S31-7

Iron Age Mortuary Rituals and Burial Ceramics in Northwest Cambodia 

Independent Scholar, Australia

Ceramic objects are among the most ubiquitous artefacts present across most archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. This paper presents the ceramic artefacts recovered across 44 individual burials at the Iron Age sites of Phum Sophy (cal. 87 – 526 AD), Phum Lovea (cal. 3 BC – 571 AD) and Prei Khmeng (cal. 23 – 545 AD), and analyses both intra and inter-site patterns in their distribution and variation between burials and burial sites. Comparisons with the ceramic assemblages recovered from other published Iron Age burials in Cambodia are also discussed to provide a regional perspective. In doing so, this paper will discuss the roles and significance of these ceramic objects within the mortuary rituals of prehistoric communities at these sites and in this region.