The discovery of Iron Age human bone fragments in Laos has shed new light on the region's prehistoric burial customs. A team of Lao and foreign archeologists found the fragments last week in a burial ground believed to be about 2,000 years old when South-East Asia was in the Iron Age. The discovery was made during a dig known as the Middle Mekong Archaeological Project, which is a joint effort between Laos' Department of Heritage and the University of Pennsylvania Museum (USA).
"Last week, we unexpectedly found two skulls and a fragment of a third, a baby, along with some body bones," said Joyce White, associate curator at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. "It is quite a significant discovery of Lao archaeology." Also among the items found was a burial pot containing human bones, which was the first such example of a secondary burial, or the custom of dismembering a corpse and removing all flesh so the bones could be placed in a container. Although the practice was common in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, this was the first evidence of a secondary burial in what is now Laos.
I remember last yr someone opened a thread with a post showing pics of thai men chopping a corpse. With these discovery i have this notion that this is secondary burial is a common practìce in Asia in olden time. But i wonder whether it has a cultural or religious basis? Is it known which ethnic or religious group doing it? Is it still being done in laos as it is in thailand? Anybody? Thanks!
