The Bioarchaeology of the Vat Komnou Cemetery, Angkor Borei, Cambodia

Abstract

Approximately 60 inhumation burials, of varying states of completeness and preservation, dated between 200 BC and AD 400 (or the early historic period in the Mekong delta) were excavated at the Vat Komnou cemetery located in Angkor Borei, Cambodia, by the University of Hawaii and the Royal University of Fine Arts in 1999 and 2000. The cemetery contained the remains of all age groups from infants to old adults. Over 40% of the burials are subadults. Adult males outnumber females 2 to 1 and most of the adults died as young adults. Osteological analyses are beginning to provide us with our first glimpses of these protohistoric people, associated with early Khmer culture, including evidence of health, disease, physiological stress, injury, physical activity, subsistence, length of life, and cultural modification of bone and teeth. Among the findings are tooth caries, moderate to extreme tooth attrition, and evidence of periodontal disease. Many of the teeth show evidence of betel staining. Healed fractures of the cranium and the infracranial skeleton, although rare, were also observed. Comparisons with other skeletal series from Southeast Asia provide regional context for these preliminary observations.

Reproductive trade-offs in extant hunter-gatherers suggest adaptive mechanism for the Neolithic expansion

“…Although some argue that Paleolithic foragers experienced high helminth loads (37,39,40), archaeological data instead show an increase in helminths in farming populations (33,(41)(42)(43)(44)(45) as compared with mobile, low-density hunter-gatherers. In summary, the overall effect of agriculture on health was a trend toward increasing morbidity and mortality (16,19,28,46), although the intensity of the trend exhibits some regional variation and inconsistencies (47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56).…”

Dental modifications: a perspective of Indonesian chronology and the current applications

“…), sambiwal (Erythroxylum ecarinatum), ntuo (Cryptocaria nitida) and agya (Endiandra montana). 24 The mixture of sirih pinang with saliva generate brownish red on the teeth. To smooth all over the teeth, it is used tobacco (Nicotiana sp., L.) stroked all over the surface of the teeth.…”

The Bronze Age necropolis of Koh Ta Meas: insights into the health of the earliest inhabitants of the Angkor region

“…2), with issues primarily spanning the dating of the adoption of bronze production, the nature of social organization and the modelling of populations history of Southeast Asia [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In Cambodia, numerous recent discoveries of Early Iron Age burials (dating from c. 500 BC to 500 AD) are addressing questions of the origins of the more complex polities of the pre-Angkorian and Angkorian periods by looking into variations in diet, dental health and cultural behaviour [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Evidence from the earliest known burials at Village 10.8 (400 to 100 BC) to the most recent burials at Phum Snay (100 BC to AD 500) shows that funeral practices did not substantially change during the Iron Age but were quite similar across the whole region (Phum Snay [13][14][15][16], Phum Sophy [18,19] and Prohear [11,20]).…”

“…In Cambodia, numerous recent discoveries of Early Iron Age burials (dating from c. 500 BC to 500 AD) are addressing questions of the origins of the more complex polities of the pre-Angkorian and Angkorian periods by looking into variations in diet, dental health and cultural behaviour [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Evidence from the earliest known burials at Village 10.8 (400 to 100 BC) to the most recent burials at Phum Snay (100 BC to AD 500) shows that funeral practices did not substantially change during the Iron Age but were quite similar across the whole region (Phum Snay [13][14][15][16], Phum Sophy [18,19] and Prohear [11,20]). Two older prehistoric excavations (Samrong Sen and Mlu Prei), where some human remains were recovered, have been considered to be sites representing the Late Stone Age -early Bronze Age transition.…”