The hunter-gatherer lifestyle represented by the Hoabinhian “techno-complex” (Gorman 1971) has persisted as a successful way of life for forest hunter-gatherers such as the Mlabri (Yumbri) right up to the present. It was not, however, a static cul- ture, but one that creatively evolved with changing environmental conditions to form
2 Stuart-Fox
regional variants. A number of cave sites in northern Thailand illustrate such develop- ments. As sites became more permanent, the collection and grinding of wild seeds and grains appear to have provided an increasing proportion of the diet. Few excavations have been carried out in Laos, but there is little doubt that similar developments took place within the Mekong basin as were happening within that of the Chao Phraya. One significant development over this period was that we occasionally find deliberate inhumation of the dead, mostly in a flexed position. Another, judging by the human remains available, was that the population was becoming more characteristically Mongoloid in anatomy.