The Early Paleolithic Go Da Site and the Bifacial Lithic Industries of Southeast Asia

The lithic industry of the stratified site Go Da in Central Vietnam is described, and its place among the contemporaneous Early Paleolithic sites of East and Southeast Asia is determined. Results of a morphological technotypological analysis of the Go Da assemblage are provided. Go Da is attributed to the An Khe-type sites situated in the eponymous area of Vietnam. Cores and tools were made from pebbles, less often from fl akes. Primary reduction focused on simple pebble cores with natural striking-platforms, whereas radial cores were less common. Predom inant among the tools are picks, scrapers of various modifi cations, choppers, and chopping tools, as well as denticulate and notched tools; also, bifaces occur. These tools belong to a single homogeneous industry, showing common features in primary reduction, preparation, and design of key artifacts. On the basis of analysis of the stratigraphic sequence of Go Da and the absolute date of 806 ± 22 ka BP, generated by the potassium-argon analysis of tektites, it is proposed that the site is older than other dated locations with the An Khe industry. Apparently, it resulted from a convergent evolution of the pebble-fl ake industry introduced by the fi rst wave of Homo erectus from Africa. Go Da and other An Khe sites likely belong to a vast habitation zone of Southeast Asian hominins with technologically and typologically similar industries dating to the boundary between the Lower and the Middle Pleistocene.

Assessment the impacts of climate change on drought in the Ba River basin, Central Vietnam using Landsat remote sensing data

Sustainable management of the river basin is a profound challenge for environmental management in the context of climate change. Drought situations in a basin occur in relation to meteorological, hydrological, agricultural factors and climate change as well. In this study, remote sensing technology was applied to assess the impacts of climate change on drought in the Ba River basin, Central Vietnam. Drought in the basin has been created by land use/land cover changes in recent years, which has resulted in a sharp decrease in forest area in the period 1989 to 2019 (-41.5%) and a significant increase of agricultural land with 38.2%. Following that, the area of drought agriculture rose by 28.8%. The remarkably high drought areas in agricultural land were in El Nino years, 2016 (99.2%) and 2019 (87.3%), which indicated that under climate change impacts, a drought occurred more severely. Moreover, drought also appeared in the forest. The forest area deceased but the drought levels in the forest increased slightly since 2005 and hit a peak drought value in 2016 with 97.0% of forest area. During El Niño years, the precipitation, atmospheric moisture, and water flow in the basin were all lower than in previous years.

Diversity of Silica-Scaled Chrysophytes in Central Vietnam

This paper focuses on the flora of scale-bearing chrysophytes from eight provinces located in the central part of Vietnam. Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Tri, and Quang Binh provinces are located in the coastal area of Vietnam. Lam Dong and Dak Lak provinces represent mountain territories with an elevation of 500–2000 metres above sea level. In total, 212 water bodies of different origins were studied. Samples were obtained from swamp areas, lakes, rivers, reservoirs, ponds, and small temporary water bodies. In total, 76 taxa were identified by electron microscopic observations of samples. A total of 54 taxa were found in the mountainous provinces, while 73 were found in the coastal provinces. Of these, 51 species are common for both areas. The most diverse was the genus Mallomonas with 66 species, varieties, and forms; followed by Synura with 7 taxa; Chrysosphaerella with 2; and Spiniferomonas with 1. Seven taxa of the genus Mallomonas were not identified to the lower rank. All these unidentified specimens may potentially represent new species for science. Ten taxa are reported for the first time in Vietnam.

Violence and adversity among pregnant women and new mothers in central Vietnam

Prenatal intimate partner violence (p-IPV) can harm the physical and mental health of mothers and their offspring, and the effects can persist throughout life. Among Asian countries, which are strongly influenced by patriarchal ideology, Confucian beliefs and gender norms, Vietnamese women are at high risk of physical and psychological trauma from abusive behaviours. Current social, economic, and political transitions can reinforce gender inequality, and also change expectations of partners within intimate relationship; this interplay has been associated with individual men’s use of violence.

