The First Golden Age of Cambodia

Andreas Reinecke • Vin Laychour • Seng Sonetra
The First Golden Age of Cambodia:

Excavation at Prohear
The First Golden Age of Cambodia:
Excavation at Prohear
Andreas Reinecke • Vin Laychour • Seng Sonetra
Printed with funding provided by the German Foreign Office
Bonn 2009
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On the front cover:

Collection of gold and silver ornaments from different burials atPro-
hear dating about 100 BC to AD 100 (Photo: A. Reinecke)
Foreword
When mentioning Cambodia, people immediately start to talk about the marvels of Angkor
Wat and the hundreds of temples and structures that are to be found in its vicinity. Since
July 2008, the country has a new attraction, for the World Heritage Committee recognized
the archaeological site of Preah Vihear as the second World Heritage Site in Cambodia. The
attention to these monuments is justified as there are only a few archaeological sites world-
wide that can stand a comparison.
That our attention has been directed to Preah Vihear we owe to the rescue excavations
– composed of a German-Cambodian team of archaeologists inspired by Dr. Andreas
Reinecke from the German Archaeological Institute – and to their findings at Prohear that
indicate already 2000 years ago there was a highly developed culture in what is known to
us today as Cambodia. Unfortunately, the looters of burial sites are in general faster than
the archaeologists who try to preserve the cultural heritage for mankind. Thus, it is a pure
coincidence that when the German-Cambodian team arrived on the scene there could still
be anything expected from the excavations. The mere fact that some parts a burial site hap-
pened to be protected under part of the village road was most fortunate for our knowledge
of this highly developed culture. That these limited parts of the cemetery would provide
such a wealth of artifacts came as a surprise to everyone. As I understand, the value of these
findings has yet to be established by archaeologists in the years to come.
This publication is an important contribution for the understanding of the highly devel-
oped culture of Prohear and its interactions with neighboring cultures. I am very happy that
a German archaeologist could contribute to the improvement of our knowledge on Prohear
and the people who lived there 2000 years ago and I thank the German-Cambodian team
for all their efforts and the German Archaeological Institute for its support. Just as Angkor
Wat represents the Khmer culture above ground, so will the burials and their offerings from
Prohear prove to be similarly significant for this long forgotten culture.
Phnom Penh
October 26th, 2009
Frank M. Mann
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany

in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Foreword
Since 1996, the Faculty of Archaeology at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh
has had an exchange program with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
with the purpose of providing lecturers from Germany to train undergraduate students
in archaeological fieldwork. Following this, in 2000, the Memot Centre for Archaeology
was established, and has since been playing an important role in the field of Cambodian
archaeology.
On behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, I would like to express my apprecia-
tion and admiration for the German Archaeological Institute for its initiative to assist in
research, preservation, and public outreach with the publication of this book on the results
and analyses of the findings from Prohear.
This research has been brought to light by Dr. Andreas Reinecke from the German
Archaeological Institute. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks
to the German Embassy in Phnom Penh for its help. It is a huge effort for the German
Archaeological Institute to rescue the 2000-year-old cemetery in Prohear and to preserve
our heritage. The exhilarating finds at the site, such as a bronze drum and gold and silver
objects, help us to better understand this rich culture in Southeast Asia, and especially the
culture of Cambodia.
I hope that this book, entitled “The First Golden Age of Cambodia”, will spread the
knowledge of this culture to both people in Southeast Asia, and the people of the world as
a whole.
Phnom Penh
October 26th, 2009
Chuch Phoeurn
Secretary of State
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts
7
Table of contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 1: A thrilling prelude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 2: Last chance for Prohear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The story of Kong Sung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 3: Trying to puzzle out the secrets of the burial site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 4: More than just burials – insights into an unknown society . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 5: Settlement and handicrafts at Prohear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Cemetery and settlement in a closed neighborhood? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Spinning and weaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Blacksmith in every village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Iron ingots from the north? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Pottery production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Bronze casting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 6: What the burial offerings tell us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 7: Some highlights amongst the offerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
1 What ‘rich’ means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
2 Bronze drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3 “Ordinary women … wear gold bracelets” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4 Water buffalo bracelet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5 The face under the bronze bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6 The boy with a bell between his thighs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chapter 8: Analyses and their interpretations in progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
1 Dating of the burials and finds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
2 The secrets of the human bones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Speaking dead – what skeletons tell us about people’s lives (S. Krais) . . . . . . . . . 104
3 Human teeth as passport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4 Nothing but gold and silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
It depends on the right mixture (S. Schlosser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5 Small beads – big information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
How common were glass ornaments? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Bead variants in Prohear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Beads are excellent objects for studying ancient trade (A.K. Carter) . . . . . . . . . 120
Several types of potash glass of the last few centuries BC (J.W. Lankton) . . . . . 122
8
Glass as an ideal substitute to imitate stone ornaments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Glass making – a local handicraft? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
6 Animal bones – remains of the last meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 9: Have a look under a coating of rust – wonderful restored objects . . . . . . . 127
Metal Restoration Laboratory in the Memot Centre for Archaeology . . . . . . . . 129
Chapter 10: Strangers in Prohear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chapter 11: Prohear’s contacts more than 2000 years ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
1 Recently discovered neighbors and their burial customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
2 Relationships reflected in the bronze offerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Disc, bowls, and bracelets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
The bronze drum network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
3 Prohear’s competition: the gold treasures from the Transbassac region . . . . . . . 150
4 Gold and silver before Oc Eo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Gold masks and other items from Giong Lon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
The ribbed gold earrings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5 “They hold Chinese gold and silver in the highest regard” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chinese gold and silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Historical records about gold and silver in Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
The early ‘golden network’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
6 Where did the precious stone beads come from? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Some arguments for local precious stone bead-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Hard-stone beads – individual and regional distinctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
From nephrite to garnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Carnelian and agate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Chapter 12: Prohear’s historical background – the comeback of a discarded idea? . . 165
Prohear and the waves of change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
The Prohear-Kele connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Collaborate, die, or flee! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Who lived and died in Prohear? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Where was the capital and ‘main port’ of Funan? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
In conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Summary in Khmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Captions in Khmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
9
10
11
Preface
You have in your hands the history of a 2000-year-old population

in southeastern Cambodia with a surprisingly rich and mysterious
culture. They lived in Prohear, in the present day Prey Veng pro
vince, which means ‘long forest’ in the Khmer language. Currently
the forest is scarce and there is even an absence of water for irriga-
tion during the dry season. Prey Veng is one of the poorest regions
of Cambodia.
The basis of this story comes from 500 artifacts from 52 burials
(excluding 2700 beads and many thousands of potsherds) that were
discovered during the rescue excavations by a Cambodian-German
archaeological team in 2008 and 2009. If we wanted to present only
the archaeological objects, a catalogue would be enough. Instead, we
want to present and interpret the artifacts from the burials in such a
way that the reader will get an impression of the lives of the residents
of Prohear 2000 years ago. Scientific analysis of the ancient remains
can assist us in understanding the historical background of the site.
However, because the last excavation campaign was only finished in
March 2009, just a fraction of all proposed analyses in progress is
available.
Nevertheless, we take the risk of producing a preliminary report
because there is immense interest in the rare objects discovered at
Prohear. In doing so, it cannot be avoided that after completion of all
analyses we will have to modify our interpretations in some regard
for the final scientific publication. That is archaeology: new finds and
perfected analyses lead incrementally to a constantly improving per-
spective that brings us closer to the historical truth. We stand not
at the end of our knowledge, but rather at the beginning. What is
already sure is that the sensational discoveries of the last few years in
Cambodia and southern Vietnam will lead to a completely changed
view of prehistory; not only in Cambodia but in the whole of main-
land Southeast Asia as well. Cambodia’s prehistory will be much bet-
ter understood than in the past, when we looked for the roots of
Angkor more outside than inside the present borders of the coun-
try.
12 Preface
1 Angkor Wat, Archaeology in Cambodia is for the most part still associated
a high point of more with Angkor and its epoch, which was seemingly created by gods
than 1000 years of and built by giants. Time before Angkor is like a deep, black hole
cultural achievement
with an almost unknown prehistory. The roots of the amazing Khmer
(Photo: A. Reinecke,
era still lie in the wide shadows of the temples (ill. 1). Nevertheless
March 2007)
archaeology in this country is on a rapid upward trend resulting in
the unearthing of astonishing artifacts from the darkness. The for-
merly blank spots on the archaeological map between Thailand and
Vietnam are starting to fill quickly. Year after year, unexpected dis-
coveries from the previously unknown Bronze Age and Iron Age of
1000 BC till 500 AD are brought to light.
It began in 1999 with excavations by a Cambodian-American
team at Angkor Borei in Takeo province, where unknown red-
orange-colored fine earthenware ceramics from 2000-year-old lay-
ers excited the public’s curiosity. A short time later, additional news
Preface 13
was presented that provided a better understanding of the ancient

canal system between Angkor Borei and the commercial center Oc
Eo during the Funan period (2nd-7th century AD)1. These results have
strengthened Angkor Borei’s position as the long sought after first
capital of Funan, the legendary ‘Temu’ of ancient Chinese records.
We will come back to this issue in chapter 12 at the end of this book.
In 2007, unbelievable news spread through the world press: in Phum
Snay, Banteay Meanchey province in northwestern Cambodia, a
Japanese-Cambodian team had discovered in the midst of about 50
excavated burials, the inhumations of a group of helmet-protected
‘amazons’ or female soldiers, armed with the swords of a ‘Funan
army’. Even if these are overstatements of the press2, earlier excava-
tions at Phum Snay since 2001 have unveiled similar unusual finds,
including ‘epaulettes’ made from ceramics affixed with iron buffalo
horns (see Chapter 7.4).
Some new discoveries beyond the southern Cambodian border,
in the territory of southern Vietnam, belong in the same cultural con-
text. Between 2004 and 2006 a German-Vietnamese team excavated
a large 3000-2500-year-old salt boiling center at Go O Chua in Long
An province, about 10 km southwest from Svay Rieng town in Cam-
bodia3. At Giong Lon near Vung Tau city Vietnamese archaeologists
found the first three prehistoric gold masks in mainland Southeast 1 M.T. Stark 2001;
Asia with clear provenance and dates (see Chapter 11.4)4. P. Bishop / D.C.W.
And lastly, gold and silver jewelry, bronze drums, and other Sanderson / M.T. Stark
unique bronze objects more than 2000 years old have been found 2004.
2 See critical com-
in the burials of Prohear (ill. 2). This ancient Cambodian culture,
ment of S.V. Lapteff
long hidden, has finally been unveiled from the dust of millennia and 2009, 17.
risen like a phoenix from the ashes. We can prepare for more sur- 3 A. Reinecke 2009b.
prises in the coming years. In the wide unknown space between the 4 A. Reinecke / Nguy-
en Thi Thanh Luyen
famous archaeological cultures from Dong Son, Sa Huynh, Ban Don
2009.
Ta Phet, Ban Chiang and Dian, the picture of a forgotten indigenous 5 For another impres-
civilization starts to emerge. Most of all these discoveries are even sive example of how
more astonishing because they come from cemeteries where looters difficult it is to stop
had already plundered countless burials and sold the archaeological the looting activities
on archaeological sites
objects. There are many such losses in Cambodian heritage and else- in this region see S.V.
where in Southeast Asia every year; their stories could fill another Lapteff for Phum Snay
book like this5. (2009, 9-10).
14 Preface
2 Gold and silver Cambodia, like the whole of Southeast Asia, is in the middle of
jewelry from Prohear: an economic boom. In one or two generations almost everything will
Objects discovered change in this country. A rapid socio-economic development of the
in different burials
region is long awaited and gives all people hope for a better future. In
(Photo: A. Reinecke)
breathtaking speed road networks and electrical grids will replace the
millennia old traditions of village-based ethnic minorities. Archae-
ological sites or artifacts will be dismissed as prehistoric rubbish,
while others will be purchased illegally as unwanted art objects best
sold into collections abroad. Without any support, local researchers
have only a whiff of a chance against this turn of events. To be able to
oppose the bands of detractors, looters, middlemen and well-heeled
private collectors that outnumber them at home and abroad, one
must form an alliance. Thus, all successful excavations of the last ten
Preface 15
3 View of the Royal Palace area in Phnom

