Micro‑Plant Remains from Lithics and Sediments at Laang Spean Cave, Cambodia: Insights from Pre‑Hoabinhian and Hoabinhian Layers

Celine Kerfant1*, Ignacio Clemente‑Conte2, HENG Sophady3,4, Isabel Expósito5, Antonio Pérez‑Balarezo6, NGOV Kosal4, Simon Puaud7, Valery Zeitoun8, Cyril Viallet9, Ruxi Yang8, and Hubert Forestier9

This research explores how ancient Hoabinhian communities interacted with and managed their surrounding landscapes, with particular emphasis on plant use in daily life and technology at the cave site of Laang Spean, Cambodia. Excavations conducted by the Franco‑Cambodian Archaeological Mission since 2009 have revealed a well‑preserved sequence ranging from a pre‑Hoabinhian layer dated to approximately 71,000 years ago to a Neolithic horizon with human burials dated to around 7,000 years ago. The Hoabinhian occupation, dated between 13,000 and 7,000 years ago, provides a unique opportunity to investigate the gradual shift from mobile foraging to more settled ways of life. Using microarchaeobotanical methods, this study analyses phytoliths and micro‑anatomical plant remains from sediments and residues preserved on stone tools. Analysis across eleven stratigraphic layers reveals distinct differences in plant use and vegetation between the pre‑Hoabinhian, Hoabinhian, and Neolithic phases. The Hoabinhian layers display the greatest diversity of plant signals, suggesting complex use of local vegetation and possible early forms of plant resource management, including rice‑ and millet‑type grasses, though without evidence of true cultivation. Microscopic residues on one lithic artefact indicate the presence of non‑woody monocot plants, most likely bamboo, pointing to plant use in tool manufacture or processing. This multidisciplinary research integrates archaeological, environmental, and botanical data to illuminate early human–plant relationships and “forest technologies” in mainland Southeast Asia.