Human biology, environment and ritual at Khok Phanom Di

Abstract

Abstract Khok Phanom Di is located in Central Thailand, and was occupied between 2000 and 1500 BC. A cemetery spanning 17–20 generations was encountered, in which members of the same family were interred alongside and over each other within collective burial areas. At first settlement, the site commanded a major estuary, one of the world's richest habitats in terms of self‐replenishing food. The diet comprised marine species and rice. Access was possible to local sources of shell for the manufacture of jewellery, and the site was also a pottery‐making centre. The biological remains suggest that a major environmental change, involving the relocation of the river and coastal progradation, occurred after the passage of about ten generations. This was accompanied by changes in the human diet and health. Males had less‐developed upper body strength which could reflect a sharp reduction in canoeing. Hardly any shell beads were found in the graves representing the four generations which followed this change. It ...