Penh from the Tonle Sap River (Photo: A.
Reinecke, April 2009)
4 His Excellency Chuch Phoeurn, State Secre-

tary of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, visit-
ing the Memot Centre where the artifacts from
Prohear are restored (Photo: Song Sonetra)
5 Cambodian-German delegation visiting

the Memot Centre (from left to right): Mr. Ham
Kimson, Director of the Department of Archaeol-
ogy and Prehistory, His Excellency Ouk Socheat,
State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and
Fine Arts, Aditya Eggert (University of Göttingen/
Germany), His Excellency German Ambassador
Markus F. Mann and Seng Sonetra (Photo: Moul
Komnet, 21st of August 2009)
16 Preface
6 Khmer New
Year celebration at
the Ministry of Culture
and Fine Arts in April
2009. Present at the
ceremony was the
Minister of Culture
and Fine Arts of Cam-
bodia, His Excellency
Him Chhem (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
years have been partnerships between Cambodian archaeologists

with those from France, the USA, Germany, Japan, and other coun-
tries. Continued cooperation in archaeological investigation of this
culturally and historically fascinating region is urgently necessary6.
Prohear is only one of many recently discovered and looted cem-
eteries in Southeast Asia. However, while countless other burial sites
have been looted completely, a small portion of the precious objects
at Prohear were saved. Despite advanced looting activities and the
small area of the rescue excavation many unique artifacts and mean-
ingful features came to light. As such, the burial site of Prohear will
soon be noted on every archaeological map between South Asia and
the Red River Delta. Prohear brings forth a new view of long distance
interaction in Southeast Asia during the last centuries BC; no other
pre-Christian site in mainland Southeast Asia has yielded so many
6 See W.A. South- gold and silver objects.
worth 2000, and A. Even though Prohear is located inland, far away from the sea-
Carter 2009 for a view shore and some distance from the Mekong River, Prohear’s people
on the status quo and
on international col-
were much richer than most trade port sites beside the silk sea route.
laborative efforts in In fact, from all the archaeological sites that have been discovered
Cambodia. along the Vietnamese coast, only Oc Eo is ‘richer’ than Prohear. We
Preface 17
have been asked over and over again: “Why is Prohear so rich?” It is
a cemetery seemingly not only far from trade, but also from main
interaction routes somewhere in the interior of present-day Cam-
bodia. We will try to give an amazing answer to this question at the
end of this book!
*
Our work in the last two years was made possible by manifold sup-
porters. Our thanks go to the German Embassy in Phnom Penh and
the German Foreign Office’s “Cultural Preservation Programme”, for
support of the restoration of the valuable finds from Prohear in prog-
ress and enabling the printing of this book. We also wish to thank
all supporters of this German-Cambodian project who have allowed
or assisted in the cooperation between the Memot Centre and the
German Archaeological Institute (DAI), especially Secretary of State
H.E. Chuch Phoeurn as representative of the Minister of Culture
and Fine Arts Cambodia and all other excellencies of this ministry.
We are also grateful to Gerd and Bärbel Albrecht (Badenweiler/Ger-
many), Sok Puthivuth (Phnom Penh), Pheng Sytha (Dean of the Fac-
ulty of Archaeology), Ham Kimson (Director of the Department of
Archaeology), Heng Sophady (Director of the Memot Centre), and
all colleagues of the Cultural office in Prey Veng province and Chea
Ry, the Mayor of Prohear village.
For helpful ideas, comments and information we wish to express
our gratitude to our colleagues Norbert Benecke (Berlin), Bùi Phát
Diệm (Tân An/Vietnam), Emma C. Bunker (Denver), TzeHuey
Chiou-Peng (Illinois), Magdalene von Dewall (Neckargemünd/Ger-
many), Shawn Szejda Fehrenbach (Hawai-Mānoa), Ian Glover (Lon-
don), Karl-Heinz Golzio (Bonn), Wolfgang Hofmeister (Mainz),
Simone Krais (Freiburg/Germany), Bernd Kromer (Heidelberg/Ger-
many), James W. Lankton (London), Sergey V. Lapteff (Shigaraki/
Japan), Lê Thị Hương (Hanoi), Lê Thị Liên (Hanoi), Phon Kaseka
(Phnom Penh), Nguyễn Văn Việt (Hanoi), Astrid Pasch (Weimar/
Germany), Christophe Pottier (Siem Reap), Dougald J.W. O’Reilly
(Sydney), Thilo Rehren (London), Sandra Schlosser (Mannheim/
Germany), M. Mike Schweissing (München), William A. Southworth
(Bonn), Miriam T. Stark (Hawaii-Mānoa), Nancy Tingley (Wood-
acre/United States), and Sabine Werner (Bonn). A special thanks to
18 Preface
Alison Kyra Carter (Madison) for her input on the beads chapter and
reviewing the English version of this book.
We also wish to acknowledge the “Deutsche Welle”-Television
and especially Jörg Seibold for the enrichment of our fieldwork
documentation by the film report “Gold Diggers and Temple Res-
cuers – A Cambodian Expedition” that can be downloaded on the
internet7. This film gives insights into two current German-Cambo-
dian projects: the excavation at Prohear and the restoration work of
“German Apsara Conservation Projects (GACP)” under direction
of Hans Leisen from the Institute of Conservation Sciences of the
Cologne University of Applied Sciences.
The Commission for Archaeology of Non-European Cultures of
the German Archaeological Institute provided generous funding for
our excavation. Its assistance in promoting this and similar projects
has made the timely publication of the rich findings of Prohear pos-
sible.
7 The English version

can be downloaded
from the Deutsche
Welle website: http://
www.dw-world.de/dw/
article/0,,4644527,00.
html or from the
website of the Ger-
man Archaeological
Institute: http://www.
dainst.org/medien/
en/20090917_dw_pro-
hear_en.mp4 for the
German version use:
http://www.deutsche-
welle.com/dw/ar-
ticle/0,,4619521,00.
html or http://www.
dainst.org/medien/
de/20090917_dw_pro-
hear_de.mp4
19
Chapter 1: A thrilling prelude
It all began with Bit Meas, a village only eight kilometers southwest
from Prohear. In the fields near the village a 2000-year-old cemetery
was completely looted in the beginning of 2006 (ill. 7-8). The villag-
ers told us that many gold objects had been found among the burial
offerings. Now we wonder whether the Khmer name of the village,
‘Bit’ (stick on) and ‘Meas’ (gold), is pure chance. In May 2006, some
staff members from the Faculty of Archaeology of the Royal Univer-
sity of Fine Arts and the Memot Centre in Phnom Penh visited the
site and saved some of the valuable artifacts. At four different places
near the edge of the cemetery that was littered with looting holes,
there was a test excavation covering a total of 28 square meters. Mr.
Sok Puthivuth from Phnom Penh financed this rescue campaign,
and thanks to his support the Cambodian archaeologists were able
7 Location of Bit
Meas and Prohear
sites in Prey Veng
province (Map: A.
Reinecke)
20 Chapter 1: A thrilling prelude
8 The Iron Age

burial site of Bit Meas
(about 150 BC-AD
100): Looters in action,
May 2006. The whole
area is flecked with
sinkholes like a lunar
landscape (Photo: Vin
Laychour)
to get various objects from the villagers and to take photos of some
items including earrings and a gold finger ring, as well as beads from
agate, carnelian and garnet. Unfortunately no more graves came to
9 Rescue
excavations on the
looted burial site of
Bit Meas, May 2006.
Vin Laychour, Seng
Sonetra and archaeo-
logical students from
the Royal University
of Fine Arts, Phnom
Penh, saved the last
evidence of one of the
richest Iron Age cem-
eteries in Cambodia
(Photo: Vin Laychour)
Chapter 1: A thrilling prelude 21
12 Beads of different
shapes and hard-
stones (length 0.9-1.9
cm) from looted
burials in Bit Meas
(all sold by villagers):
agate (from left 1-3),
carnelian (4-6), and
garnet (7-8) (Photo:
Song Sonetra)
10/11 Objects saved
by recovering them from the
looters in Bit Meas:
10 Gold finger ring with
a star-like decoration, diam.
2.15 cm (Photo: A. Reinecke)
11 A couple of gold ear-
rings, diam. 1.7 cm (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
8 John Vink, a photo-
journalist who visited
Bit Meas in April 2006,
reports about the loot-
ing activities at this
site: “Having found
light during the excavation, only some scattered ceramic vessels that some antique artefacts
were left in the ground by looters (ill. 9-12)8. in his ricefield, its
The looting activities at Bit Meas left a bizarre moon-like scene. owner sold the right to
But there was still another problem: it was clear to the farmers in the dig to neighbours for
2.50 $ per two square
surrounding areas that with prehistoric ‘rubbish’ in their fields they
meter. Soon, for over
could generate a higher profit than only the kilo price for regular a week, nearly 3000
iron or bronze scrap. During many months of industrious looting, a people were uproot-
network of middlemen organized the procurement of the archaeo- ing the area, some of
them having found
logical objects for the illegal and lucrative antique market. However,
gold, others beads
the disaster of Bit Meas also grabbed the attention of the Cambodian (worth between 0.25
archaeologists in Phnom Penh. Should such looting occur again at and 1.25 $), pot-
another place, they wanted to intervene before it would be too late. tery and teeth … but
One year later in April 2007, archaeologists from the Memot most of them having
destroyed…” (http://
Centre and from the Commission for Archaeology of Non-Euro- johnvink.com/story.
pean Cultures of the German Archaeological Institute began their php?title=Cambodia_
first joint fieldwork in Svay Rieng province (ill. 13-15). Although the Tomb_Raiders).
13 Survey in Svey
Rieng province, April
2007: With a hoe and a
metal detector salvag-
ers make their way
through Svay Rieng
province. Sometimes
scrap turns out to be
prehistoric treasures
(Photo: L. Reinecke)
14 Survey in
Svey Rieng province,
April 2007: Stone tools
from Toul Prasat Kro
Houm stored in the
museum, including
a single shouldered
adze (length 9.5 cm),
the first found in this
province (Photos: A.
Reinecke)
15 Survey in Svey
Rieng province, April
2007: Sugar boiling
kilns built from clay,
bamboo and rice
chaff are an important
part of a traditional
Khmer occupation
for hundreds of
years. They give an
impression of similar
simple constructions
of salt boiling kilns
3000 years ago at Go
O Chua (Photos: A.
Reinecke)
survey area lies only 60 km south of Pro-

hear, we did not hear news of the looting
in Prey Veng province.
A few weeks later, the most thrilling
story that we have experienced in our
archaeological fieldwork in Southeast Asia
in the last fifteen years began. On the 20th
of May 2007, archaeology students from
Phnom Penh, Hong Ranet, Ngoy Sona
and Huot Nora, observed the looters in
Prohear and announced this to their col-
leagues at the Memot Centre. On the 23rd of May, the archaeologists 16 Prohear in the
Vin Laychour and Seng Sonetra traveled the long 150 km journey middle of May 2007:
to Prohear and made a failed effort to stop the illegal digging. What Villagers are digging
up every available
they saw set off all alarm bells. Shortly after her return, Seng Sonetra
square meter (Photo:
sent a short emotional e-mail describing the situation they encoun- Hong Ranet)
tered: “Dear all, the looting area is in Prohear village, Chrey com-
mune, Prey Veng district, Prey Veng province. Attached are some
photos of objects found at that site. The looting is still going on. Until
now, nearly twenty bronze drums were found and sold immediately.
We had no chance to see any drums before the dealer transported
them out quickly from the site …”.
The attached photos showed items of gold, precious stones, and
bronze, like we had never seen before in Cambodia or in the neigh-
boring countries of Southeast Asia. They also showed busily digging
farmers, inhabitants of Prohear and nearby ‘specialists’, in the midst
of a crater-filled landscape, very similar to Bit Meas. There were pits
strung together hole by hole over an area as large as a soccer field.
The holes were the last evidence of looted burials and the prehis-
tory of Cambodia! They were full of water, because the rainy season
had started and put an end to the treasure hunting. However, these
first photos made clear to every viewer: during the months since
the beginning of 2007, hundreds of burials had been completely
destroyed in search of rich burial offerings (ill. 16-23).
At first, Seng Sonetra’s appeal for help reached Gerd Albrecht in
Badenweiler, Germany. Since 1996, Gerd Albrecht together with his
wife Barbara and other colleagues had trained archaeologists-to-
17 and 18 Vil- be and had equipped the Memot Centre in Phnom Penh and the
lagers discover one Memot Museum in Memot through the help of German funds and
of dozens of bronze donors. Seng Sonetra and Vin Laychour were their students. On the
drums in the middle
same day, Gerd Albrecht conveyed the bad news about the extensive
of May 2007 (Photos:
Hong Ranet)
looting of the remarkably rich burials with countless gold objects
and dozens of bronze drums, to Andreas Reinecke from the German
Archaeological Institute, who just some days before had returned
from his fieldwork in Southeast Asia to Germany. Nevertheless, it
was clear to all of us that we had to act very quickly. Gerd Albrecht
offered financial support for a rescue excavation, the DAI offered
immediate assistance as well, and Andreas Reinecke was ready to
return to Cambodia straight away. However, only at the end of 2007
was the green light given for an excavation at Prohear.
From March 2007 until February 2008, villagers from Prohear
hoed out their prehistory from the soil with the guidance of some
experienced ‘specialists’ from Bit Meas. All valuable items were sold
to middlemen who arranged for the objects to make their way to
the antique markets in Southeast Asia. There they will appear, like
so many other antiques from Cambodia. Quickly, the cemetery in
the center of Prohear, once the size of two soccer fields, was reduced
to the crater-like landscape of Bit Meas. However, there was a bless-
19 The looted burial

site in Prohear at the
end of May 2007.
The rainy season had
started and the holes
are full of rain water
(Photo: Seng Sonetra)
20 The villagers of
Prohear sold the iron
offerings they found
in the burials for 900
Riels (0.2 US$) per
kilo to the scrap yard
21 Archae-
ologists from Phnom
Penh recovered a
range of iron tools and
bracelets (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
22 A rich harvest but difficult to sell: This

