Radiocarbon dates from jar and coffin burials of the Cardamom Mountains reveal a unique mortuary ritual in Cambodia's late- to post-Angkor period (15th-17th centuries AD)

We present the first radiocarbon dates from previously unrecorded, secondary burials in the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. The mortuary ritual incorporates nautical tradeware ceramic jars and log coffins fashioned from locally harvested trees as burial containers, which were set out on exposed rock ledges at 10 sites in the eastern Cardamom Massif. The suite of 28 14C ages from 4 of these sites (Khnorng Sroal, Phnom Pel, Damnak Samdech, and Khnang Tathan) provides the first estimation of the overall time depth of the practice. The most reliable calendar date ranges from the 4 sites reveals a high- land burial ritual unrelated to lowland Khmer culture that was practiced from cal AD 1395 to 1650. The time period is concurrent with the 15th century decline of Angkor as the capital of the Khmer kingdom and its demise about AD 1432, and the subsequent shift of power to new Mekong trade ports such as Phnom Penh, Udong, and Lovek. We discuss the Cardamom ritual relative to known funerary rituals of the pre to post-Angkorian periods, and to similar exposed jar and coffin burial rituals in Mainland and Island Southeast Asia

Health in late prehistoric Thailand

xvii, 326 leaves :ill. (some col.), col. maps, form ; 30 cm. Includes bibliographical references.This thesis has been published as: Domett, K. (2001). Health in late prehistoric Thailand (Vol. 946). Oxford: Archaeopress.The aim of this research was to provide a synthesis of the variations in health among prehistoric Thai communities, and to show that the health of these people was differentially affected by both their natural and cultural environment. Four skeletal samples comprising a total of 500 skeletons provided the material for this research. There were two coastal southeastern skeletal samples, Khok Phanom Di (2000-1500 BC, early agriculture) and Nong Nor (1100-700 BC, Bronze Age) and two inland northeastern samples, Ban Lum Khao (1400 BC, Bronze Age) and Ban Na Di (600-400 BC, Iron Age). It was hypothesised that the health profile of samples from within the same natural environment would be similar and, conversely, that the health status of the northeast would be in contrast to the southeast. Additionally, it was hypothesised that changes in the cultural environment through time, including the intensification of rice agriculture, would see an improvement in general health. Health, morbidity, and mortality were investigated through the analysis of a selection of parameters that included measures of mortality, growth and its disturbances, joint disease, trauma, and dental health. This selection, although not exhaustive, enabled a representation of the health status of the four samples to be obtained and compared. Using a biocultural approach this information has been integrated with archaeological and ethnographic evidence for nutrition, pathogen load, and culture, to determine the effect each natural and cultural environment had on community health. Within the southeast region there were marked differences between the health profiles of the Khok Phanom Di and Nong Nor samples. Nong Nor had lower subadult mortality, taller adult statures and lower prevalences of dental pathologies. However, skeletal preservation was poor at Nong Nor and not all parameters were able to be observed. Within the northeastern samples health profiles were similar in overall prevalences of joint disease and dental health, but childhood morbidity and mortality were different. The latter, measured through observations of infant mortality, enamel hypoplasia and adult stature, were higher at Ban Lum Khao than at Ban Na Di. The natural environment had a significant influence on the health status of the people studied but not in the manner hypothesised. Comparisons within and between regions were complicated by time differences that may have affected the people's ability to cope with their environment. The comparatively poorer health suffered by the Khok Phanom Di and Ban Lum Khao communities may have been related to their settlement and adjustment to potentially new environments. In contrast, it is likely that both the Nong Nor and Ban Na Di communities were familiar with their natural environments as they were not the first settlers in their respective regions. With respect to the cultural hypothesis, results indicated that a general improvement in health had occurred through the time periods studied. The earliest sample, the people of Khok Phanom Di, were the least healthy. They had comparatively high prevalences of dental pathologies and joint disease, and high subadult mortality and morbidity, the latter reducing the attained adult stature. Health improved into the Bronze Age, particularly so in the Nong Nor sample, the people of which had low subadult mortality and tall statures compared with the Ban Lum Khao sample. However, poor preservation of the Nong Nor skeletal material places a caveat over any interpretation. The people of the early Iron Age at Ban Na Di continued the trend for improving health. They had moderate subadult mortality and morbidity, although as they reached tall statures these had limited effects. In addition, dental health improved and osteoarthritis decreased with time. Post-Iron Age, Thai people underwent an expansion of society led by the establishment of the centralised political regime of the Angkorian civilisation. From this selective view of skeletal health it appears the people were healthy enough to withstand the effects of such a transition. Further integration with other prehistoric Southeast Asian skeletal samples is now required to support this statement

