Abundant Signs of Habitation Before MMAP, there was enough
historical and present-day evidence to show that the area around
Luang Prabang was rich in the kind of prehistoric remains that,
over time, could help put together more pieces of the cultural
puzzle in the middle Mekong. During the pre-World War II
colonial era, French scholars wrote about collecting many stone
and bronze tools and ceramic artifacts of prehistoric origin
along the Mekong River and its tributaries in Luang Prabang
province. As some research resumed in those areas in the 1990s,
archaeologists and others continued to find similar artifacts.
In 2001, Dr. Joyce White undertook a quick assessment survey
with Bounheuang Bouasisngpaseuth, an official at the Lao
Department of Museums and Archaeology. They confirmed that Luang
Prabang province holds unusual potential for finding in situ
prehistoric evidence. In only a three-day period, Dr. White saw
signs of over 10,000 years of human occupation in a very small
geographic area, including at lea