Matting Impressions from Lo Gach: Materiality at Floor Level

Abstract

In Southeast Asia, organic materials do not generally survive in the archaeological record, especially fibre-based artefacts. In this paper, I report on some rare, well-preserved impressions of floor matting discovered during the 2014 excavations at the site of Lo Gach, Long An Province, southern Vietnam, dated to ca. 2750 cal. BP. The impressions not only provide useful insights into weaving technology in the past, they also indicate that the techniques utilised more than 2,500 years ago to produce mats and winnowing trays have endured until the present day