part of the Cambodian heritage from Prohear
was not good enough for the dealers and was
left in the houses of the villagers in May 2007.
Left: a long part of a socketed bronze lance
head (length still 36.5 cm), lying underneath is
a bronze bowl with an omphalos bottom and a
ribbed surface (mouth diam. 15.6 cm); right: the
foot of a high pedestalled ceramic bowl and a
pot (Photo: Seng Sonetra)
ing in disguise: unlike at Bit Meas the archaeological site in Prohear

was not situated on open fields, but in the midst of the village with
a heavily used municipally owned road of a width of 4 meters. This
road was the focus of the archaeological excavations from February
to May 2008 and February/March 2009, about which we will report
in the following chapters.
23 Bead offerings
from looted burials in
Prohear: glass beads
(blue), carnelian (red-
brown), and agate
(brown) (Photo: Hong
Ranet)
27
Chapter 2: Last chance for Prohear
Prohear, home of some hundred families, cannot be found on tour-

ist maps. The starting point for the route to this unknown village is
the provincial town of Prey Veng. With a few small hotels and some
bamboo ‘open-air’ saloons it radiates the charm of a small town dur-
ing the pioneering days of the Wild West. Motorbikes are the most
practical means of travel to Prohear. The first 20 km are on the well
maintained National Route 11 to the small town of Svay Antor. Then
the second half of the way was an ever-changing dirt road on which
one had to avoid clouds of dust or deep puddles. In the second year
of the excavation, we observed the construction of a new concrete
road from Svay Antor heading east, which by now will have reached
the small field road that runs 2 km to Prohear (ill. 7, 24-26).
One can see from Henri Mouhot’s travelogue how much this
presently deforested landscape has changed during the last 150 years.
The French explorer, who announced the ruins of Angkor to Europe
in the 1860s, visited the thick, game-rich forest to the north of Prey
Veng to Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc in present-day Vietnam in August
1859. For nearly three months he resided among the Stieng (Stiên),
an ethnic minority who survived there until modern times. He
drew a detailed picture of the ancient scenery of this region before
24 Location of the
Iron Age cemetery in
the center of Prohear
village from a height
of 1.32 km (Google
Earth 2008)
28 Chapter 2: Last chance for Prohear
25 The way to he travelled on to Angkor. Mouhot was surrounded by forests that

Prohear in 2008 (left): were teeming with elephants, buffaloes, rhinoceros, tigers, and wild
for cars with daily
boar. He most dreaded scorpions, centipedes, and serpents and was
‘Dubious Deeds’, it
plagued by mosquitoes and leeches9. In the future, pollen analyses
is sometimes too
dusty, sometimes will give us a more concrete picture about the ancient surroundings
too slippery (Photo: of Prohear or Bit Meas. This analysis may confirm our assumption
L. Reinecke); 2009 that the landscape was made up of ‘settlement islands’, which 2000
(right): in preparation years before had emerged from the jungle. Looking more broadly,
for road-construction the jungle must have also influenced the life of the people at Prohear
(Photo: J. Seibold) during the early Iron Age.
26 Prohear vil-
lage from the north.
The Iron Age cemetery
is situated in the
village center on the
right side of the road
9 H. Mouhot
1864/1992, vol. I, 240-
255.
Chapter 2: Last chance for Prohear 29
27 Excavation on the
main road through
Prohear in April 2008:
In the foreground
are the holes of the
looted burials. In
the background on
the left is one of the
recently built houses
fully funded by the
selling of archaeologi-
cal artifacts (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
Upon our arrival in Prohear in February 2008 the mood of the

villagers was tense. Behind groups of farmers heatedly discussing
our arrival were two newly built houses. They were a testament to
28 Meeting in Pro-
hear before the begin-
ning of the excavation
in February 2008:
Cambodian archaeol-
ogists tell the villagers
about the impor-
tance of the burial
site and the needs
of an archaeological
excavation (Photo: Vin
Laychour)
29 The excava-
tion team is preparing
to sleep directly in
the excavation unit
30 The pagoda
‘Preah Vihear’ in the
center of the village
gave rise to the name
‘Prohear’ (Photo: Moul
Kumnet)
the newfound prosperity of the families that had success looting.
The gossip factory was working overtime: “Foreigners want to dig
out our treasures”, was one of the more diplomatic versions of the
accusations against us. “Stop the thieves”, cried the looters, who were
certainly not aware of their own guilt! “All treasures in the ground
of our private land are our property”, – such was the conventional
wisdom despite all state regulations (ill. 27)10.
The Cambodian archaeologists were busy for several days provid-
ing a clearer understanding of our archaeological activities and to
change the atmosphere of resentment amongst the upset villagers (ill.
28). Nevertheless, within eyeshot of the archaeological excavation,
the last remaining undisturbed private land was burrowed through.
10 The “Law on the For the first few nights it seemed advisable for our archaeologists to
Protection of Cultural
sleep in the middle of the main road through the village, directly in
Heritage” of Cambodia,
enacted in 1996 by excavation Unit A on the newly discovered burials (ill. 29).
Norodom Sihanouk, *
contains all regulations The oral history of Prohear goes back to the 19th century. The name
to protect archaeologi- ‘Prohear’ refers to the original name ‘Preah Vihear’, the name of the
cal objects no matter
whether they are found
central building in the village pagoda, which houses the Buddha (ill.
on public or privately 30). During a lunch break we talked with Kong Chuong, one of the
owned land. oldest inhabitants of the village who was born in 1919. The alert man
31 They keep in
their memory the last
60 years of Prohear:
Kong Chuong and
his wife (left), and the
65-year-old musician
of Prohear village,
Kong Quern (right).
When he is playing his
two-string-fiddle all
around him are settled
in harmony and peace
(Photos: L. Reinecke)
32 Excavation Unit A
on the main road
through the village is
in close contact with
the daily traffic (Photo:
Seng Sonetra)
33 Prohear:
Overview of the
excavation Units A-D
– red: partly destroyed
burials, red/yellow:
partly destroyed with
gold/silver; yellow:
preserved burials with
gold/silver, black:
without gold/silver;
green: imported
bronze object (with-
out bracelets), blue:
garnet; T: drum or
fragments of a drum;
S: sword (Drawing: A.
Reinecke)
34 Directly below the

upper layer of some
burials lie horizontal
looting holes that
partly cross the main
road at a depth of 0.5-
1.0 meter (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
puffed on his hand-rolled cheroot cigar with relish, and reported that
in the 1980’s strange objects had already been spotted in the ground
(ill. 31). However, at that time all these strange artifacts were consid-
ered to be worthless garbage.
We can estimate the dimensions of the ancient cemetery by the
distribution of the looters’ pits that cover an area of about 125 × 150
meters, or almost 20,000 square meters. Our excavation area on
the village road cuts through the center of the cemetery. Before the
beginning of the excavations, the traffic through the village had to be
diverted through adjoining front yards and gardens. This required
tough negotiations with the owners (ill. 32).
During the excavation campaigns in spring 2008 and 2009 we set
out four units (A-D) on the road covering 45 meters in length and
2-3 meters in width (ill. 33). The whole excavated area is 116.4 square
meters, with 52 burials detected, many of which are only partly pre-
served or destroyed by digging in the past and present11. An average
of one grave was found for every 2 to 3 square meters, however they
were more densely packed in Units A and D than in Units B and C.
This trend of declining grave density continues as one moves away 11 Peculiar burials 1,
from the center of the cemetery. We can imagine that during the 6, 17, 37, 52.
35/36 The rainy
season is starting in
May so there is no
way to continue the
excavation. A tropical
downpours trans-
formed the unit into
a small pool in only a
few minutes (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
looting of the entire 20,000 square meters area at least 1000 burials
were destroyed.
The upper burial layers were found at approximately 0.60 meters
under the road’s surface. With ceramic vessels, rows of pots, or a
scattering of sherds the excavation area appeared like an oasis amidst
the looter’s pits. However, this first impression was an illusion. While
scraping and cleaning the burials, sometimes our excavators sud-
denly broke through the ground. Long tunnel-like holes, up to 2.5
meters in length, had been driven in from both sides of the munici-
pal road to a depth of 0.7-1.2 meters. Almost half of all the graves
were partly destroyed by these horizontal ‘tunnels’ (ill. 34 and 38).
In some places the ground was so extremely hard that the ceram-
ics had to be uncovered with a hammer and fine chisel-like tools. All
objects, except ceramic sherds, received their own inventory number.
Ceramics were recorded in find lists of square meters and then clas-
sified by burial numbers. Burials were often placed so close together
that adjacent grave pits frequently touched each other. Thus, during
the excavation it was not always possible to recognize a clear separa-
tion between all the burials and their associated offerings. Only after
the completion of drawings and documentation were the graves,
numbering 1 through 52, and their offerings recognizable. The
ceramics were cleaned at the site. Portions of burials, especially those
that were rich in offerings, were lifted as blocks to be investigated in
the restoration lab in Phnom Penh. At present, this time-consuming
work is not finished yet and continues with the restoration of the
bronze and iron objects.
The excavation campaigns were limited by the beginning of the
rainy season in May. Some early tropical downpours, most notably
during the last days of the excavation in 2008, transformed the units
into small pools in only a few minutes. The rain destroyed profiles
and endangered uncovered graves. It is a credit to the ingenuity of all
staff members of the excavation team that all the graves were docu-
mented and rescued (ill. 35 and 36).
After many months of looting, our excavation assistants from
the village had excellent experience in digging burials, as well as in
recognizing different burials types and the arrangement of offerings.
Even on the first excavation day, they could predict the appearance
37 The 2008 of special items before we could see anything. As the excavation con-
excavation team tinued, they developed a good feel for the process of an archaeologi-
(Photo: Memot
cal excavation. With so many burial offerings discovered, they could
Centre)
tell us if a special item had never before been discovered in Prohear
or how often and where these gold, silver, bronze objects or special
ceramic types had already appeared.
During the excavation in February and April/May 2008, the
following archaeology students from the Royal University of Fine
Arts Phnom Penh belonged to our staff: Hang Nisay, Leng Vitou,
Kim Virum, Ty Chanpheany, Nep Chanlaksmy, Chea Narin, Moul
Konmnet, Chhun Sambor, Sakhoeurn Sakada, Em Kim Sreang and
Chhim Sotha. Additionally, Gerd and Barbara Albrecht and Matth-
ias Heinzel from Germany took part during the first campaign. They
all were supported by the ‘special team of experienced excavators’
from the village: Kong Sung, Rith, Sam-on, Wat, Pheak, Kosal, Yieng,
Yong, Leang, Vath, La, Yith and Nhep (ill. 37). In February/March
2009, our team included the archaeology students: Moul Komnet,
Em Kimsreang, Leng Vitou, Kim Phirum, Chea Narin, Ouk Neng,
Kath Srim, Tol Marady, Khom Poline, Huon Savong, Pho Mala,
Ou Kong Kea. The villagers Yong, Kong Sung, Leang, Kork, Phoan,
Pheak, Hour, Say, Soeurn, Meuy, Pheak, Ranh, Nhep and Nhen
strengthened our team (ill. 113, Chapter 10). The excavation team
was hosted in both years by Ms. Nuon, Ms. Sokleang, Mr. Vanndy
and Mr. Mi. We are grateful to all of them for their help and to the
villagers for their hospitality.
38 Villager Kong
The story of Kong Sung
Sung found 7 bronze
drums while looting At this point we want to tell you the story of Kong Sung, one of our
in Prohear. Then he assistants who has taken part in all excavations. The 35-year-old Sung
was an assistant for holds one of the saddest records from the drama in Prohear. He has
the excavation team. dug out a total of 7 bronze drums – an entry fit for the ‘Guinness Book
In the background is of Records’. Like many other farmers he was only able to sell the first
a horizontal looting
drum for the scrap metal price of 7000 Riel (just fewer than 2 US dol-
hole that he and other
lars) per kilo of bronze. A short time later, the profit rose to 50 US dol-
villagers dug from the
lars for a drum due to a payment from a middleman from an antique
side, below the road
market. By selling 6 drums he could save 300 US dollars, enough to
buy the first water buffalo of his life. By owning a water buffalo, he
39 This stubborn
no longer needed to rent a buffalo to do his fieldwork. As an assis-
water buffalo cow
tant during our archaeological excavation, Sung saw the damage
costs the equivalent
caused by his deep looting pits, which destroyed so many burials (ill.
of 6 bronze drums. In
38). Countless bronze drums appeared during these looting activities
the background Kong
– more than had been seen before at any other site in Southeast Asia.
Sung, the owner of the
The farmers reported that the drums had a diameter of 35-60 cm and
‘bronze drum buffalo’,
is at a safe distance
contained a lot of jewelry, including gold objects.
from his new willfull
Sung’s water buffalo is an unconventional two-year-old female
property (Photo: A. who wants to graze all day and does not like to be bothered by her
Reinecke) owner Sung until it is time to return home late in the evening. If Sung
comes to her during the day, she senses there will be trouble and that
Sung is up to no good, so she takes to her heels. To take a photo of
this stubborn water buffalo, equivalent in price to 6 bronze drums, we
had to chase her for 2 km, and then encircle her to keep her in place
(ill. 39).
39
Chapter 3:
Trying to puzzle out the secrets of the burial site
In the excavations thus far, 52 graves have been uncovered, including
47 inhumations and 5 jar burials of children in large vessels of about
50 cm in diameter (ill. 44 and 60, right). By looking at the funeral
rites, head orientation, burial offerings, and depth we can separate
the graves into two main mortuary periods (I and II). Currently, we
are at the beginning of our analyses and their interpretation, and the
radiocarbon dates will be completed during the next months (Chap-
ter 8.1). Only then will it be possible to determine a well-founded
absolute time span of the successive mortuary periods. However,
we have gathered the following criteria to distinguish ‘early = I’ and
‘later = II’ mortuary periods and their dating (ill. 40-43).
I. The period I burials fall between 500-150/100 BC. This period
is comprised of four inhumations with the heads orientated east (No.
19, 51) or west (No. 21, 49; ill. 43). Additionally, all four graves are
unified by their great depth (0.90-1.45 meters). None of these contain
gold objects. It is also noteworthy that two of the burials included
garnet beads (21, 49). There are more interesting clues to the dating
of the ceramics. Two of the graves (19, 49) are equipped with pot-
tery vessels typical of burials at Go O Chua, in Long An province
in southern Vietnam (high pedestalled bowls, high pots with fun-
nel-shaped rim; ill. 45:1, 3 and 6, 8). The inhumations at Go O Chua
primarily belong to the 4th-2nd century BC.
Which other burials may also belong to mortuary phase I? This
includes grave 5, a jar burial of a child that was found quite deep
under the feet of burial 4 (ill. 44). We will have to wait for more
dates to decide if all the other jar burials12, which were most likely
dedicated to children, belong to mortuary period I. Burial 7 is more
likely from phase I, because this complex included a funnel rim pot
typical of Go O Chua. Furthermore, none of the jar burials contained
gold or silver offerings, and on the whole they were rather modestly
furnished.
II. All the other 43 graves are unified in period II (about 150/100 12 Jar burials no. 5,
BC-AD 100) by the same head orientation to the south, or slightly 7?, 29, 42, 48.
40 Chapter 3: Trying to puzzle out the secrets of the burial site
40 Unit D with
burials No. 26-51,
February 2009 (Photo:
A. Reinecke)
to the southwest. This misalignment of the north-south axis is mini-

