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- Convenor:
-
Charles HIgham
(University of Otago)
- Chair:
-
Charles HIgham
(University of Otago)
- Location:
- Salle des Conférences bâtiment B
- Start time:
- 8 July, 2015 at
Time zone: Europe/Paris
- Session slots:
- 2
Short Abstract:
This panel invites papers that report on later prehistory with reference to the results of recent fieldwork that reflect new information on the origins of cultural changes, migratory patterns, the impacts of new technologies, social organisation, subsistence and demography
Long Abstract:
New methods of obtaining and analyzing prehistoric data are increasingly being deployed in Southeast Asia, and the results are rapidly challenging and changing our perception of later prehistory. This panel formulation is designed to draw together reports on these initiatives and seek a discussion on new perceptions and future needs. There are several fundamental topics. These include the commitment to long term involvement and large excavations at key sites, the relations between the first rice and millet farmers and indigenous hunter-gatherers, the timing and impact of metallurgy, changes in subsistence, the development of exchange relationships, mining and the deployment of copper and tin, the impact of new analyses of human remains, such as isotopes and aDNA, and the impact of maritime exchange during the Iron Age.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
Multi-proxy sediment records from Lake Kumphawpi, NE Thailand allow reconstructing lake status changes during the past 10000 years. Contrary to earlier investigations, we show the occurrence of a hiatus (6200-1800 cal yr BP), which means that Lake Kumphawapi cannot contribute any paleoenvironmental information for this time interval.
Paper long abstract:
Multi-proxy sedimentary records from Lake Kumphawpi, NE Thailand allow reconstructing lake status changes during the past 10000 years. The lake level in the already shallow lake gradually decreased between 7000 and 6600 cal yr BP, possibly caused by a gradual decrease in Asian summer monsoon intensity. The long hiatus, which is observed across the lake basin between 6200-1800 cal yr BP, is likely a combination of decomposition of the organic material due to very dry conditions and of erosion caused by the subsequent lake level rise. Contrary to earlier investigations, Lake Kumphawapi cannot contribute any paleoenvironmental information for the time interval between 6200-1800 cal yr BP. Consequently, arguments using the phytolith and pollen record of Lake Kumphawapi to support early rice agriculture in the region or an early start of the Bronze Age, are not valid, since they build upon the assumption of continuous deposition. The re-establishment of a shallow lake around 1800 cal yr BP suggests an increase in effective moisture availability and a strengthening of the summer monsoon and approximately coincides with the transition from the early (2400-1700 cal yr BP) to the late Iron Age (1800-1400 cal yr BP). The lake level lowering around 1000-800 cal yr BP and around 400 cal yr BP may correspond to intervals of severe drought that have been recognized in Asian tree ring records.
Paper short abstract:
The aim of our paper is to present the recent advances in spaceborne survey of late prehistoric and early historic sites in NW Cambodia. The study of satellite images in provinces of Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap allowed us to understand better the pre-Angkorian cultural landscape.
Paper long abstract:
The aim of our study was to investigate the late prehistoric and early historic occupational sites and their hinterland in Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces in Cambodia. We decided to use a satellite images as the fastest method of prospection of vast landscapes. The research routine that we have applied can be divided into two steps: site identification and interpretation of the archaeological landscape. The identification was based on images from Google Earth and Corona programme. For the purpose of this survey, we have developed the method of identification based on soil and crop marks, as well as shadows casted by elevated landscape features. In addition, the images were processed using photogrammetric software. The further step was to examine the spatial relations of the elements of an archaeological landscape.
As the result, we propose an updated map of the past cultural landscapes beyond the limits of Greater Angkor. As well, consistent research routine developed by us shall expands the possibilities of aerial/satellite remote sensing applications for the research on the past of Southeast Asia.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will describe the results of four seasons of excavations at the moated Iron Age town of Non Ban Jak, located in the Mun Valley.
