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Newborn twins from prehistoric mainland Southeast Asia: birth, death and personhood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2015

Siân Halcrow ,
Nancy Tayles ,
Raelene Inglis  and
Charles Higham
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Double infant burials in unusually high numbers occurred at Khok Phanom Di during a phase associated with immigration and some evidence of early agricultural practices. A study of their stratigraphic context and relative ages led to the interpretation that these were twins. Through an exploration of the medical and anthropological literature of twins, and in conjunction with their mortuary context, the authors conclude that these babies died of natural causes at, or soon after, birth.

Keywords

Southeast Asiaprehistorictwinsmortuary practicemortalitysocial identity
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 86 , Issue 333 , September 2012 , pp. 838 - 852
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution licence <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>;.
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution licence <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>;.

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