Skopal, Nickolas, Bounxaythip, Souliya, Cooper, Charlie, Pradier, Baptiste, Pilgrim, Tracey, Stewart, Tahlia, Florin, Anna, Devantier-Thomas, Tate, Baker, Daniel, and Philip, Sophie (2024) Preliminary site report of a stone jar burial in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Archaeological Research in Asia, 38. 100517.

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Abstract

For nearly a century, questions have remained as to the purpose and age of the Plain of Jars in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Scholars have generally argued that these megaliths served a mortuary function, either as symbolic monuments or receptacles for the dead. However, due to a paucity of mortuary evidence associated with the jars, it has been difficult to conclusively argue either way. Aside from small amounts of cremated human bone fragments found within a limited number of jars, to date no substantive human burials have been found inside a stone jar across this vast megalithic landscape. Additionally, the stone jars are thought to date to the Southeast Asian Iron Age, between ca. 500 BCE-500 CE, with ritual activity continuing into the 13th century CE. This paper provides the first substantial evidence that the jars were used to contain the deceased for either primary or secondary burials during the 9th to 12th century CE.

Item ID:	82274
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2352-2275
Copyright Information:	© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2025 01:47
FoR Codes:	43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430102 Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas @ 100%
SEO Codes:	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1304 Heritage > 130402 Conserving collections and movable cultural heritage @ 80% 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1304 Heritage > 130403 Conserving intangible cultural heritage @ 20%
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