Paper long abstract:
Four seasons of excavations at Non Ban Jak, a large, a moated town. in the upper Mun Valley, have greatly added to our knowledge of the late Iron Age. Residential burials have been identified, in which the dead were interred within domestic buildings. Closed kilns for firing Phimai Black pottery vessels have been examined, and with the reovery of an iron ploughshare, linked with the identification of wet field weeds, an agricultural revolution has been proposed that helps to understand the transition into early states
Paper short abstract:
This paper presents the study of the burials from Ding si shan cemetery. The biological profile of the very first neolithic people, and the very specific ritual sequence spent in implementing their funerals have been approached through a bioanthropological and a traceological analysis.
Paper long abstract:
The site of Ding si shan presents some complex funerary practices which seem to be representative of the Early Neolithic Culture of the region of Guangxi. These practices involve an intricate discourse around the manipulation of the human body. The importance of the manipulation can be underlined during the treatment of the corpse (which is dismembered in nearly 30 % of the cases) and till on the cemetery field through a very specific and original layout of the bodies on the grave. The re-analysis of the mortal remains shows a standardized preparation of the corpse, involving a specific pattern of dismemberment according to a very strict schedule after the biological death.
The presence of faunal remains used to substitute some parts of the human bodies highlights the complexity of the practices and the subtlety of the eschatological discourse elaborated by the neolithics. The gathering of different individuals in the same pit and the arrangement of their bodies according to a specific scenography is an other key focal point of the ritual life of Ding si shan people.
The choice of the persons concerned by this specific treatment have been approached by an anthropological and paleopathological analysis, in order to determinate how the selection of the individuals have been made.
Through this global study, we move toward a better understanding of the specificities of the settlers of the Bachi and the Yong rivers valleys, from a both biological and cultural perspective.
Paper short abstract:
Kok Treas site is located in approximately 5km north-east of Banteay Chhmar temple complex, build in 12 century. It is an irregular mound with a somewhat oval shape, with a diameter of 180m east-west and about 150m north-south.
Paper long abstract:
In 2012, the Royal Government of Cambodia has the project to improve the road linking Banteay Meanchey to Udor Meanchey. Unfortunately, the road cuts through an Iron Age necropolis known as Kok Treas. Accordingly, the archaeological investigation was carried out by Ministry of Culture and Fine Art team in late 2012 and early 2013. Altogether, seven Units with a combined surface of 70 sqm. were excavated. In total 6 graves containing inhumations were encountered within 4 units. As for other sites, pottery is a common find. Stone tools and beads are rarely found. Animal bones and mollusc remains are present. Iron objects are more frequently discovered than bronze objects. Most of iron implements are weapons and tools used in daily life. Bronze objects consisted of tools and ornaments. Other objects found included clay spindle whorls and a gold jewelry.
The date of the site can be ascertained based on a comparison to archaeological materials discovered in some vicinity site, which date at least from the late Iron Age to early historical times. The archaeological remains and similar burial practice of Kok Treas suggest that there is a pattern of increasing assets and expansion of communication network. The funeral tradition including covering the head with a bronze bowl is the same as those found at Prohear and Phum Snay. This tradition is widely practices during the Metal Age in Mainland Southeast Asia as well as in China dates back Iron Age to period and possibly until recent time for some areas.
Paper short abstract:
This paper presents results from recent research into clay stamps excavated from sites in Vietnam and Thailand almost fifty years ago which indicate that Mainland Southeast Asia was involved in trade with Eurasia much earlier than previously held.
Paper long abstract:
In 1976, Vietnamese archaeologists recovered a number of deeply excised clay stamps during their excavations of Hoa Loc, a terminal Neolithic site in northern Vietnam. Similar artefacts have also been found at Iron Age sites in northern Thailand and Laos but their function has long been obscure. It has been proposed that these stamps were used to decorate cloth but results of previous experiments were never conclusive. This paper reports on new research into these enigmatic artefacts which suggests that Mainland Southeast Asia was far from a backwater but involved in extensive exchange networks as early as the transitional Neolithic. The research findings contribute to a growing body of interaction studies that are providing new evidence for the process of international integration based on the exchange of products and ideas known as globalization.