(HBO) – The Hoa Binh Civilisation is a renowned prehistoric one in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Its relic sites have been discovered and studied in many periods in history by different teams and individuals.
Archaeologist Dr. Nguyen Viet are still
applying himself to the study of the Hoa Binh Civilisation.
The one who discovered and laid the foundation
for the research of the Hoa Binh Civilisation in the country was French
archaeologist Madeleine Colani. More than 20 studies of the civilisation by her
left a great imprint on archaeology in Vietnam and Indochina as a whole.
Following Colani’s findings, some Vietnamese and
international scientists continued studying this civilisation.
In the early 1960s, Prof. Dr. Boriscopski, a
Russian expert in the Old Stone Age from the Leningrad (Saint Peterburg) State
University of the then Soviet Union, came to Vietnam to help train the first
generation of the country’s archaeologists. He re-examined some caves that
Colani had discovered and excavated and also conducted excavations at Muoi and
Tam caves.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dr. Chester
Gorman from the US carried out a research on the Hoa Binh Civilisation in
Southeast Asia. He was the first person to use screening to shed light on plant
traces of the civilisation and formulate a hypothesis about the practice of
agriculture in the Hoa Binh Civilisation. Gorman visited Vietnam and caves in
Hoa Binh from 1978.
A Japanese archaeologist who also greatly
contributed to the civilisation study was Nishimura Manasary, who had taken
part in some excavations in Thailand and then came to Vietnam in the 1990s to
research Trai Hamlet Cave. His findings were publicised at a conference marking
the 60th anniversary of the civilisation recognition in Hanoi in 1992.
Among Vietnamese archaeologists, the researchers
dedicating to the study include Assoc. Prof. Hoang Xuan Chinh, an expert in the
Stone Age and former Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology.
He excavated some caves and published some articles and books about the Hoa
Binh Civilisation.
Another is Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the
Centre for Prehistoric Southeast Asian Studies, who was the first person to
apply screening and micro archaeological documentation to archaeological
studies in Vietnam in 1982, 1986 and 1987, regarding such caves as Trai Hamlet,
Vanh Village, Tre Hamlet, Muoi, Con Moong, Cang, and Sung Sam.
Luu Huy Linh, Deputy Director of the provincial
Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said aside from the abovementioned
scientists, others from many countries such asNepal, India, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and China have also studied the Hoa Binh
Civilisation.
After nearly one century of research, the Hoa
Binh Civilisation has always been a unique prehistoric civilisation attractive
to generations of archaeologists. Amid the science development nowadays, the
study of the civilisation promises many more mysteries to be revealed, he
added./.
The People’s Committee of Lac Son district held a ceremony on April 28 to receive the provincial relic certificate for the ancient rock carving site at Suoi Co stream, located in My Thanh commune.
A special music show titled "The country is in the fullness of joy” has been held at Hoa Binh Square in Hoa Binh city in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975–2025).
The People's Committee of Lo Son commune, Tan Lac district, has organised the local annual traditional stream fishing festival on April 19 - 20.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
