N18°26.95’ E99°46.62’ Thailand | Techno-morphostudy | |
| Vertebrate & Cultural Assemblages | Long et al., 1996 | Lang Trang | Thanh Hoa Province Vietnam | Faunal Analysis |
| Tougard et al., 1998 | Thum wiman nakin | Kon San District Thailand | Taphonomic analysis Faunal analysis | |
| Esposito et al., 2002 | Snake cave | Kon San District Thailand | U-series dating | |
| Bacon et al., 2004 | Ma U’oi | Tan Lac Province N20°37’22” E105°16’40” Vietnam | U/Th dating | |
| Bacon et al., 2006 | Ma U’oi | Tan Lac Province N20°37’22” E105°16’40” Vietnam | U/Th dating | |
| O’Connor et al., 2005a | Pulau Kobroor Liang Nabulei Lisa | Aru Island | Radiocarbon dating Weighting cultural material Faunal analysis | |
| Ibrahim et al., 2013 | Batu caves | Malaysia 13 km north of Kuala Lumpur Batu cave Massif | Luminescence U/Th dating TIMS Gamma spec | |
| Filoux et al., 2015 | Tham Prakia Phet | Chaiyaphum Province Thailand | Faunal analysis | |
| Suraprasit et al., 2015 | Khok sung | Nakhon Ratchasima Province Thailand | Magnetostratigraphy Systematic Palaeontology | |
| Bacon et al., 2015 | Tam Hang | Huà Pan province Laos | Uranium series dating OSL | |
| Nam Lot | Pà Hang Mountain, Laos | Uranium series dating OSL | ||
| Duoi U’oi | 25 km from Hoà Binh city Man Duc Village Vietnam | Uranium series dating OSL | ||
| Punung Fauna | S08°80’30.3” E111°10’58.3” S08°70’33.2” E110°580’58.5” S08°070’33.5” E110°590’15.1” Java | Uranium series dating OSL | ||
| Simbrambang | Tapisello, west Sumatra | Uranium series dating OSL | ||
| Sutikna et al., 2016 | Liang Bua | East Nusa Tenggara Flores | ESR dating Thermoluminescence | |
| Westaway et al., 2017 | Lida Ajer | S00°19’11.8” E100°35’12.3” Sumatra | Luminescence U-series dating ESR dating | |
| Bacon et al., 2018a | Boh Dambang | N22°210’21.54” E106°260’6.12” Cambodia | SG-OSL U-series dating ESR dating | |
| Setiyabudi et al., 2018 | Seropan | Yogyakarta S08°00’55.5” E110°40’56.9” Indonesia | Systematic palaeontology | |
| Suraprasit et al., 2019 | Yai Ruak | Krabi Province N92°78’98” E47°50’10” Thailand | Radiometric dating Systematic Palaeontology | |
| Taphonomic Agents | Schwartz et al., 1994 | Tham Khuyen | Lhang Song Province Vietnam | Faunal analysis |
| Zeitoun et al., 2005 | Cave of the Monk | Chiang Dao Wildlife Reserve Thailand | Taphonomic analysis | |
| Bacon et al., 2008 | Doui U’oi | Tan Lac Province N20°37’12” E105°16’25” Thailand | Palynology | |
| Mijares et al., 2010 | Callao | Cagayan Valley, Northern | U-Series | |
| Luzon, Phillippines | U- concentration Laser ablation Faunal analysis CT scanning | |||
| Frère et al., 2018 | Doi Pha Kan Ban Tha Si | N18°26’55” E99°45’98” Lampang Province Thailand | Taphonomic analysis | |
| Laang Spean | Battam Bang N12°51’E102°55’ Cambodia | Taphonomic analysis | ||
| Post-depositional Complexities | O’Connor et al., 2005b | Sungai Dosi Liang Lemdubu | Aru Island | Radiocarbon dating Weighting & distribution of remains |
| O’Connor & Aplin, 2007 | Lena Hara Matja Kuru 2 Telupunu Jerimalai Uai bobo Bui Ceri Oato | Northeast coast of Timor-Leste Within Baucau Limestone formation | Radiocarbon dating | |
| Liang Lemdubu Nebulai Lisa | Aru Islands South of New Guinea at 7°S and 134°E | Radiocarbon dating | ||
| Westaway et al., 2007 | Punung Fauna | S08°080’30.3” E111°010’58.3” S08°070’33.2” E110°580’58.5” S08°070’33.5” E110°590’15.1” Java | OSL TIMS Thermoluminescence | |
| O’Connor et al., 2010 | Lene Hara | S08°24’51.9” E127°07’21.42” Timor-Leste | Thermoluminescence OSL | |
| Morley et al., 2017 | Liang Bua | Western Flores, Miocene limestone near Wae Racang | Radiocarbon dating Micromorphology | |
| Zeitoun et al., 2019 | Ban Fa Suai II | Ban Fa Suai Village Thailand | Faunal analysis ESR dating Palaeoecological analysis | |
| McAdams et al., 2020 | Con Moong | Cuc Phuong National Park Vietnam | Radiocarbon dating OSL dating Micromorphology |
Table 2
| Major Type | Sub-type | Lithology | Nature/Origin | SE Asian Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra-formational breccia | Polymict | Matrix-supported fabric. Many variable gravel-sized clast origins derived outside the site of deposition | Breakdown of older rocks through erosion and deposition by fluid flow and sediment gravity flow | |
| Oligomict | Matrix-supported fabric. Few gravel-sized biogenics/clastics. Clasts with origins likely derived predominantly of contemporaneous limestone or dolomite | See above | Westaway et al., 2007 | |
| Monomict | Matrix-supported fabric. Gravel-sized biogenics/clastics. Clasts of a single rock type, likely a single contemporaneous rock unit | See above | Bacon et al., 2008 | |
| Intra-formational breccia | Mainly monomict | Gravel-sized biogenics/clastics derived from the site of deposition, clastics are typically micritic limestone in origin | Fragmentation of poorly consolidated contemporaneous beds, deposited by fluid or gravity flow | O’Connor et al., 2017 |
| Cataclastic breccia | Landslide/slump | Random biogenic/clastic supported fabric. Appear massive | Breakage due to tensile stresses of slumping | Louys et al., 2017 |
| Solution collapse breccia | Inversely graded fabric. Sharp, flat base. Commonly matrix supported. Insoluble clast fragments | Breakage due to collapse into void created by solution or similar processes |
Figure 3
A Pongo molar with distinctive weathering on the mesial side, with a distinctive divide down the midline where the tooth was partially buried in the sediments of Ngalau Gupin B, Sumatra.
Figure 4
A single photomicrograph (database reference: MM3B, LSU-B) of a heavily phosphatised carbonate grain from Con Moong cave, North Vietnam viewed in plane polarised light McAdams et al.