mal, and we should note that people did not dig a burial pit with
a compass in their hands. Therefore, we have allowed for a gener-
ous definition of ‘south’ for the head orientation. In all prehistoric
cultures, a change in the orientation of the body is a notable break
that can refer to cultural or religious changes, or can be the result of
ethnic change by immigration (see Chapter 11).
It could be that the burial orientation in a cemetery is a reflec-
tion of the daily lives of the inhabitants. For example, the Swedish
archaeologist Olov R.T. Janse hypothesized that the orientation of
the houses at Dong Son, Thanh Hoa province, in northern Vietnam,
was reflected in similarly oriented graves13. Thus, it seems that the
orientation of the burials at Prohear changed in the second half of
the 2nd century BC.
Ancient ceramic vessels, similar to some types mentioned from
Go O Chua, were also found within the mortuary period II in Pro-
hear in the burials 9, 12 and 16. This could indicate that these are
complexes from an early phase within period II, a period we call
13 O.R.T. Janse 1958, mortuary phase IIa (about 150/100-100/50 BC). Unfortunately, at
39. present not all ceramic vessels from Prohear are restored and recon-
Chapter 3: Trying to puzzle out the secrets of the burial site 41
41 Unit C with
burials No. 20-23,
May 2008 (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
structed. Thus, we must wait to see whether more of these ‘ancient

vessels’ become recognizable and would point toward a continued
ceramic tradition from mortuary period I to IIa, despite the drastic
change of the burial orientation (ill. 45).
The next burials to discuss are those that belong to the latest phase
of mortuary period II, that we call phase IIb (about 100/50 BC-AD
100) based on the typical grave goods and some radiocarbon dates
(see Chapter 8.1). At first, we placed two graves (No. 4 and 44) in
this late phase because they have fine orangeware ceramics similar to
those found at Angkor Borei in Takeo province14. In the looted buri-
als at Prohear, villagers normally found these fine ceramics together
with bronze drums, exactly as discovered in burial 4. Because the
offerings of burial 44 are not yet restored, it is still difficult to rec-
ognize additional similar characteristics between both these graves.
Nevertheless, burial 4 provides some helpful clues as to what was en 14 S.S. Fehrenbach
vogue in the final phase IIb at Prohear. First and foremost, typical for 2009, 141-142. The fine
this time period were bronze drums, ‘buffalo bracelets’ made from orangeware is seen as
diagnostic of Phase II
bronze or iron, imported bronzes like a bowl or bell, most of the gold at Angkor Borei (200
and silver offerings, and also rich jewelry including beads made from BC-AD 300), S.S. Feh-
agate, carnelian and glass (see Chapter 7.1). renbach 2009, 5-6.
42 Burial 21,
found with garnet
beads but no gold-
silver offerings, was
found with the head
pointing to the west.
The burial was 25
cm deeper than the
head of burial 20,
which had a south-
north orientation and
was equipped with
ceramics and offer-
ings of iron, glass and
gold/silver, May 2008
Which other burials besides 4 and 44 could belong to phase IIb?

This phase includes burials no. 2 and 10, due to their bronze drum
fragments, as well as burials 3, 33, and 46 because of their unusual
gold objects. Moreover, burial 33 is also furnished with a bronze bowl
typical of the Han period (see Chapter 7.5). Finally, burial 47, which
is equipped with a bell and disc or shallow bowl, may also belong to
phase IIb, although the radiocarbon date is older and the burial was
found quite deep15.
Currently, we can select burials 2, 3, 4, 10, 33, 44, 46 and 47, a
total of eight graves, for the final mortuary phase IIb. Certainly, we
will have to refine this classification and will add some more period
II inhumations with less significant offerings to phase IIb. However,
at the present stage of our analysis we have already reached the limit
of our interpretation based on the available data. The further divi-
sion of all burials into the different mortuary phases will depend on
the continued progress of the restoration work, especially with the
15 See chapter 4, ill. copious ceramics. Thus far, we have an exciting preliminary example:
50, chapter 7.6, ill. 79,
80; this radiocarbon
in six of the eight burials that we distinguished as belonging to phase
date is discussed in IIb, we found a small bottle with a globular body and a very restricted
chapter 8.1. aperture, similar to type 10a at Go O Chua (ill. 45:2, 7). This does not
Chapter 3: Trying to puzzle out the secrets of the burial site 43
43 These three
graves may be of three
children buried side
by side: Jar burial 48,
between burial 47, of
a 9-year-old boy with
his head to the south,
and burial 49, of a
6-year-old child with
the head oriented to
the west; March 2009
44 The mortuary
vessel from burial 5
(diam. 45 cm) with
cover (mouth diam.
29 cm). Inside the jar
were a pig mandible,
a bronze bangle, and
the bones of a child
look like a pure coincidence. This bottle has never been found in a
mortuary period I burial, but was discovered in six additional period
II burials that haven’t yet been more specifically classified. Should
they also be ‘candidates’ for phase IIb?
Moreover it is remarkable that at Go O Chua, the graves furnished
with high-pedestalled bowls or high pots with a funnel-shaped rim
are very common (in 21 of 64 burials), while small bottles with a
globular body are more infrequent (found in only three graves). These 16 After S.S. Feh-
small bottles have never been discovered together with the aforemen- renbach (2009) and
M.T. Stark (2001) they
tioned bowls or pots. Based on the huge number of bottles found in
belong to the “Bur-
mortuary phase IIb at Prohear, we must now seriously reconsider the nished Earthenware
chronology at Go O Chua. Perhaps a few burials with small bottles group” which should
are from a later, unexpected mortuary phase at Go O Chua dating to be diagnostic of Phase
the 1st century BC, but had fewer burial offerings than contemporary I at Angkor Borei (c.
500–200 BC) – see S.S.
inhumations at Prohear. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that Fehrenbach 2009, 32,
the high-pedestalled bowls belong to the most ancient ceramic ware Fig. 3.2, Tag 689.2, and
group of Phase I at Angkor Borei16, which corresponds to the burials p. 33.
45 The pottery dating from the 4th to the 2nd century BC of Go O Chua, but the small
vessels from Go O bottles belong to a later Phase II at Angkor Borei17.
Chua in Long An prov- These small bottles are a very interesting kind of ceramic and
ince (above) are very
have not been discovered in the adjacent Sa Huynh culture. They
similar to the ceramics
from mortuary phase
are only about 6-7 cm high, but have a belly diameter up to 12 cm.
IIa in Prohear (bottom) With such an unusual shape and because the restricted aperture can
(Photos: A. Reinecke; be closed perfectly with a cork or stopper, they likely only contained
drawing: Tô Trần Bích special liquids, such as medicine, intoxicating liquors, aromatic oils,
Thúy) ointment, or even precious seeds.
The chronological framework for the ceramics at Go O Chua,
17 S.S. Fehrenbach,
p. 176, Subclass Ib, Tag dating from the 4th-1st century BC, and for Vat Komnou, dating from
2758; they belong to his the 2nd century BC to AD 300, is quite broad18. Therefore at present
Phase II of the ceramic we can only suggest that mortuary period I at Prohear began during
chronology (c. 200 BC the main mortuary phases of Go O Chua, and that mortuary period
– AD 300), see p. 48.
18 M. T. Stark 2001,
II of Prohear should be parallel with the latest burials of Go O Chua
28; S.S. Fehrenbach and the first half of Vat Komnou (ill. 119).
2009, 29.
45
Chapter 4: More than just burials – insights into an

unknown society
In many ways, burials reflect the destiny and status of people. How-
ever, burial customs and grave goods were marked by rules and
influences that we do not know, and are only vaguely perceptible
after 2000 years. During that ancient time, gravestones with infor-
mation about the person who died were not common, unlike present
times. It would be conceivable that the ancient graves were marked
by wooden or stone steles or bamboo posts, but we did not find any
traces of this at Prohear.
In this cemetery, like at most other Bronze-Iron Age burial sites in
Cambodia and southern Vietnam, the dead were normally interred
in a grave pit lying on their back with straight legs and the arms along
the body, or bent with the hands on the stomach or chest. In many
graves the skeletal remains were not preserved, however the head
orientation could be determined with the help of the position of ear-
rings, bracelets or other jewelry in the burial (ill. 46). We already
reported that in most inhumations the head faced south, or was
slightly angled to the southwest. At the Iron Age cemetery of Phum
Snay in northwest Cambodia, Dougald J.W. O’Reilly has observed
that a “grave cut was lined with a very hard substance, probably resin
(burial 6_03)” or “with bamboo” (burial 14_03)19. Thus far, we have
not detected similar traces at Prohear and the remains of wooden
coffins have never been found.
Perhaps the dead of Prohear were wrapped in a mat before they
were interred in the grave pit. This type of burial, found at the Iron
Age cemetery of Prey Khmeng in Siem Reap province, was on dis-
play in an exhibition at the National Museum in Phnom Penh in
2009. This burial custom is also described by the Chinese envoy
Zhou Daguan (about 1270-1350) in his accounts on Cambodia and
the Khmer from the end of 13th century. He notes, “When people die 19 A. von den
there are no coffins. The body is just kept on a kind of bamboo mat Driesch / D.J.W.
O’Reilly / V. Voeun
and covered with a cloth”20. We have only a single piece of evidence 2006, 108.
that a mat could also have been used in Prohear. On the bronze drum 20 Zhou Daguan
from burial 4, traces of a wattle mat are preserved. Because the drum 1297/2007, 66.
46 Chapter 4: More than just burials – insights into an unknown society
46 Burials 3
and 12 in Unit A. 1
– Burial 3: Two bowls
were placed with
their mouths directly
on both sides of the
unpreserved skull. 2
– After taking off the
bowl on the left side
and looking inside,
we found two gold
earrings. When we
took off the second
bowl on the right side,
we found four more
earrings that look
more like silver. 3/4
– Burial 12: A goblet
covered the left side
of the skull perhaps of
a man. 5 – Under the
goblet we found two
spiral rings made from
silver or gold and a contained a human skull, it is conceivable that the drum together
silver earring (Photos: with the corpse was wrapped into a mat woven from bamboo fibers
1-2 A. Reinecke; 3-5 (ill. 47).
Seng Sonetra) Wrapping the dead body in a wattle mat or woven shroud was a
common and a widespread practice in that area, as suggested by addi-
tional observations at the Bronze Age burial site of Koh Ta Meas in
Siem Reap province21. Apparently, it was not unusual to combine this
practice with the use of wooden coffins, like those at the Bronze Age
period 2 burial complex (1000-900 BC) from Ban Non Wat in north-
eastern Thailand22. As well as from some Iron Age burial sites of the
Dong Son culture (600 BC-AD 100) like from Dong Xa in Hung Yen
21 C. Pottier 2006, province or Yen Bac in Ha Nam province in northern Vietnam23.
305. A very specific burial custom of the rich at Prohear was to be
22 C. Higham / T. buried with their head in a bronze drum, as we discovered in burial
Higham 2009, 130.
23 Nguyễn Việt 2006,
4 (ill. 47 and 63). Villagers told us, that they observed this strange
88-89; J. Cameron mortuary custom many times. Until now, this funeral custom was
2006, 196-198. only known beyond Southeast Asia, from the burial site Kele in the
Chapter 4: More than just burials – insights into an unknown society 47
47 The south part of