Health in late prehistoric Thailand

xvii, 326 leaves :ill. (some col.), col. maps, form ; 30 cm. Includes bibliographical references.This thesis has been published as: Domett, K. (2001). Health in late prehistoric Thailand (Vol. 946). Oxford: Archaeopress.The aim of this research was to provide a synthesis of the variations in health among prehistoric Thai communities, and to show that the health of these people was differentially affected by both their natural and cultural environment. Four skeletal samples comprising a total of 500 skeletons provided the material for this research. There were two coastal southeastern skeletal samples, Khok Phanom Di (2000-1500 BC, early agriculture) and Nong Nor (1100-700 BC, Bronze Age) and two inland northeastern samples, Ban Lum Khao (1400 BC, Bronze Age) and Ban Na Di (600-400 BC, Iron Age). It was hypothesised that the health profile of samples from within the same natural environment would be similar and, conversely, that the health status of the northeast would be in contrast to the southeast. Additionally, it was hypothesised that changes in the cultural environment through time, including the intensification of rice agriculture, would see an improvement in general health. Health, morbidity, and mortality were investigated through the analysis of a selection of parameters that included measures of mortality, growth and its disturbances, joint disease, trauma, and dental health. This selection, although not exhaustive, enabled a representation of the health status of the four samples to be obtained and compared. Using a biocultural approach this information has been integrated with archaeological and ethnographic evidence for nutrition, pathogen load, and culture, to determine the effect each natural and cultural environment had on community health. Within the southeast region there were marked differences between the health profiles of the Khok Phanom Di and Nong Nor samples. Nong Nor had lower subadult mortality, taller adult statures and lower prevalences of dental pathologies. However, skeletal preservation was poor at Nong Nor and not all parameters were able to be observed. Within the northeastern samples health profiles were similar in overall prevalences of joint disease and dental health, but childhood morbidity and mortality were different. The latter, measured through observations of infant mortality, enamel hypoplasia and adult stature, were higher at Ban Lum Khao than at Ban Na Di. The natural environment had a significant influence on the health status of the people studied but not in the manner hypothesised. Comparisons within and between regions were complicated by time differences that may have affected the people's ability to cope with their environment. The comparatively poorer health suffered by the Khok Phanom Di and Ban Lum Khao communities may have been related to their settlement and adjustment to potentially new environments. In contrast, it is likely that both the Nong Nor and Ban Na Di communities were familiar with their natural environments as they were not the first settlers in their respective regions. With respect to the cultural hypothesis, results indicated that a general improvement in health had occurred through the time periods studied. The earliest sample, the people of Khok Phanom Di, were the least healthy. They had comparatively high prevalences of dental pathologies and joint disease, and high subadult mortality and morbidity, the latter reducing the attained adult stature. Health improved into the Bronze Age, particularly so in the Nong Nor sample, the people of which had low subadult mortality and tall statures compared with the Ban Lum Khao sample. However, poor preservation of the Nong Nor skeletal material places a caveat over any interpretation. The people of the early Iron Age at Ban Na Di continued the trend for improving health. They had moderate subadult mortality and morbidity, although as they reached tall statures these had limited effects. In addition, dental health improved and osteoarthritis decreased with time. Post-Iron Age, Thai people underwent an expansion of society led by the establishment of the centralised political regime of the Angkorian civilisation. From this selective view of skeletal health it appears the people were healthy enough to withstand the effects of such a transition. Further integration with other prehistoric Southeast Asian skeletal samples is now required to support this statement

