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

Between foraging and farming: Strategic responses to the Holocene Thermal Maximum in Southeast Asia

Large, ‘complex’ pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer communities thrived in southern China and northern Vietnam, contemporaneous with the expansion of farming. Research at Con Co Ngua in Vietnam suggests that such hunter-gatherer populations shared characteristics with early farming communities: high disease loads, pottery, complex mortuary practices and access to stable sources of carbohydrates and protein. The substantive difference was in the use of domesticated plants and animals—effectively representing alternative responses to optimal climatic conditions. The work here suggests that the supposed correlation between farming and a decline in health may need to be reassessed

Late Holocene human remains from northwest Queensland, Australia: Archaeology and palaeopathology

A human burial of late Holocene age was recently excavated from inland northwest Queensland and studied prior to reburial by the Indigenous community. Bones from the lower thoracic region to the feet were recovered. The person had been interred in a crouched position, resting on their lower legs (shins) and wrapped in paperbark. Similar burial techniques have been described in the region's ethnographic literature, and this site represents the first known archaeological example. Ascertaining a firm date for the burial is problematic owing to the nature of the radiocarbon calibration curve in recent centuries. A detailed analysis of the bones indicated the individual to be an adult female, most likely of middle age. There are some significant pathological lesions present that are indicative of treponematosis. The alleographic and cultural context of the burial leads us to suggest the most likely diagnosis is treponarid

Ethical issues of bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia

Since the 1990s there has been an increase in bioarchaeological research in many parts of Southeast Asia by both locals and non-locals. Southeast Asian countries are characterised by varied social, cultural and political histories, but there are also some broad similarities in terms of poor economic development that limits much local research, and strong nationalism and rigid bureaucratic procedures for research. All have implications for non-local and local bioarchaeological research. Despite the growth in bioarchaeological research, the ethics of the practice of bioarchaeology in this region remain relatively underexplored. This chapter presents some of the main ethical issues of research with human remains in the region focusing on the countries of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines, from a non-local and local researcher viewpoint. We review a range of ethical issues, including the varied way different cultures respond to bioarchaeological work, local-non-local partnership in research, community archaeology, bioarchaeological methods including post-excavation management, and looting of archaeological sites. With the recent development of local expertise in bioarchaeology in the region, the repatriation of skeletal samples to Thailand, the increase in local training, and partnerships between local and non-local bioarchaeologists, there is much promise for the further development of local research in the field