Some stone tools dating back to the late Palaeolithic period that were discovered in the Den Thuong area of Chiem Hoa district, Tuyen Quang province (Photo: vass.gov.vn)

Assoc. Prof. and Dr. Trinh Nang Chung from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology told Vietnam News Agency on May 8 that in a field survey in early April, researchers discovered hundreds of stone items lying between surface level to tens of centimetres underground on several hills on the right bank of the Gam River.

At the hill area in Dong Quac and Tan Lap hamlets of Binh Nhan commune, dozens of pebble tools with their style typical of the Son Vi Culture, dating back some 20,000 years ago in the late Palaeolithic period, were unearthed. They include pointed tools, rough cutting tools, and jagged axes.

Stone items used to make working tools were also found, evidence that primitive humans were creating their tools right at the site, Chung said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of stone objects belonging to different prehistoric periods were also discovered in the hill area of Den Thuong in Vinh Quang commune. Some of them are as old as the items found in Dong Quac and Tan Lap hamlets. Others that were made using more advanced techniques are likely to date back to the Hoa Binh Culture, some 8,000-9,000 years ago in the early Neolithic period.

Also in the Den Thuong area, archaeologists unearthed many bronze axes, arrows, and spears bearing the style of the Dong Son Culture, more than 2,000 years ago.

Those vestiges show that this area was continually the place of residence for many generations of human beings, from the Palaeolithic period to the Iron Age, Chung said, adding it is a rare type of relic site located in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam.

Additionally, researchers also discovered some quadrilateral axes and rough ceramic items at Loong Cha Cave in Dong Ngu hamlet, Binh Nhan commune. They initially concluded that this cave was a living place of people more than 4,000 years ago.

Experts are planning more excavations in the time ahead, Chung noted. –VNA