RITUAL ECONOMY: HIDDEN CORNERS IN SUỐI CỎ ANCIENT ROCK ART HERITAGE

Abstract

Ritual economy is a powerful and useful conceptual tool in interpreting the heritage of cultures and civilizations with economic scales based on prehistoric clan and tribal structures and various rural communities, especially in the ancient family-based mode of production. Ritual economy is conceived as a theoretical approach to understanding and explaining the ways in which knowledge, economy, power and human agency are linked together in society and transform prehistoric society. Today, the ritual economy approach to interpreting ancient rock art heritage has become popular in modern archaeology around the world. Ancient people believed that all material resources were controlled by gods. People used those resources to create economic values by behaving reverently and ritually with the gods. That implication is very commonly expressed on the ancient rock art heritage of Suối Cỏ (Hòa Bình) rock art heritage in particular, and in Vietnam in general. Therefore, interpreting ancient rock art heritage under the perspective of ritual economy will help clarify the meaning and contribute significantly to the preservation and promotion of the great values of this invaluable heritage.