Achan Sim Cave

Terrain

General Condition

The archaeological site is located on Phu Kao. It is about 5 km south of Wat Phra Phutthabat Phu Kao, about 150 meters east of Tham Mum (Patchari Sarikabutr 2000).

The nature of the source is a sandstone cliff. It is about 5 meters high, 10 meters long (Department of Fine Arts 1989) or 20 meters (Archaeology Division 1989; Torsakul Thiraphat et al. 1997; Payao Khemnak 1996; Patcharee Sarikabut 2000), facing north. Under a stone courtyard, about 5 meters high from the ground, this cliff is deeply concave, looks like a rock recess that has been eroded into a waterway.

Phu Kao consists of 9 mountains, namely Phu Fang, Phu Khum Pun, Phu Han, Phu Moei, Phu Khor Mo, Phu Chan, Phu Phoe, Phu Luak and Phu Wat. These 9 mountains are very complex. has a shape like a facing pan with a plain in the middle surrounded by two mountains The outer layer is mountainous and has a very steep slope. The inner mountain slopes are not very steep. (Tham Achan Sim is located in the inner hillside of the outer mountain range). Most of the area is high and low, some are plain. An area like this is probably the remains of an ancient volcano that has been extinct for hundreds of millions of years. or otherwise, it is the deflection of the earth's crust in this area up to the edge of the mountain range.

Currently, Phu Kao, including archaeological sites, is located in the Phu Kao-Phu Phan Kham National Park area. The general appearance is a deciduous dipterocarp forest. There are trees scattered everywhere. especially in the area of ​​hillsides and ridges The important plants are trellis, nests, wattles, antimony, saplings, cycads, cycads, grass, pek, peng, vines and many types of thorns. The mixed deciduous forest is a forest that exists in the lowland areas along the creeks, valleys and some hillsides. The important plants are red, padauk, maca, tae, krabok, staghorn, bird's foot, the ground plant is bamboo. The evergreen forest is only found along the banks of the creek. The important plants are Tabak, Yang, Takhian Hin, Macha Mong, Krabok, and Rosewood.

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Phong River, Huai Sam Mek, Huai Bong, Huai Som

Geological conditions

The archaeological site is located on the sandstone mountain, which is the edge of the outer mountain range of Phu Kao. Classified in the temple stone category. Korat Stone Group From the Cretaceous to the Jurassic The inner mountain range and within Phu Kao are sandstone in the Korat rock group. Cretaceous Khok Kruat, Phu Phan and Sao Khua rock categories

Archaeological Era

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

The archaeological site is located on the inner hillside of the outer mountain range of Phu Kao. It is about 5 km south of Wat Phra Phutthabat Phu Kao, about 150 meters east of Tham Mum (Patchari Sarikabutr 2000).

The nature of the archaeological site is a sandstone cliff. It is about 5 meters high, 10 meters long (Department of Fine Arts 1989) or 20 meters (Archaeology Division 1989; Torsakul Thiraphat et al. 1997; Payao Khemnak 1996; Patcharee Sarikabut 2000), facing north. Found important archaeological evidence is Prehistoric paintings

The paintings appeared in 2 groups according to the location they were found, but both groups were continuous long images. is the area on the ceiling under the recess and on the north side of the stone shack, about 4 meters long, about 2 meters high from the floor, all paintings are painted in red.

Group photo at 1 It is an image that was originally found. On the wall of the cliff facing north Written on an area of ​​size 2x4 meters, it is a low stone shed next to the ground. About 2 meters high from the floor, able to stand and write. This group of pictures is written in a rectangular frame. The picture on the left (east side) is a portrait of a person, painted in outline style, standing with arms and legs spread, with a penis-like figure in the middle. The head part is written in a circle. There is a long wavy line from the body to the right or west side of the shed.

About 15 cm from the portrait, there is a cross with parallel lines intersecting. Herringbone lines, straight lines, and then a fish image by writing the outline with small lines. Inside the body there are rows of lines. Like fish scales? There is one upper fin, no lower fin. forked fish tail There are tangled stripes on this tail as well. In the middle of the body there is a line like a loop. The image of this fish is 1 meter long and the body is 30 centimeters wide. Under the picture of this fish there are 5 lines arranged in rows with zigzag stripes. Following the picture of the second fish, there is an external outline drawing. The image has faded a lot. Only one arm left from knee to toe missing There is a penis-like image between the legs (Phayao Khemnak 1996 :126)

Group photo at 2 Under the shack looks like a rocky recess that has been eroded into a waterway. Inside the recesses of the rock found a picture of a fish similar to the Swai-Thepho fish. write in outline The body has stripes. It may be a feature of the internal structure of the fish. Characteristics of this fish is 65 centimeters long, 13 centimeters wide, with 1 upper fin, 2 lower fins, 1 forked tail, and the head is unclear. On the side of the fish there is a cross-shaped line drawing. Written using parallel lines, Y-shape pattern (Y) and indefinite shape (Phayao Khemnak 1996 :126)

May summarize the characteristics of the picture according to the written pattern into 3 groups (Phayao Khemnak 1996; Patcharee Sarikabut 2000) is

1. Portrait of 2 people, both of them may be male because they depict a penis-like figure. It's a realistic portrait of a tree branch. write with outlines Standing head and tail flanked by the two fish, this is a picture showing the intense freshwater fishery in this region. If considering the environment close to Phu Kao It can be seen that the Phong River is the main river. But before there may be abundant fish The paintings and carvings on the Phu Kao Mountains mainly depict fish. The fertility of this Phong River creates a community of “Non Nok Tha”, Phu Wiang District, Khon Kaen Province, and at the foot of Phu Kao is “Don Klang”, Ban Kut Kwang Soi.

2. Picture of 3 fish, all of the same species, namely the Sawai-Thepho (Pansai family or Pangasiidae family), average length of about 1 meter, body width of 30 centimeters, which is considered large. The artists who painted the paintings and the people of this area in the past are probably very familiar with such fish.

3. Line art, including jagged lines, serrated lines, Y-shape (Y), crosses, parallel lines, straight lines, crooked lines, and irregular lines.

Patcharee Sarikabutr (2000) analyzes the image of Achan Sim Cave. Found that the characteristics of the lines are exquisite. should use a brush A suitable stone wall is selected. Demonstrates an intention to write a picture. The distribution of each image is a stand-alone image. and has a distinctive feature These images are correlated between images and groups of images in one form or another. Might want to explain about food animals. Or it may be related to one of the rituals of belief.

Payao Khemnak (1996) said that when looking at the images found, one can see the relationship between people and fish. Probably not about food The painting is caused by the artist's own internal desires and external stimuli. This can be both a tradition and a ritual. Here should be a ritual about catching fish. Especially consistent with writing a picture of the penis. which means prosperity.

Torsakul Thiraphat et al. (1997) assumed that the image of two people standing flanked by a large fish appeared. It could mean fishing.

While a survey of the Fine Arts Department (1989) assumed that these paintings were written in response to social beliefs. The artist who painted the picture assumed that he was in a traditional social life. bond with nature Painting is part of the ritual. Made to create stability about the living conditions of society. The paintings found were similar to those of other distant sources. This may be due to immigration from one community to another. It is a group of people with the same level of social development on the same basis. or a group of people who have contact These people make use of the rock sheds as temporary shelters for some activities. This area is probably inhabited by the hill tribe people. and moving their settlements indefinitely causing no tools to be used to write images in the area of ​​color paintings.

In the area of ​​Phu Kao, many prehistoric archaeological sites were found. Both cave art sources on Phu Kao and Don Klang located on the plains of the eastern foothills of Khao Phu Kao.