International symposium spotlights Vietnam’s Early Stone Age

The event, organised by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the Gia Lai People’s Committee, drew the participation of 120 experts from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, the US, Russia, Italy and Vietnam.

Participants noted the significance of the detection, excavation and study of the complex of relics dating back to the early Stone Age in the town of An Khe in Gia Lai to the heritage of Southeast Asia and the world.

The findings are considered part of the national history, and excavated objects are to be displayed at museums with the aim of making An Khe a national and international hub of historical culture, thereby contributing to the socioeconomic development of the province and the Central Highlands region.

Over the past two years, nearly 30 archaeological relics have been found at the Go Da and Roc Tung sites, including from the Paleolithic Age. Artefacts such as stone axes and pieces of tectite were unearthed at the relics.

Director of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology Nguyen Giang Hai said the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the Russia Academy of Sciences have agreed to continue joining hands in excavating and studying the Paleolithic relics in An Khe from 2015-2019.

The preliminary results of the archaeological study in An Khe have recorded the presence of Homo erectus, an ancestor to modern humans, in Vietnam.