Palaeolithic zooarchaeology in Myanmar: a review and future prospects

The Anyathian culture, one of the prominent stone arte-fact traditions in Mainland Southeast Asia spanning the Pleistocene and Holocene, has been frequently described at archaeological sites in the central belt of Myanmar. Human exploitative patterns of plant and animal re-sources relating to the Anyathian are obscure due to the paucity of systematic stratigraphic excavations in Myan-mar. However, recent research in the States of Shan and Kayin has shown that Myanmar has the potential to contribute to a better understanding of human subsistence economies at hunter-gatherer sites throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. This study reviews faunal evidence recovered in association with stone artefacts at hunter-gatherer sites throughout Myanmar and illustrates the significance that further, more intensive research and better chronometric dating has for developing our understanding of foraging strategies in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene in Myanmar.