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Excavating among the megaliths: recent research at the ‘Plain of Jars’ site 1 in Laos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2019

Dougald O'Reilly ,
Louise Shewan ,
Kate Domett ,
Siȃn E. Halcrow  and
Thonglith Luangkhoth
Dougald O'Reilly
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, 44 Linneaus Way, Acton ACT 2601, Australia
Louise Shewan*
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, 253–283 Elgin Street, Victoria, Australia
Kate Domett
Affiliation:
College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, 1 James Cook Drive, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
Siȃn E. Halcrow
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, 270 Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
Thonglith Luangkhoth
Affiliation:
Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, P.O. Box 3556, Lane Xang Avenue, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: louise.shewan@unimelb.edu.au)
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Abstract

The date and significance of the megalithic jar sites of central Laos are comparatively poorly understood features of the Southeast Asian archaeological landscape. First explored systematically in the 1930s, only limited research on these sites has been undertaken since. This article presents the recent excavations at Ban Ang—or site 1—a megalithic jar site of nearly 400 jars, located in Xieng Khouang Province. The results confirm the findings of earlier research, but additionally reveal a range of mortuary practices, high rates of infant and child mortality, and new evidence dating these interments to the ninth to thirteenth centuries AD.

Keywords

Southeast AsiaLaosPlain of Jarsmegalithsmortuary archaeology
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 93 , Issue 370 , August 2019 , pp. 970 - 989
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2019 

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