burial 4: The skull of a
woman with jewelry
on her ears, neck and
hair was placed inside
the drum. South of the
drum were some pots
(Photo: Seng Sonetra).
On the top of the
drum we found traces
of a woven mat, per-
haps made from strips
of bamboo (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
southern Chinese province of Guizhou. We will come back to this

issue in chapter 12.
Burials at Prohear, but also at many other cemeteries, are enclosed
on both sides by rows of broken ceramics. Complete pottery vessels
are normally found beyond the head or at the feet. Less often, small
vessels were placed directly on the stomach of the person (ill. 48).
Due to the acidic soil conditions in Prohear, food remains are just as
poorly preserved as the human skeletons. However, we know from
the Go O Chua site that small, circular cord-marked pots near the
head kept the remains of fish and pork bones for the last meal on the
way to the afterlife. The same is assumed for Prohear’s burials.
To be able to tell something about the fate of the individuals of
Prohear, the skeletal remains must be examined and have to be cor-
related and interpreted in context with the offerings. This interpre-
tation often walks a fine line between truth and speculation, but is
worth the trouble and risk. Unfortunately, no skeletal remains sur-
vived in half of the graves due to the soil conditions, especially in
the upper layers of the ground as the destruction of burials left only
ceramics at one end of a burial in their original place. This destruc-
tion is the main reason that we found only some bones or teeth in an
additional quarter of the graves. The best preserved interments come
from graves from a deeper layer, about 0.90-1.45 meters under the
surface24. In view of this desolate situation, it is even more astonish-
ing what our anthropologist, Simone Krais (Freiburg), could find out
about the ancient people of Prohear during several weeks of cleaning,
preservation, and investigation of all the small bone fragments and
teeth in the Memot Centre in April / May, 2009 (see Chapter 8.2).
In 52 burials, women, men and children of different ages have
found their final resting place. Thus, Prohear is a typical ‘mixed’
occupancy cemetery like most other Metal Age burial sites in this
region. Let’s have a look at the statistics. Unfortunately, from about
one dozen graves there were no evaluable anthropological or archae-
ological artifacts available to classify them as ‘child, woman, or man’.
When we take all the evidence together, as well as the ‘vague sus-
picions,’ then we have a total of 6 men, 18 women and 17 children
(Infants I and II).
This demographic distribution may be surprising, however, it is
explicable. The high child mortality for Prohear’s population 2000
years ago fits in well with some other burial sites of the same period.
This is much more representative for a prehistoric group than the
ratio found at Go O Chua, which had only seven child interments
out of a total of 52 anthropologically evaluable dead. As a compari-
24 Burials 4, 15, 16,
19, 21, 33 and 49.
son, at the Bronze Age burial site of Ban Lum Khao (1250-400 BC) in
25 K.M. Domett 2004, northeastern Thailand the estimation of age resulted in 51 children
117. of 110 individuals25. At the later Iron Age cemetery of Noen U-Loke
48 Burial 22 in Unit
C, May 2008 (Photo: L.
Reinecke)
(300 BC-AD 400) also in northeastern Thailand, the result shows 53

subadults (less than 14 years old) out of a total of 120 individuals26.
Unlike Ban Lum Khao and Noen U-Loke, our census for Prohear
is not based strictly on bio-anthropological considerations alone, as
that will be published later in another venue. Here we want to draw
as complete a picture of the ancient population of Prohear as we
can with the missing skeletons. Therefore we will also consider the
archaeological sex and age determinations, diagnostic evidence that
we do not have from Go O Chua or from many other contemporary
cemeteries.
From some of the 17 child burials at Prohear we have no bone,
but instead have finger rings or bracelets from four burials that fit
around the finger or wrist of a child. In addition to the anthropologi-
cal estimate of eight child burials, we also speculate that all five jar
burials represent children, although we are not yet able to prove this
hypothesis. However, early Iron Age jar burials found in the region 26 K. Domett / N.
of the Pre-Funan culture are almost always used as graves for chil- Tayles 2006, 225.
49 Stone pestles
with traces of use
were found in differ-
ent looted (1-5) and
excavated burials (6-7)
placed between the
thighs of men (Photo:
A. Reinecke)
dren. By this separate practice for children, contemporary sites in

Cambodia are distinctly separate from the burial custom of the Sa
Huynh culture distributed between central Vietnam and the Dong
Nai River area in southern Vietnam. In this burial custom, children
as well as adults were buried in jar burials of different sizes, but inhu-
27 A. mations are rarer27.
Reinecke / Nguyễn
To understand the unusually high proportion of children in the
Chiều / Lâm Thị
Mỹ Dung 2002; A. midst of the remaining burials in the early Iron Age cemeteries we
Reinecke 2004, 223- have to consider factors such as health, which can be very differ-
228. ent from area to area28, but also culturally conditioned causes. For
28 For this issue see
example, one such reason could be that in some communities, small
K.M. Domett (2001)
on the basis of records children may have not been buried in the midst of the adult’s graves
from several analyzed or may not have been interred at ‘normal’ cemeteries at all. Another
burial sites in Thailand reason could be that without skeletal remains a child’s grave may not
from the period 2000- be recognized as such because its offerings are not unlike that of an
400 BC.
29 For a summary of
adult29.
this topic see E. Scott What are we to make of the disproportionate burials of men and
1999, esp. pp. 90. women? Is it only the side effect of a small-scale excavation? In com-
parison, the ‘neighbors’ from Go O Chua had a very well-balanced

burial distribution of 20 women and 21 men. At Vat Komnou the
male to female ratio is the reverse of Prohear as more than twice
as many men as women were buried (24:10)30. During this time
period complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postna-
tal period caused a higher maternal mortality. This cannot be the
argument for the more numerous female inhumations at Prohear,
but it is a primary reason for the lower average age of women at
prehistoric sites.
As hypotheses we might consider two explanations for a situa-
tion like Prohear, with women’s burials outnumbering men. Firstly,
the men could have died hunting or fighting far away from home,
and were buried elsewhere near the scene of the accident or not bur-
ied at all. This could be true at Prohear31. Secondly, burials of men
could be more difficult to identify by their archaeological artifacts
than women. This is not true at Prohear because both genders have
specific offerings. For example, men often are identified by phallic-
shaped stone pestles between the legs. Although during our excava-
tions this was observed in only two interments (burials 2 and 11), the
villagers told us that they had found many such stones. They handed
over almost a dozen of these typically male objects to us, which so far
have not been found at other cemeteries in this region (ill. 49). Fur-
thermore, the skeletal remains in burial 47 were identified by Simone
Krais as belonging to a 9-year-old child whose face was covered with
a bronze disc. We interpret the bronze bell between the upper thighs
of the child as a symbol for a boy (ill. 50, 79, 80; Chapter 7.6).
The diameters of bracelets or finger rings from bronze, gold, sil-
ver, or iron also allow us to distinguish a woman, man, or child. The 30 M. Pietrusews-
bronze buffalo bracelet and the silver finger ring from grave 4 do ky / R. Ikehara-Quebral
2006, 86.
not fit on the arm or finger of a man (ill. 51; Chapter 7.4). Another
31 For Phum Snay
example is a gold finger ring in burial 50 (ill. 68:10) that is also not with a ratio of 10
compatible on the smallest finger of a woman and must originally women and 5 men
have adorned a child’s hand. K.M. Domett / D.J.W.
The gender or age specificity of spindle whorls, jewelry, or weap- O’Reilly 2009, 73, came
to similar consider-
ons are less clear, although the general idea that ‘more richly dec- ations, however the
orated women’ and ‘stronger armed men’ as a basic trend widely sample size is very
matches our observations in Prohear. Let’s start with the clay spindle small.
whorls as indicators for yarn production for making textiles (see

Chapter 5). This work which certainly lay in the hands of women,
and thus they are often found in women’s graves. We must be certain
that a spindle whorl did not fall by chance into the grave pit as it was
re-filled. That means that at best they are discovered in close contact
or clear context with the dead person, and the more spindle whorls
that are found in the grave, the greater the probability that these are
offerings to a woman. Thus, six spindle whorls in burial 33 and four
items in the neighboring burial 34 are clear evidence that we have the
burials of two women. The other offerings in both graves (bracelets,
finger ring, and rich beads) support this interpretation.
In only one of our probable men’s graves (no. 12) did we find
fragments of a spindle whorl. For this inhumation it is more impor-
tant that it was equipped with a gold-silver finger ring that without a
doubt fits only on a man’s finger. At present, the number of published
cemeteries with many spindle whorl offerings and preserved skel-
etons for anthropological analysis are still smaller than one would
expect. However at Phum Snay, spindle whorls are also reported as
typical for burials of women32. The Bronze Age site of Ban Lum Khao
in Nakhon Ratchasima province provides us with 112 burials, 110
analyzed individuals, and settlement layers with a rich collection of
96 spindle whorls33. But only eight items were found scattered loosely
in burials of women, men and children34, the situation is apparently
the same at the Iron Age cemetery of Noen U-Loke35.
The fact that the 9-year-old boy in grave 47 was equipped with
two spindle whorls can be interpreted in such a way that children
helped their mother in the production of textiles, until they were
able to take over typical male roles. This is confirmed by grave 27
where a 5-7-year-old child was furnished with four spindle whorls.
That shows that children are not just ‘miniature adults’ but have their
32 K.M. Domett / D.
J.W. O’Reilly 2009, 60. own role in life and death.
33 J. Cameron 2004, In general, it is expected that men were buried with more iron
211. tools or weapons and women buried with more gold-silver or beads
34 C.F.W. Higham / R. and jewelry. An example of a characteristically male offering is grave
Thosarat 2004, 99.
35 S. Talbot 2007, 335,
40, with a short sword, socketed axe, dagger, blade, and a pricker (as
table 18:9, and 338-339, far as the unrestored iron objects are identifiable), but no beads at
table 18:13. all. The only jewelry this well-armed man wore was a silver bracelet
50 Burial 47 is the
inhumation of a 9-
year-old boy. His face
was covered with a
bronze disc, maybe
a shallow bowl or an
adornment disc (1).
Between his thighs
a bronze bell was
deposited (2) (Illustra-
tion: A. Reinecke)
(ill. 52) on his right wrist and a bronze bracelet on his left. Thus, gold
or silver jewelry adorned not only women, but also men and chil-
dren! As an impressive example for the much more jewelry-focused
offerings of women we will later describe burial 4, one of the richest
women at Prohear (see Chapter 7.1).
Interestingly, there are also graves that seem to be correlated with

each other. For one exciting example we can discuss the people in
the two neighboring graves 2 and 3, who were found with similar
ceramic sets with at least 10 vessels of the same types: small bottles
for a special liquid (ill. 45:7), circular cord-marked pots for food
(ill. 45:10), basin-shaped pots with wide-opened mouth (ill. 60, last
row, second-left), large jars with a globular body and narrow mouth
(similar ill. 60, right), and shallow bowls with a low foot – the classic
rice bowl (ill. 60, front-right). Therefore, both graves might belong to
the same mortuary phase IIb. However, the remaining offerings are
clearly different and indicate gender. Burial 2 is certainly the inhuma-
tion of a young man who was equipped with weapons and tools from
bronze or iron, as well as some agate beads, glass, and gold jewelry,
an iron bracelet and a bronze bracelet which fits the wrist of a man,
and finally a stone pestle between his thighs. In this context it is also
interesting that this man’s burial contained two handle fragments of
a bronze drum, probably the remains of a drum that normally laid
near the head but that had already been taken by looters, similar to
burial 10. This assumption could not be clarified completely because
the southern end of burial 2 met the wall of excavation Unit A which
was disturbed, and the southern part of burial 10 was destroyed by
a horizontal looting pit. In contrast, the person in burial 3 seems to
be a woman in her twenties (ill. 46:1-2). She was laid to rest without
weapons or iron tools, but with two spindle whorls and much richer
gold and silver jewelry than in neighboring grave 2. Thus, it seems
quite possible that we have found a couple.
Another unusual offering was found in grave 15. On both sides
of the skull lay 20 glass earrings, which were apparently threaded on
a string made from organic material. Additionally based on a bio-
archaeological estimation, the remains were probably of a man in his
prime, and he was furnished with some bronze bracelets and iron
tools or weapons as well as some dozen garnet beads. The inhuma-
tion with head orientation to the south-southwest was buried deeply
in Unit A and might belong to the mortuary phase IIa (ill. 53). The
same kind of eye-catching earring ornament made from many glass
rings was found in burial 49, the deepest of all graves in Units A-D,
with the head to the west, typical for a period I inhumation. Appar-
51 A ‘buffalo brace-

let’ from the right
arm of the skeleton in
burial 4 fits perfectly
on the forearm of a
woman (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
ently, this special ear-ornament and the preference for garnet beads,
just like many local ceramic types, ‘survived’ the new cultural influ-
ence that led to the change of burial orientation.
Of course, we are not only interested in the different funeral cus-
toms and offerings of women, men or children, but we also want to
know more about the structure of this community in Prohear 2000
years ago. We want to know: who was foreign and who was local?
Are there social differences? And how numerous was the population
that used this cemetery? Unfortunately, the 52 currently discovered
graves are not enough to deliver ‘hard facts’ on all these questions.
Here we have to work with ‘hook and eye’ and have to consider some
details to acquire preliminary answers.
Of these questions, it will be easiest to get an idea about the ratio
of strangers in the community. For that, 20 tooth fragments from
52 Silver bracelet
(diam. 6.2 x 5.5 cm),
before restoration
and partly coated
with black patina
from burial 40, most
likely a man who was
the only person of all
52 excavated burials
equipped with a
short-sword (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
different individuals in the cemetery were given to Mike Schweissing

