Dougald O'Reilly

Archaeology and Archaeozoology of Phum Snay: A Late Prehistoric Cemetery in Northwestern Cambodia

This paper analyzes faunal remains excavated from the late prehistoric cemetery of Phum Snay in northwestern Cambodia. The material comprises two different components: (1) animal bones as grave goods and (2) bone fragments originating from settlement activities. The mammal and bird remains from the graves derive exclusively from domestic animals and include water buffalo, cattle, pigs, and possibly a chicken. In most cases, one or two limbs from the left side of the body of one or two species were deposited in a grave. Fish were also incorporated in the grave cult. The animal bones found in nonburial contexts reveal a broad-spectrum foraging economy that exploited a wide range of ecosystems: forests, grass-and marshlands, rivers, and inundated fields, resulting in the capture of deer, boar, smaller carnivores, cranes, tortoises, turtles, monitor lizards, crocodiles, and fish.

From the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Thailand: Applying the Heterarchical Approach

The archaeological evidence of social groups in Thailand has long been noted for not conforming to the standard paradigms of social organization. This paper investigates the concept of heterarchy before turning to consider current conceptions of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Thailand. New evidence from a recently excavated site, Ban Lum Khao, is considered and evaluated in the context of the existing knowledge of the period. The current understanding of the Iron Age is also evaluated and enhanced through the incorporation of data from two sites in northeast Thailand, Non Muang Kao and Noen U-Loke. The paper concludes that the data from prehistoric Thailand are better interpreted from a heterarchical perspective. The possible causative factors of stratiÆed social organization are considered from a heterarchical perspective, examining ceramic production, mortuary practice, demography, and environment.

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.

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 swords and other offensive weapons used in conflict. The authors propose a context for these warriors in the struggle between emergent polities in the Iron Age before the domination of Angkor.

Rainfall and circular moated sites in north-east Thailand

Abstract The existence of moated mounds in the archaeological record of north-east Thailand has long been known, the majority constructed during the earlier first millennium AD. Despite considerable research, the purpose of the substantial and sometimes multiple moats surrounding raised occupation mounds has remained a mystery. Combining locational, hydrological and rainfall data with the archaeological evidence, this study of the moated mounds of the Khorat Plateau seeks to resolve the question through statistical analysis. The results suggest that water storage may have been the primary purpose of the moats, enabling communities to survive dry seasons and droughts.

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 40km apart, are temporally situated at a time of significant socio-political change prior to the establishment of Angkorian state rule. Dental pathology frequencies are compared between the two communities and with other prehistoric sites throughout Southeast Asia to determine whether dental health was affected by socio-political changes and the intensification of rice agriculture that also occurred at this time. The people of Snay and Sophy, despite their proximity, were found to exhibit significant differences in dental health. When subdivided by age and sex, Sophy older age class teeth had significantly more advanced wear, and older females had more periapical lesions, while the Phum Snay older age dentitions had significantly more AMTL. Caries rates were similar between the samples. When compared in the broader context of the Iron Age in prehistoric Southeast Asia, both Phum Snay and Phum Sophy suggest a trend of declining dental health during the period prior to the rise of the Angkorian state.

The buried "towers" of Angkor Wat

Abstract The impressive architecture of Angkor Wat conveys a sense of harmonious design, but recent survey using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), coupled with targeted excavation, reveals a more complex picture. Fragmentary traces of a quincunx of earlier towers have been detected, which were partially demolished when the outer enclosure and western gateway were completed. Are these the remains of a shrine used during the construction period? If so, they throw new light on associated ritual activity during the building of Angkor Wat.

Heritage and Development: Lessons from Cambodia

Abstract The destruction of cultural heritage is motivated by many factors, but most often in the developing world the motivation is extreme poverty. Local people living in areas rich in cultural heritage assets are often either mute bystanders to theft or active participants, encouraged by middlemen to excavate illicitly or chip ornamentation from temples. Heritage Watch, an international heritage preservation organization, launched an initiative at the Koh Ker temple complex in Cambodia that stressed the sustainable use of heritage and education for the benefit of preservation. The lessons learned during this project have been applied in the organization’s new initiative at Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia.

Airborne LiDAR prospection at Lovea, an Iron Age moated settlement in central Cambodia

Abstract Recent archaeological investigations and technological applications have increased our appreciation of the intricacies of pre-Angkorian societal development. The results reveal a transformative period characterised by increasing socio-political complexity, exchange and technological transfer, differences in burial wealth, growing levels of conflict and variation in site morphology. Among the excavated Iron Age sites in Cambodia, Lovea, near the heart of Angkor, is well placed to provide a greater understanding of these changes in this region. Excavation and remote sensing confirm that the two moats surrounding Lovea are testimony to the early adoption of water-management strategies. These strategies grew in complexity, culminating in the vast network of canals, reservoirs and tanks that are the hallmarks of the hydraulic society of Angkor.