Rock Art Research

Pha Taem in Luang Prabang Province, northern Laos, is a cliff face overlooking the Ou River with over 300 red pictograms, mostly hand prints, anthropomorphs, zoomorphs, and others interpreted as ‘hunting scenes’ and ‘boats’. One local interpretation of the site is as a commemorative scene for hunting animals, which took place on the opposite river bank. Interestingly, the motifs depicted on the wall have similarities with cliff paintings at the Pak Ou Caves some 70 km downstream. The physical connection of the two sites along the same river raises the possibility of locating more rock art sites along the Mekong and the Ou River and underscores the role of rivers as lines of communication in this mountainous environment.