(Munich) for ongoing strontium isotope investigations. These results
will inform us about precisely how many persons grew up in Pro-
hear versus those who immigrated from another area (see Chapter
8.3). Because of so many strange offerings, e.g. the high number of
observed and sold bronze drums, we expect a high ratio of ‘immi-
grated people’.
Approaching social status of groups or wealth differences between
individuals is more difficult. Indeed, we can distinguish ‘poor’ from
‘rich’ interments by estimating the value of offerings of every indi-
vidual. But from this we only infer the actual wealth of the dead as
‘living persons’ in Prohear 2000 years ago. After the excavation of
52 graves, we can say firstly that the Iron Age burial site of Prohear
belongs amongst the most richly equipped cemeteries dating from
200 BC-AD 100 ever discovered in Southeast Asia. The different
combinations and the individual character of the offerings allow
us to assume that for the population at that time, it was absolutely
important to give the dead not just anything, but what they also most
cherished and needed while still alive. Although there was a clear
‘regulation’ of the head orientation (see Chapter 11.1), this was not
the same for the burial goods. With the offerings, the individualism
could run free and was amazingly broad. However, we cannot tell in
detail how much the dying person or his family reduced their offer-
ings in order to increase the ‘inheritance’ for the descendants. Or
on the contrary, in which the range of offerings available were gifts

from the generous mourners. Thus, we have to be careful to attribute
a higher social status to some individuals only on the basis of more
or less offerings. The majority of all dead seemingly got a funeral of
almost the same kind and size.
The whole problem becomes a little bit trickier due to the fact
that we estimate ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ with our present understanding of
‘wealth’. Thereby, we have only a restricted image of what was really
valuable for people 2000 years ago: ten pigs in the stable or two sil-
ver finger rings in the grave? Was iron jewelry more valuable than
glass ornaments? All this is quite different from culture to culture
and from time to time. Thus we know for example that for the Chi-
nese up to the Han period, jade was a ‘magic stone’ as popular as
gold or silver36. In one of the richest burials of pre-Imperial context
in China, tomb 2 of Yimencun near Baoji city in Shaanxi province
dating from the late 6th century BC, there were about 100 jade items
and more than three kilograms of gold ornaments. It is summarized
that “gold is rarely encountered in early China and although known
to have been considered precious, it seems to have played no role
in defining sumptuary distinctions”37. As in most other Southeast
Asian cultures, gold was considered to be more valuable than silver,
as evidenced by some silver rings that were wrapped with gold foil
from Prohear (see Chapter 8.4).
In 1859, during his three months stay amongst the Stieng (Stiên)
near the border area of the present provinces of Kampong Cham and
Tay Ninh, Henri Mouhot observed that “a buffalo or an ox is valued
at six armfuls of thick brass wire”38. Of course such exchange rates
are changing all the time, especially under the influence of new con-
tacts. For a modern example of this we can remember the barter of 36 E.C. Bunker 1993,
27, 47-48.
Kong Sung who gave six bronze drums for a water buffalo (Chapter
37 L. v. Falkenhausen
2, p. 38). 2006, 224-225.
The early history of the ‘internal social scale of value’ of Southeast 38 H. Mouhot
Asian populations is widely unknown, and until now we have only 1864/1992, vol. I, 253.
been able to guess on the basis of records of external trade activi- 39 See “Grave goods
and status” in M.
ties. These must absolutely not be identical with regional wealth Parker Pearson 1999,
standards39. Archaeological records on this issue are few. A unique 78-79; R.S. Wicks 1992,
example is a bronze plaque from a Shizhaishan grave in Yunnan, esp. 19-65, 183-218.
53 Inhumation
15, possibly a man
between 20-29-years-
old, with rich offer-
ings: on both ears
about 20 blue-green
glass earrings (diam.
1.5 cm) were strung
together, on both
forearms a pair of
bronze bracelets were
found, additionally
he was found with
garnet beads (near
both corners of the
mouth) and some iron
tools (brown colored
objects near both
forearms) (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
with a hole at the top it looks like a public list of demands, taxes, or
presents that gives an impression about the value of cattle or slaves
in relation to other ‘natural items’ in ancient times40. Even if we lack
something comparable for Southeast Asia, this singular find points
to the fact of how much creatures were cherished.
The interpretation of ‘Prohear’s wealth-scale’ is complicated by
40 E.C. Bunker 1974, the destruction of most organic offerings by the soil conditions.
296. Therefore in many burials only some pig’s teeth survived, as they are
the most resistant of organic materials. These suggest that parts of

pigs’ skulls were buried at Prohear, similar to burials at Go O Chua
and at other prehistoric cemeteries in this region (see Chapters 8.6
and 11.1). Moreover, we cannot exclude that some burials included
precious textiles, feathers of rare birds, or exotic dishes which we can
no longer verify.
In spite of all these problems inherent in the archaeological record
and its interpretation, we can certainly consider burial 4 to be very
wealthy, and we will explore it in more depth in chapter 7.1. Next to
this rich burial we must also mention the inhumations 33 and 46.
They are notable because they appear to be the last resting places
of women, like grave 4. Of course, the question immediately arises
whether we are confronted with a female-dominated society, a ques-
tion which we cannot yet answer.
In a second ‘richness level’ we want to summarize the burials 2,
3, 12, 15, 40, 47 and 49. Although not all these graves contained pre-
cious metals, there were other unusual artifacts such as the afore-
mentioned glass earring-ornaments and a dozen garnet beads found
in burials no. 15 (mortuary phase IIa) and 49 (I). For the child’s
grave 47 we have to consider two imported bronze objects (Chapter
7.6). In addition, one could discuss the status of burial 10 because of
the bronze drum handle, which may be the vestige of a plundered
burial.
If we are looking for the ‘poorest’ burials then it is not a surprise
that we immediately come to the earliest graves: the five jar burials
and three inhumations with west-east head orientation (19, 21, 51).
From this group, only the previously mentioned and better-equipped
burial 49 can be excluded. None of these graves contained precious
metal which speaks to the fact that in Prohear, the ‘golden blessing’
did not arise before period II. Additionally we must remember that
earlier and later graves cannot be balanced with each other on the
same wealth scale. We can ask, which amongst the later undisturbed
graves can be identified as ‘poorer’? Actually, only a single grave
stands out quite clearly as a ‘poor’ outsider: grave 41 of a 4 to 8-
year-old child. The special nature of this burial becomes clear when
compared with the rich equipment found with a 9-year-old child in
burial 47, that lay about 10 meters away.
Finally, let’s take a risk and estimate the population size of the
community that used the burial site of Prohear. The burial density
of the excavated units of about 120 square meters projected onto the
presumed area of the whole cemetery of 20,000 square meters would
result in the incredible number of more than 8000 destroyed graves.
We have to reduce this number because we excavated nearly in the
site’s center, and the burial density of ancient cemeteries normally
decreases near their edges. Let’s assume a minimum of about 1000
graves. We can then speculate that the cemetery was mainly used for
about 200 years. In view of the high child mortality and average low
life expectancy, we can speculate people lived to about a maximum
of 30 years. We would then have to divide 1000 graves into about
seven generations and would come to at least 143 people or about
23 ‘three-generation households’ with an average of six people who
would have lived at the same time around their cemetery. Again, this
is not a demographic analysis on the basis of sufficient hard facts,
but a rough ‘minimum estimation’ with more unknown than known
factors.
Preface 61
Chapter 5: Settlement and handicrafts at Prohear
For some problems there are still no clear solutions. For example, the
question of where did the dead of Prohear live? By this we mean they
settled not far from the cemetery in areas close to the contemporary 41 Similar obser-
burial site, but possibly not longer than needed for funeral purposes. vations are rarely
described in the prehis-
These could be places where generations before were buried, mean-
tory of Cambodia.
ing their houses would stand directly above the ‘forgotten’ graves. Interestingly, at Phnom
In contrast, these also could be places where the people settled at Borei a comparable sit-
first and some decades later moved their houses; burying their dead uation led to a contrary
directly under the former settlement. Although great parts of the interpretation: “Upper
artifact layers may
rural population in Southeast Asia currently have a distinct fear of indicate a period of oc-
the dead, it does not stop many villagers from having burials of pre- cupation post-dating a
vious generations amongst their gardens, in their fields, or next to period when the burial
their houses41. ground was forgot-
ten”, because “Khmer
tradition suggests that
Cemetery and settlement in a closed neighborhood? cemeteries are lo-
But what makes us think of Prohear as an enclosed area, or a neigh- cated far from the main
borhood, that includes both a settlement and a cemetery? First, in settlements and must
some sections of the upper layers of the excavated units we have be in areas that are not
frequently inundated”
discovered scattered sherds, which are not related to any grave and (K. Phon 2009, 5).
seem to be more likely the remains of settlement earthenware. Also At some other sites a
in deeper layers, we find jumbled objects between the burials like closed neighborhood
spindle whorls, fragments of iron and bronze, or single glass beads of a settlement and
burial site is also sug-
without any related context to the burials, indicating that there were
gested, but still lacks a
settlement remains side by side with burials (ill. 54). Secondly, while detailed description of
excavating in the eastern half of Unit D we found a cultural layer the historical sequence,
above the burials with so much iron slag that it is beyond any doubt e.g. Go Thap in Dong
Thap province (Le Thi
that these must be the remains of an iron workshop. We can assume
Lien 2006).
that this may have taken place very close in time and space to the 42 Iron slag was
funeral activities, because some of the slag had direct contact with found close to offerings
the upper layer of burial ceramics. Sometimes they were not even in the following burials
separate from the burial offerings42. There was even a glass bead in Unit C: burial 20;
Unit D: burial 26, 27,
adhered to the bottom side of a piece of slag (ill. 55). Spindle whorls 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35,
and iron slag are clear evidence for local handicrafts and therefore 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43,
we want to investigate this in more detail. 47, 51.
62 Chapter 5: Settlement and handicrafts at Prohear
54 A collection
43 There are two ex- of spindle whorls
amples to help date the from both burials and
rise of this typical vil- settlement contexts
lage handicraft: An Son (Photo: A. Reinecke)
in Long An province
is a late Neolithic site
with settlement layers
and burials without any
bronze objects or proof
of a bronze foundry
and can perhaps be
dated from the 3rd
until the end of the 2nd
millennium BC (M.
Nishimura / Nguyen
Kim Dung 2002, 107).
After four excavation
campaigns (1997,
2004/2005, 2007, 2009)
no spindle whorls have
yet been found at An
Son (Pers. comm. Bùi
Phát Diệm on 26th
August 2009). At the
Bronze Age settle-
ment and burial site
of Doc Chua in Binh
Duong province (about Spinning and weaving
800-400 BC) about 450 Let’s start with the spindle whorls, which were invented many times
spindle whorls were
across the globe. In Southeast Asia there is widespread evidence for
discovered (Ðào Linh
Côn / Nguyễn Duy Tỳ local spinning and weaving technology and textile production at sites
1993, 111-115). This of the last millennium BC43. Spindle whorls have a hole in the center
matches well with C. where they were put on a rod to form a weight for a vertically used
Higham’s observation
hand spindle for twisting and extending fibers. The fibers may have
at Ban Non Wat in
northeast Thailand, come from ramie or other suitable long-fibrous plants with enough
where spindle whorls tensile strength to be woven on looms.
are typical for his At Prohear, we discovered 50 spindle whorls in burials, the bulk
Bronze Age burials of of which are offerings for women, and 11 samples in settlement con-
period 5 dated from
700 to 420 BC (C.
text. Altogether, they are typically conically shaped clay weights with
Higham / T. Higham a diameter of up to 4 cm, and a height of up to 2 cm (39 pieces), there
2009, 131, 137). are also rarer wheel-shaped (7) examples. Spindle whorls are also
Chapter 5: Settlement and handicrafts at Prohear 63
made from round-scratched potsherds (14), which are lighter and

sometimes ornamented like the original ceramic vessel (5). However,
intentional ornamentation was not en vogue, unlike the collection of
220 spindle whorls from Go O Chua. In Prohear, only five samples
have incised decoration made by lines or finger nail imprints. Some
items with a weight of only 6 grams are so light that it is hard to
believe that they were really used as a weight for the spindle44. This
indicates that they were also using a short-fibrous material that heavy
weight would break.
Blacksmith in every village