Palaeohealth at Man Bac

The purpose of this chapter is to review the evidence of adult and subadult health for individuals recovered from the Man Bac site during the 2005 and 2007 excavation seasons. A fuller appreciation of the inhabitants of Man Bac can only be realised through an examination of the nature and patterning of health markers in the context of other bio-variables such as preservation, demographic profile, stature, diet and genetic relationships with contemporaneous, previous and later populations in the region. To this end, the health profile of the Man Bac inhabitants has been developed towards the end of this monograph. The palaeohealth of the ancient inhabitants of what is now Vietnam has been extensively examined and discussed in a number of studies (Oxenham et al., 2005; Oxenham, 2006; Oxenham et al., 2006). With respect to Man Bac specifically, limited examinations of childhood health, using remains from the 2005 season only, have been carried out in the context of broader mortuary archaeological questions (Oxenham, 2006). In this chapter, health variables are limited to two nonspecific signatures of physiological impairment, cribra orbitalia and linear enamel hypoplasia, as well as a range of oral health indicators, including dental caries, alveolar defects (often termed abscesses) and antemortem tooth loss. Subsequent publications will review the evidence for other health variables including trauma and infectious disease

Health in Pre-Angkorian Cambodia: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from Phum Snay

Excavations at a pre-Angkorian (c. 350 b.c.-a.d. 200) cemetery in the village of Phum Snay, Northwest Cambodia, have revealed 23 inhumations. This small sample of skeletal remains varies in completeness from a scatter of bone to complete articulated skeletons with an array of grave goods including bronze and iron artifacts. There is archaeological evidence for a possible militarized society, but the overall health of this small cemetery population does not provide further conclusive evidence. Demographically, the skeletal sample lacks many subadults and older adults and is skewed 2 : 1 toward females, but this is probably a result of poor preservation and sample size rather than any true bias in cemetery organization. Stature in both males and females is wide ranging and may indicate a heterogeneous sample either in terms of genetics or access to resources. Dental health shows evidence for sexual differentiation in diet, with females showing more caries and less advanced attrition than males, perhaps reflecting a sexual division of labor. There is also a very high proportion of adults, both male and female, with intentional ablation of the anterior dentition, most commonly involving the upper lateral incisors and upper canines. Apart from some cases of moderate joint degeneration and minor fracture (hand and clavicle), there is very little evidence for significant disease or trauma. Overall, evidence from this small sample is suggestive of a relatively healthy lifestyle but with some indicators of a non-egalitarian social structure

The Demographic Profile of the Man Bac Cemetery Sample

The chief aims of this chapter are to describe the Man Bac human skeletal sample in terms of its sex and age-at-death distributions. Moreover, the preservation of the sample will be discussed in the context of a demographic reconstruction of the past population, which will include a range of measures of fertility. Inferences regarding the demographic �health� of the population will be made with reference to major social and behavioural changes seen in the region some 3,500 years ago

Bioarchaeological evidence for conflict in Iron Age North-West Cambodia

Examination of skeletal material from graves at Phum Snay in north-west Cambodia revealed an exceptionally high number of injuries, especially to the head, likely to have been caused by interpersonal violence. The graves also contain a quantity of sword

Dental health in Iron Age Cambodia: Temporal variations with rice agriculture

The dental health of two Cambodian Iron Age (500 BC to 500 AD) communities is interpreted through an analysis of advanced wear, caries, periapical lesions, and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL). The two communities, Phum Snay and Phum Sophy, just 40. km apart

Cultural Modification of the Dentition in Prehistoric Cambodia

Intentional dental modification, in the form of ablation and filing, is reported for the first time from Cambodia in two late prehistoric sites (Phum Snay and Phum Sophy, c. 2500 to 1500bp). Bioarchaeological research is relatively new for this region, a

Childhood in late neolithic Vietnam: bio-mortuary insights into an ambiguous life stage

This paper looks at a late Neolithic cemetery site dated to approximately 3500 years BP in northern Vietnam. The purpose is to: (1) use the techniques of mortuary archaeology to shed light on the role of children and adult attitudes towards children at this site; and (2) assess the level of health and well being of the children. Mortuary methods included an examination of a range of traits including burial position and orientation as well as the number and manner of grave furniture in respect to age-at-death and sex where possible. In terms of health, measures or signatures of cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia and oral health were investigated. It was found that many of the non-surviving children at Man Bac suffered from physiological insult and severe dental caries. Fertility was elevated in comparison to other prehistoric Southeast Asian skeletal assemblages and the number of living children at Man Bac, at any given time, was likely elevated. Despite high infant mortality, all individuals, regardless of age, received some form of basic mortuary treatment. The nature and type of mortuary treatment at Man Bac suggests children were recognised as members of the community, with economic and social value. There is some indication that different developmental and/or social stages were recognised through mortuary treatment and that childhood may have finished rather early, in terms of chronological age, at Man Bac