New archaeological discoveries in northern Laos are reshaping understanding of one of Southeast Asia's most puzzling ancient landscapes.
Excavation of a massive stone vessel at the Plain of Jars has revealed the remains of at least 37 people, offering rare insight into the mortuary traditions of early communities in the region.
James Cook University archaeologist Dr Nicholas Skopal co-led the study with the Lao Department of Heritage representative, Souilya Bounxayhip. Dr Skopal said hundreds of massive stone jars, some weighing several tonnes, are scattered across the uplands of northern Laos.
"Archaeologists generally agree they were used in mortuary rituals. But we don't know how they were exactly used, who made them or how old they are."
He said over three years researchers excavated the remains of 37 people found inside a jar 1.3 metres high and more than 2 metres wide, located northeast of the Laotian town of Phonsavan.
"We determined that it was an example of secondary internment during the 9th and 12th centuries AD, in which human remains were deposited after an initial period of decomposition elsewhere.
The findings challenge some earlier assumptions that the jars were intended as final resting places and that they dated to the Southeast Asian Iron Age (500 BC - 500 AD).
"We think jar interment may have been one stage in a multi-step funerary sequence."
"The number of individuals also suggests the jars were likely owned by family or extended family groups and served as places where ancestral rites were performed over generations," said Dr Skopal.
He said little is known about the identities, health or origins of the people interred, though ongoing analysis of the skeletal material may provide answers.
"The reasons behind the eventual decline of stone jar production also remain unclear, with possibilities ranging from shifting religious influences to broader socio-political change," said Dr Skopal.
