Glass Beads from 15th-17th CenturyCEJar Burial Sites in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains

Abstract

A total of 74 glass beads, included as grave goods in 15th–17th century CE jar burials from Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, were analysed using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS). Several glass types were identified, including two subtypes of high-alumina mineral soda glass, and lead–potash glass. The final glass type represents a newly discovered and previously unidentified type of high-alumina soda glass, with high magnesia (m-Na–Al Mg>). This study represents the first glass data from the mid-second millennium CE from Cambodia and sheds light on the multiple long-distance maritime exchange networks in which the upland people buried in the jars were participating.