What information can we get from the iron slag cakes scattered
over parts of the burial site? After the examination by Thilo Reh-
ren (London) these finds are described as ‘smithing hearth bot-
toms’. Slag is produced during metal working as the predominantly
iron silicate material drips down into the hearth base. If it is not
cleared out this develops into the smithing hearth bottom45. These
are mostly palm-sized and their shape is more or less plano-convex,
oval, or a little bit deformed. Thus they are also called ‘plano-con-
vex bottoms’. Often, at the surface are embedded remains of soil
or small stone fragments, as a result of high-temperature reactions 44 The spindle whorls
from Ban Lum Khao
between the iron, iron-scale, and silica from either a clay furnace weighed between 6-56
lining or the silica flux used by the smith46. These artifacts are left grams – J. Cameron
near the production area and are important evidence for a metal 2004, 211.
smith in the settlement. Smithing hearth bottoms are discovered at 45 R.F. Tylecote 1987,
318-319.
many sites of the pre-Christian Iron Age in Southeast Asia, but not
46 Pers. comm. Thilo
always noticed and seldom published in such detail as at the site of Rehren on 8th July
Khao Sam Kaeo in Chumphon province in the Upper Thai-Malay 2009.
Peninsula47. 47 T.O. Pryce / B.
Bellina-Pryce / A.T.N.
Local iron working at Prohear 2000 years ago is also suggested by
Bennett 2006, 297-298.
the iron ‘buffalo bracelets’, an item rarely discovered at other sites in 48 During looting
this region and only known from looted burials with an unknown at the burial site at
context (ill. 56)48. The creation in iron of this rare ornament type was Phum Snay it could
probably inspired by bronze ‘buffalo bracelets’ that may have origi- be possible that not
only bronze ‘buffalo
nated in northeastern Thailand (cf. Chapter 7.4). For a more detailed bracelets’ were found,
overview of the other local iron products from Prohear site we will but also some made
have to wait for the completion of the restoration. At present it seems from iron.
55 The palm-
sized hearth bottoms
from metal-smith-
ing discovered in a
settlement context or
sometimes directly
on the burials. On the
surface of one sample
a glass bead is fixed
(Photos: A. Reinecke)
that socketed axes, bracelets, and blades for knives or daggers were
buried with the dead (ill. 57, 101, 102).
Certainly, early Iron Age smithing hearths are less frequently dis-
covered in Southeast Asia than slag. A large clay fragment that was
brought to light during a joint excavation of the German Archaeo-
logical Institute with archaeologists from the University of Hanoi
and the Provincial Museum Long An in 2005 at Go O Chua pro-
vides a first impression of a smithing hearth with blower. This burnt
clay object, with an oblique hole through it, was part of the tuyere-
segment of the wall around a smithing hearth. It was found on the
ground of a burial pit, near some iron slag and the skull of a person
buried during the 4th-1st century BC. We are not sure if it is really
an offering, even though it was found in a grave, or if it found its
way into the ground beneath the skeleton by chance. A similar com-
plex was discovered at Noen U-Loke in northeastern Thailand and is
described as “small clay furnace equipped with tuyeres”49.
These three almost contemporaneous sites suggest that a black-
smith was part of daily life in nearly every village, as early as the pre-
Funan era in the region between northeastern Thailand and south-
ern Vietnam. This is true no matter if the settlement was rich like
Prohear or poor like Go O Chua. The list of early Iron Age sites with
smithing slags in the southern part of mainland Southeast Asia could
be made more complete through a re-examination of the museum
deposits. These important remains of early ironworking are often not
well described in the brief excavation reports50.
If we realize that the first iron objects existed in this region just
prior to 400 BC, then this is the verification of metal working as a
common handicraft during 3rd-1st BC. It is a surprising indication
of the timely manner in which new professions could be established
despite the raw material having to be imported.
Iron ingots from the north?

Still we cannot say from where and in what way the raw iron came
to the early blacksmiths in southeast Cambodia. It is absolutely con-
ceivable that iron was transported over far distances as blooms or
ingots or that useless iron objects were recycled and reformed. Iron
ore deposits or iron smelting places are unknown in the surrounding
49 C.F.W. Higham
areas of both Prohear and Go O Chua, and are not expected to be 2007, 355.
found in the future51. However small-scale local iron sources, which 50 In this regard some
at present could be fully depleted or still not recorded, cannot yet be objects from Go Thap,
province Dong Thap,
excluded. Usually, iron production sites are situated near iron ore
are worth reviewing
deposits and in some distance from occupied areas to ensure a steady (Le Thi Lien 2006).
supply of a great amount of firewood or charcoal, without destruction 51 Atlas of Mineral
of basic life and work in the settlements. During the iron smelting Resources – Cam-
process, huge slag dumps and ash layers are left around the furnace, bodia 1993, 33, 78;
Lê Văn Trảo / Phạm
which are not comparable to the waste around a blacksmith’s place. Văn Mẫn / Thái Quý
The early historical records about the ancient Khmer empire do Lâm / Phạm Vũ Luyến
not tell us if iron was imported or exported. Later records primarily 2005, 33.
56 A ‘buffalo
bracelet’ made from
iron (diam. 5.7 x 8.3
cm). Its long horn
ends are broken and
lost. This object was
recovered from a
looted burial (Photo:
A. Reinecke)
mention iron ore deposits in northern Cambodia, at Phnom Deck,

near Rovieng town, and in the whole of Preah Vihear province.
However, this is still at least 150 km north-northwest from Prohear.
The area of the Kuy minority, north of Kampong Thom, is the center
of the traditional ironworking in Cambodia52. Moreover, ironwork-
ing is also recounted from their close neighbors ‘southeast of the big
river’, the Stieng in Kampong Cham53. Additionally, one can go a
few hundred kilometers northwards to the Jarai (Giaraïe) settlement
areas, or further north to Sedang (Cédan) in Dac Lac, Gia Lai, Kon
52 J. Moura 1882; B. Tum provinces to see traditional iron smelting or smithing54.
Dupaigne 1992.
53 H. Mouhot Pottery production
1864/1992, vol. I, 244.
Apart from iron and textile-working, we did not detect any other
54 H. Mouhot
1864/1992, vol. II, handicrafts at Prohear. This includes pottery production, which
26-27; G.C. Hickey doubtlessly existed, but for which we did not find hearths, fire-
1982, 179, 225; no places, nor misfired pottery dumps or ash layers. Potters tools, like
information in Lê mushroom-shaped ceramic anvils for shaping the vessels, are typical
Văn Trảo / Phạm
Văn Mẫn / Thái Quý
artifacts at Go O Chua in southern Vietnam and Noen U-Loke in
Lâm / Phạm Vũ Luyến northeastern Thailand, but are still lacking at Prohear. The reason for
2005, 33. this lack of evidence in Prohear could be that so far only 120 square
57 Socketed iron axe

(length 12.3 cm), a
recovered object from
a looted burial (Photo:
A. Reinecke)
meters of the approximately 20,000 square meters are excavated. The

only artifacts that may have been related to pottery production are
some round chipped sherds that were found scattered across various
layers as well as in different burials55. They are similar in size, about
3-4 cm, and generally made by grinding down body fragments from
large vessels into a circular edge. The edge shows traces of scraping
and could have been used as a tool in throwing ceramic vessels. In Go
O Chua, some hundreds of these round-sherds were found. However,
this interpretation can only be verified in a context with more indica-
tors for pottery production. Sometimes these round-sherds were also
called ‘game-sherds’ and have been interpreted as children’s toys.
Bronze casting
It is tempting to assume that all the bronze drums and bracelets could
have been produced directly at Prohear or nearby surroundings by
immigrant bronze casters, but presently there is no evidence for this.
We have not yet found evidence for smelting and casting of bronze at
Prohear, not even a small fragment of any casting mold from stone
or clay. Moreover, for the 1st millennium BC we know of only a small 55 Burials 6 (2 pieces)
number of sandstone molds from the deep Cambodian interior from and 10.
O Pie Can in the Mlu Prei region (Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear
56 P. Levy 1943, provinces) or from Samrong Sen56. In addition, we must mention a
38-39. mold fragment perhaps of a bronze bowl from an unknown context
57 Pers. comm. Dou-
gald J.W. O’Reilly on
at the Iron Age burial site Phum Snay, which is similar to a bowl
24th July 2009. found in burial 33 from Prohear (ill. 78)57. This was a very unex-
58 B.-P. Groslier 2006, pected find because these bronze bowls have been assumed to have
116-117. a southern Chinese origin. Should this artifact be confirmed, then
59 Dương Đức Kiêm /
the hypothesis of ‘itinerant craftsmen’ from southern China or else-
Thái Qúy Lâm / Nguyễn
Ngọc Liên / Phạm Vũ where would get a new push.
Luyến 2005, 56. The long distance to known copper-tin deposits in Southeast Asia
60 Atlas of Mineral also works against local bronze casting in the surroundings of Pro-
Resources – Cambodia hear. So far, profitable copper or tin sources are not known in this
1993, 39; B. Bronson
1992, 80, 83-84.
region. One must ask why historical listings include copper and tin
61 Dương Đức as local products58. The nearest tin deposits are located about 320
Kiêm / Thái Qúy km to the east in the southern surroundings of Da Lat59. It is hard to
Lâm / Nguyễn Ngọc believe that tin resources of Knong Ay in Kampong Speu province,
Liên / Phạm Vũ Luyến
discovered in 1964 with “no exploitable concentrations of cassiter-
2005, 56, 68; Atlas of
Mineral Resources ite”60 played any role in earlier times. Profitable deposits of copper
– Cambodia 1993, are not found any closer central Vietnam, but there is also no evi-
39, 21-23; B. Bronson dence for exploitation in ancient times61.
1992, 78-79. Altogether we can sum up that the indications for local bronze
62 C. Higham 2001,
17.
casting within the borders of the present-day Cambodia are very
63 S. Natapintu 1988; few, not only for the early Metal Age but for all periods. This could
V.C. Pigott / G. Weis- be because of the current state of research on the subject. It seems
gerber 1998, 140, 151; more likely that final bronze products, not ingots, were imported
T.O. Pryce / V.C. Pigott
from casting workshops situated near the deposits or trade routes.
2008.
64 In this context, as Favored suppliers are bronze workshops in the Khao Wong Pra-
example for an interest- chan Valley in central Thailand or the Phu Lon site on the banks of
ing recently discovered the Mekong River near Vientiane in northern Thailand, with direct
complex is a burial
access to copper62. At Phu Lon the major mining activities occurred
from Ban Non Wat of
a bronze founder who during the 1st millennium BC63. Foundries in northeastern Thailand
was equipped with near the Mun or Mekong Rivers, two ‘highways’ of that period, may
29 clay bivalve molds have carried out both production and acted as an intermediary for
that is dated in his customers in present-day Cambodia. This is suggested by the great
Bronze Age – Period
4 (800-400 BC) (C.
quantity of molds and other workshop remains in this region64.
Higham / T. Higham In contrast, we also have to consider possible suppliers from the
2009, 131). Dong Nai River area, which is much closer to southeast Cambodia.
58 Bronze casting
molds have not yet
been discovered at
Prohear. This piece
is a half of a ceramic
bivalve mold (5.5 cm
wide) from a settle-
ment context on the
northern hillock of Go
O Chua and was used
for casting a sock-
eted axe (length 8.3
cm) more than 2500
years ago (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
This area is also known for having a strong bronze working tradition
as attested by the many casting sites and numerous molds and char-
acteristic bronze artifacts dating to the first half of the first millen-
nium BC. At the Bronze Age site of Doc Chua in Binh Duong prov-
ince, at present 70 km away from the sea-coast, a rich collection of
more than 70 fragments of sandstone molds was excavated65. Some
other more coastally-oriented sites take second place to Doc Chua,
but their artifacts were primarily collected from the surface, rather
than excavated. For example, at Cai Van and Cai Lang in Dong Nai 65 Đào Linh
province, two adjacent sites in a salt marsh, there are 35 stone and Côn / Nguyễn Duy Tỳ
1993, 74-91.
ceramic molds without exact dates. Or as a final example, the Bung 66 Phạm Đức Mạnh
Bac site in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, which has provided about 30 1996, 35, 135-148;
fragments of sandstone molds66. 2007.
59 ‘Undercover These are all settlements in which bronze casting probably started
archaeologists’ are shortly after the beginning of the last millennium BC, and at that time
under the close watch were situated within earshot of the sea. Although hard to believe,
of ‘village experts’
that seems true as well for the Bronze Age settlement and salt boil-
ing site of Go O Chua (1000-500 BC), which is at present situated
within the border area of Long An province and about 140 kilome-
ters from the sea. Go O Chua, and about a dozen other Bronze Age
salt boiling sites in the eastern region of the so-called ‘duck’s bill’, the
narrow corner of southeast Cambodia, may not have been far from
a yet undiscovered narrow inlet in the plains of the Vam Co Tay and
Vam Co Dong River67. Go O Chua also has ten fragments of ceramic
molds (ill. 58)68.
67 A. Reinecke 2009b.
The problem concerning the southern bronze workshops is that
68 A. Reinecke 2008, around 400 BC bronze casting seems to break down in the south-
401. ern Vietnamese region. There are several reasons for this. Firstly,
the use of bronze for tools or weapons lost its meaning to up-and-
coming iron, playing only a secondary role as a jewelry metal. The
metal workers adjusted themselves to completely new demands. A
second reason that supports this reorganization is that from the 4th
century BC the Dong Nai River area came under the control and
cultural influence of the Sa Huynh culture, which originated in cen-
tral Vietnam69. The Sa Huynh people were apparently masters of
iron products, whereas bronze objects like some weapons were rare
and imported. Even bronze jewelry is rarer in the Sa Huynh culture
than at Prohear. The third reason for the breakup of all the tradition-
rich casting workshops in the Dong Nai and adjacent areas could be
that the connections to the overseas raw material trade network was
gradually breaking as their distance to the sea increased. During the
last millennium BC the sea level fell and the sea coast regressed to its
present border. The ships with all their cargo passed by the former
casting workshops more and more. Certainly this natural process 69 This is suggested
by sites like Hang Gon,
also caused the end of the salt boiling centers near the Vam Co Tay
Phu Hoa, Dau Giay,
River at about 500 BC. Suoi Chon, all together
What is certain is that the inhabitants of Go O Chua and the sur- Dong Nai province,
rounding area changed from bronze casting to iron smithing. How- or Giong Ca Vo und
ever we are still unclear as to where the settlements in the Cambo- Giong Phet, both
Ba Ria – Vung Tau
dian interior, like Prohear, now got their salt. Large areas farther to province.
the south in the Mekong Delta were unsuited for colonization and 70 Some of these
agriculture until the beginning of the first millennium AD. There it isolated ‘landmarks’
needed many centuries to cultivate salty soils and dense woodland of of ancient southern
colonization in the
mangroves. This is clearly demonstrated by mapping all sites of the
Mekong Delta, due to
pre-Christian era, revealing a concentration of almost all discoveries special geomorpho-
along a strip of land south of the present-day Cambodian border, logical conditions, are
with the exception of only a few interesting solitary settlements70. Giong Noi in Ben Tre
province, My Nghia in
In this context, when faced with the impressive Khmer bronze art
Tien Giang province
of the Angkor period we must ask where all these beautiful things and Rach Nui in Long
were actually produced71. Emma C. Bunker has brought up this mat- An province – probably
ter under discussion: “The fact that few Khmer foundry remains all from the pre-Iron
have been discovered at Angkor…suggests that the creation of major Age!
71 E.C. Bunker / D.
metal images took place in temporary foundries set up in temple Latchford 2004, 16-17.
precincts that were afterwards removed, leaving little material evi- 72 E.C. Bunker 2006,
dence of their existence”72. This is different from Vietnam, where we 1.
can trace back the tradition of whole foundry-villages for genera-