Biogas Production and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction due to Use of Biogas Digesters in Small Farms in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam

This research aims to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions due to the use of biogas technology in Quang Tri Province. With a total of over 354,000 cattle in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, waste from livestock becomes large. The GHG emitted from the livestock industry is not small, affecting the environment. Currently, there is little concern or documentation about the reduction of GHG emissions in small farms using biogas digesters in central Vietnam. This province has applied technological solutions, typically biogas digesters, but the amount of biogas production is not calculated accurately. Our survey was conducted in Vinh Linh District and Cam Lo District in March 2019 and involved 50 farms equipped with biogas digesters and 20 farms without it. The respondents were selected based on the information provided by local authorities, satisfying two conditions: livestock households and biogas users. The former group was asked 25 questions and the latter was asked 10 questions needed to calculate GHG emissions such as the number of animals and petroleum gas/ firewood consumption. This study uses formulas described in the 2006 guideline issued by IPCC to estimate reduced GHG emissions. The results showed that the average biogas production is 5.52 m³.household-1.day-1. Only 2% of the farms made the best use of the biogas digester. The surveyed households have not really used the most optimal amount of biogas production. In this scenario, this study recommends some solutions for solving the problem. In addition, the average annual emissions before having a biogas digester are estimated to be 20.53 tons CO2e/household/year. After using the biogas, the GHG emissions are reduced to 4.52 tCO2e.household-1.day-1. Thus, the replacement of daily cooking energies with biogas helps reduce 16.01 tCO2e of greenhouse gas for each farm per year.

A preliminary survey of Chinese ceramics in Champa archaeological sites | Khảo sát sơ bộ về đồ gốm sứ Trung Quốc tại các địa điểm khảo cổ học Champa

The Champa Kingdom was recognized popularly as a typical maritime polity in premodern Southeast Asia. Thanks to its strategic location between the Chinese market and Southeast Asia and South Asia, the Champa coast became a frequent destination of foreign traders and merchant ships for centuries. Ceramics was among the essential commodities in trade between Champa and international traders. This article relies on archaeological records and field surveys at Champa sites in central Vietnam to provide an overview of the distribution of Chinese ceramics in central Vietnam from the 7th to 10th centuries. Based on this primary data set, the author will discuss the trade and diplomatic relations between Champa and China and their implication to Champa’s state development. Vương quốc Champa được ghi nhận như một vương quốc biển điển hình ở Đông Nam Á thời kỳ cổ trung đại. Nhờ vị trí chiến lược giữa thị trường Trung Quốc với các nước Đông Nam Á và Nam Á, bờ biển Champa trở thành điểm đến thường xuyên của các thương nhân và tàu buôn nước ngoài trong nhiều thế kỷ. Gốm sứ là một trong những mặt hàng thiết yếu trong giao thương giữa Champa và các thương nhân quốc tế. Bài viết này dựa trên các dữ liệu khảo cổ học và kết quả khảo sát thực địa tại các địa điểm khảo cổ học Champa ở miền Trung Việt Nam để cung cấp một cái nhìn mang tính tổng thể về sự phân bố của đồ gốm sứ Trung Quốc ở miền Trung Việt Nam từ thế kỷ thứ 7 đến thế kỷ thứ 10. Dựa trên bộ dữ liệu cơ bản này, tác giả sẽ thảo luận về quan hệ bang giao và thương mại giữa Champa với Trung Quốc thời Đường và ý nghĩa của mối quan hệ này đối với sự phát triển nhà nước của Champa.

Cretaceous Granitic Magmatism in South-Central Vietnam: Constraints from Zircon U–Pb Geochronology

South-central Vietnam abundantly presents magmatic rocks with larger volumes ofCretaceous granitic rocks. In this study, zircon U–Pb geochronology of granite samples from the Deoca,Ankroet, and Dinhquan complexes in south-central Vietnam are utilized to investigate Cretaceousgranitic magmatism. According to U–Pb analysis results, zircon ages of granitic rocks display the Deocaat ~113–92 Ma, the Ankroet at ~103–98 Ma, and the Dinhquan at ~97–113 Ma. The range of ages isnarrow from 113 to 92 Ma, with most common ages date at ~100 Ma. Published data and our resultsdisplay that Cretaceous granitic magmatism was active between ~87–118 Ma and most active at ~100Ma in south-central Vietnam. Additionally, the Deoca and Dinhquan complexes show inherited ages inTriassic followed by Proterozoic and Carboniferous to Ordovician. The obtained ages indicate that Itypegranitic rocks could be derived from melting of basement rocks. Our study suggests that I-typegranitic rocks in south-central Vietnam were significantly intruded around 100 Ma.

Primulina scutellifolia, a new species of Gesneriaceae from southern Vietnam

Primulina scutellifolia is described as a new species from Khanh Hoa Province, southern Central Vietnam. It is distinct in the genus in having scutellate leaves that make it a highly potential ornamental plant. The new species looks like P. annamensis in general shapes, sizes and colours of habit, inflorescence, flower, and leaf but is distinguishable by adaxially glabrous and abaxially strigose leaves with serrate margins, scutellate leaf blade and appressed downwards tomentose petiole, sparsely glandular hairs on apical 1/2 of the gynoecium and trapeziform one-lipped stigma with slightly emarginated apex.