With more than 50 extant turtle species, Southeast Asia is currently a hotspot of turtle biodiversity. However, the distribution areas of most species are decreasing as a consequence of human activities. The causes of this decline are multiple: habitat and natural resources destruction, introduction of invasive species, hunting, etc. Historical data are however still lacking for a detailed understanding of that regional trend as well as for forecasting its evolution in the future. Indeed, while oral testimonies and text data can provide a rather good appreciation of the decline of biodiversity over the last few decades; nothing is known about the dynamic of turtle biodiversity over the Holocene. This lack of data is especially damaging in area where human activities are interacting for a long time with the wild fauna, as the central plain of Thailand, which is now dominated by agricultural landscape. In order to solve these issues, we investigated five Holocene localities in Thai central plain which provided assemblages of turtle remains ranging from Neolithic to Dvaravati periods (4000 to 1000 BP). The studied archaeological assemblages showed a very high species richness. Species such as Malayemys macrocephala, Cuora amboinensis, Heosemys annandalii, Heosemys grandis, Siebenrockiella crassicolis, Amyda ornata were among the most abundant. We also found several plates and a cranial material belonging to a species of the genus Batagur and tortoise remains including Indotestudo elongata and a few plates belonging to the genus Geochelone. The Batagur and Geochelone genera are absent from living turtle assemblages in the central plain but are present in Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia or Southern Thailand for Batagur and far in the West for Geochelone (Myanmar) respectively. Batagur is usually found in coastal areas and its disappearance from central plain is interpreted as resulting from the destruction of a fragile habitat and possibly from the rapid geomorphological evolution of the Chao-Phraya deltaic plain, the disappearance of tortoises could result from deforestation. Cutting traces showed that most turtles were used as food resources at these times, suggesting that turtle hunting was a common practise. Furthermore, occurrence of holes in the margin of the carapace of specimens from Kheed Khin (Saraburi Province) and Promthin Tai (Lopburi Province) suggests that turtles were sometimes kept captive alive or transported. This study shows that investigation of recent fossil localities allows for a better understanding of the role of past human populations in the alteration of the biodiversity through time, and for a more accurate estimation of the rates of species extinction.

东南亚拥有50多种现存的海龟物种，目前是海龟生物多样性的热点。但是，由于人类活动，大多数物种的分布面积正在减少。造成这种下降的原因有多种：栖息地和自然资源遭到破坏，入侵物种的引进，狩猎等。然而，仍然缺乏历史数据来详细了解该区域趋势以及预测其未来的演变。确实，尽管口头证词和文本数据可以很好地了解过去几十年来生物多样性的下降；关于全新世期间海龟生物多样性的动态，我们一无所知。缺乏数据尤其在人类活动与野生动物长期相互作用的地区造成破坏，作为泰国的中部平原，现在以农业景观为主。为了解决这些问题，我们调查了泰国中部平原的五个全新世地方，这些地方提供了从新石器时代到德瓦拉瓦蒂时期（4000至1000 BP）的海龟残骸组合。所研究的考古组合显示出很高的物种丰富度。物种如大头马来亚，Cuora amboinensis，Heosemys annandalii，Heosemys grandis，Siebenrockiella crassicolis，Amyda ornata是最丰富的。我们还发现了几块板块和属于Batagur属的一种颅骨材料和包括Indotestudo elongata在内的陆龟遗骸和几只属于Geochelone属的板块。该棱背龟属和龟属，是从活乌龟组合在中部平原缺席，但存在于缅甸，柬埔寨，印度尼西亚或泰国南部的棱背龟属和远在西方的龟分别为（缅甸）。巴塔古尔通常在沿海地区发现，其从中部平原的消失被解释为是由于脆弱的栖息地遭到破坏，也可能是由于昭法拉三角洲平原的快速地貌演变所致，乌龟的消失可能是由于森林砍伐造成的。切割痕迹表明，此时大多数海龟都被用作食物资源，这表明狩猎海龟是一种常见的做法。此外，在来自Kheed Khin（萨拉武里省）和Promthin Tai（Lopburi省）的标本的甲壳边缘出现了孔，这表明乌龟有时被俘虏或存活。这项研究表明，对最近的化石地点进行调查有助于更好地了解过去的人类在一段时间内对生物多样性的改变中的作用，