tions and across centuries. In most areas of Cambodia, the bronze
casting handicraft seems to have remained a ‘guest’s profession’ of
itinerant craftsmen up to the present day.
73
Chapter 6: What the burial offerings tell us
This chapter will provide a closer look at the offerings in the burials.
Most graves contain a set of things in different combinations includ-
ing ceramic vessels, animal food remains (primarily only pig is pre-
served), metal jewelry, glass or stone beads, as well as weapons or
tools of iron, and more rarely bronze. In addition, some burials are
equipped with an imported bronze rarity like a drum, bowl or bell.
Ceramic ware, including many different vessel types, is at the top
of the list of belongings for the dead on the way to the afterlife. All
together, at least 260 pots were discovered in 52 burials. We cannot
quote their actual number yet because the restoration of the often
completely shattered vessels is still ongoing (ill. 60). We have an aver-
age of as many as five pottery vessels per grave, with the most com-
mon type consisting of a small pot with an ellipsoid cord-marked
body and a short conical neck (about 10-15 cm high, 15-20 cm
diam.). This type of vessel is distributed widely across cultures and
over several periods in almost all regions of Southeast Asia; it is the
typical daily ceramic ware. In Go O Chua, where organic remains
were better preserved in the soil than in Prohear, preserved food
remains were found several times in this vessel type (ill. 45:5 and
10).
The second most common items were small shallow bowls or
dishes with a low foot ring. They look to be a standardized size of
about 5-6 cm high, 14-15 cm diameter, reminiscent of modern-day
rice bowls in Southeast Asia. They might have been laid in the grave
exactly for this purpose. Most likely, they were not filled with food,
because they were sometimes discovered turned upside down with
their rim on the ground, like a protective cover on precious offerings
(ill. 46:1-2).
Aside from the small bottles with a globular body and narrow
neck (about 7 cm high, 10 cm diam.) already discussed in chapter
3, (ill. 45:2, 60 front-row, left), there were also many footed bowls
which were part of the standard burial equipment. From this we have
a very common miniature goblet-size variant (height <10 cm, rim
diam. <15 cm; ill. 46:4) that resembles modern dessert bowls, and
74 Chapter 6: What the burial offerings tell us
60 Vessels from with some imagination we can think they were used for serving deli-
different burials in cious sweets. Actually, in burial 12 such a goblet covered the left side
Prohear (Photo: A.
of the skull with some precious offerings (ill. 46:3-5). Rarer still is a
Reinecke)
larger footed bowl (height >15 cm, rim diam. >20 cm; ill. 60, in the
center, left and right from the orangeware pot), that looks like a pres-
ent-day footed fruit bowl.
The other vessel types are large storage jars or funeral bowls,
including high pots with funnel-shaped rim (ill. 45:8), large cylindri-
cal basins (ill. 60, last row, second right) or high-pedestalled bowls
(ill. 45:6). None of these vessels have a handle, and in comparison to
other cemeteries it is remarkable that at Prohear vases or vessels with
a multiple segmented silhouette are absent. Apart from cord impres-
sions the ceramics as a whole are poorly decorated (ill. 60).
The previously mentioned orangeware vessel from burial 4 has a
very specific feature: after firing this globular pot a hole was scratched
through its base (ill. 61). Evidently, the pot was made unusable before
placing it in the grave. Such a hole is often documented with crema-
tion urns in Europe, and called a ‘ghost-hole’, believing it was made
to allow the soul to escape. Therefore, could this vessel in grave 4 and
Chapter 6: What the burial offerings tell us 75
another broken orangeware pot in grave 44, have a purpose other

than the common funeral vessels? That we should attach a special
importance to this pierced vessel is confirmed by a similar situation
in burial 54 of Go O Chua. Amongst the offerings in that inhumation
was a large shattered globular jar with a scratched out hole in the wall
of the body.
Concerning the metal offerings in Prohear, it is important to
point out that bronze is a typical ‘jewelry metal’ (mostly bracelets,
seldom earrings) or ‘import metal’ (bowl, drums, bell), but is not a
competitor for iron as raw material for implements or weapons like
in the Dong Son culture in northern Vietnam. Additionally, there is
hardly another culture in Southeast Asia where the people want to
focus all eyes on their arms or hands with special bracelets and finger 61 At the bottom of
rings like at Prohear, Phum Snay or Village 10.8. As with lightly clad the orange-red col-
people in tropical cultures, jewelry was the most expressive element ored pot (diam. 17 cm)
of all body trappings. Different groups used jewelry as symbols and from burial 4, a ‘ghost-
‘body language’ to mark and separate themselves from neighboring hole’ was scraped
cultures. This is clearly demonstrated when we compare the Iron (Photo: A. Reinecke)
Age people from Prohear with the contemporary Sa Huynh people
in central Vietnam, who focused on their ears by wearing great con- 73 Burials 14, 23, 24,
spicuous earrings made from stone or glass, but very seldom wore 33, 48.
74 Burial 10 (gold
bracelets or finger rings. In some burials at Prohear we found doz- finger ring right, more
ens of glass beads stuck around the surface of iron bracelets, which silver-containing
clearly shows that beads were worn jointly with bracelets (ill. 62)73. left), 12 (gold finger
We should also note the separate use and opposing meaning of ring right), 18 (gold
finger ring right), 23
bronze as a type of quasi-gold on one side of the body and iron as
(iron bracelet left), 31
a type of quasi-silver on the other side. When we refer here to gold (bronze bracelet right),
and silver we mean the coloring and not the metal composition. 45 (iron bracelet left).
Based on the first 30 metal analyses we know that only some of the 75 Burial 30 (bronze
bracelet left), 33 (gold
‘gold objects’ from Prohear actually contained more than 50 percent
finger ring left), 36
gold, thus they were more like silver or silver-containing electrum (bronze bracelet left),
(see Chapter 8.4). Let’s start with the ‘fine old lady’ in burial 4 who 38 (bronze bracelet left,
wore on her right forearm a bronze ‘buffalo bracelet’ (ill. 51 and 74) iron bracelet right), 39
and inside a ‘hidden’ gold bracelet (ill. 64:5), and on her left hand a (iron bracelet right), 40
(bronze bracelet left,
finger ring made from silver wire (ill. 64:4). If we follow this exam- silver bracelet right), 47
ple: left silver/iron, right gold/bronze, then seven burials match this (iron bracelet right), 50
polarity74. Eight burials show a contrary polarity75. The dead in three (iron bracelet right).
76 Chapter 6: What the burial offerings tell us
62 Blue glass
beads were often
adhered to iron brace-
lets. This means they
were worn as beaded
bracelets together
with iron bangles:
The photo on the left
shows the objects
during excavation in
burial 24, in the right-
hand bottom corner
is a carnelian bead in
situ. The photo on the
right shows the iron graves76 wore bronze bracelets on both arms, and in eight burials the
bangle after cleaning, dead had iron bracelets on both arms77. At first glance, this pattern
diam. 5.7 cm (Photos: is disorderly and not easy to follow as these differences are not cor-
A. Reinecke) related by gender or age. Is the choice of the ‘gold-silver body side’
only the result of individual preferences? Mixing of gold/bronze and
silver/iron on the same arm side has not yet been found. We will
have to continue to test this rule against the arm-focused jewelry of
the Pre-Funan culture by examining comparable burials from differ-
ent cemeteries across the region in order to be able to recognize the
groups (origin, clan, occupation, status etc.) behind this ‘irregular-
ity’.
Almost all of the iron tools are ‘everyday-tools’ which did not
belong to either a hunter or a craftsman. Only in burial 40 do we find
a short-sword, which points to having a clear weapon function. Most
other iron offerings are socketed axes, knives or daggers. We expect
further surprises from the restoration of the iron objects because in
many cases the approximately centimeter thick coating of rust does
not allow the exact identification of the object. Sometimes a shape-
less iron lump turns into two different iron tools after restoration.
In the following we present some ‘highlights’ amongst the offer-
ings.
76 Burials 9, 11, 15.

77 Burials 20, 22, 24,
33, 34, 35, 44, 46.
77
Chapter 7: Some highlights amongst the offerings

1 What ‘rich’ means
The richest equipped burial is number 4, the inhumation of a woman.
It could hardly be a man, because the 13 cm long ‘buffalo bracelet’
could only be worn on the forearm of a delicate women (ill. 51). The
anthropological investigation confirmed our estimation, here rested
a well-to-do old lady in all her glory. Adornments aside, the woman
suffered from extreme dental abrasion and every intake of food must
have caused her a wrenching toothache (see Chapter 8.2).
The ‘First Lady’ from our excavations at Prohear is a contempo-
rary of the late Western Han (202 BC-AD 9) and early Eastern Han
dynasty (25-220 AD) and the famous Trung sisters (c. 12-43 AD),
who as women leaders of the Nanyue in northern Vietnam success-
fully repelled Chinese invasions before they died78. Based on infor-
mation from the villagers, about five percent of all graves at Prohear
were as richly equipped. Her head was placed directly in a bronze
drum of the Heger I type (ill. 63). This drum is discussed in more
detail in chapter 7.2 (ill. 65). The inventory of the grave equipment
63 Position of a skull
and some offerings
inside the bronze
drum of burial 4
after cleaning in the
restoration lab at the
Memot Centre (Photo:
M. Heinzel)
78 K.W. Taylor 1983,

37-41.
78 Chapter 7: Some highlights amongst the offerings
64 Gold-silver
offerings in burial 4
is comprised of about 50 items including over a dozen ceramic ves-

sels of different types with the aforementioned orangeware vessel
with a ‘ghost-hole’ in its base (ill. 61). Indeed that special pot has a
local design, like the globular pots with conical neck and low foot-
ring, but with a reddish orange color given by its oxidized firing,
fine paste, and thin wall making it an unusual offering. Villagers told
us, that this orangeware appeared regularly in combination with a
bronze drum.
The previously mentioned ‘buffalo bracelet’ is a surprise, because
until now this strange object has been a rare find and has been doc-
umented in an archaeological context for the first time at Prohear
(see Chapter 7.4; ill. 51 and 74). In addition to the specimen from
burial 4, we received several bracelets of the same type, but of differ-
ent sizes from the villagers. Therefore we know that this bracelet was
also made from iron and worn by children too.
Amongst the remaining offerings of burial 4 were spindle whorls,
iron tools, another bronze bracelet as well as beads and jewelry from
glass, agate, and carnelian. The list of the gold-silver objects from this
burial contained 13 items, including a gold wire bracelet which was
found inside the big ‘buffalo bracelet’, earrings or hair ornaments and
finger rings (ill. 64).
Chapter 7: Some highlights amongst the offerings 79
2 Bronze drums
Besides the gold and silver jewelry, the bronze drums give Prohear 79 In his pioneer-
ing work published in
a unique reputation among the contemporaneous cemeteries in 1902, the Austrian eth-
mainland Southeast Asia. The great number of looted but reported nographer Franz Heger
drums at Prohear found far away from their region of origin in (1853-1931) analyzed
southern China and northern Vietnam is unbelievable. After what 153 whole drums,
divided them in four
we have heard from the villagers in Prohear, we can speculate that
different stylistic types
every 20th grave contained a bronze drum. We already mentioned I-IV and dated back
that Kong Sung alone has dug out and sold seven drums (see Chap- the early specimens
ter 2). Some other inhabitants also reported that they had discov- of his group I to more
ered a similar number of bronze drums. This information agrees than 2000 years ago.
Since then, the earliest
with our own observations, because of 52 excavated graves only bronze drums until the
inhumation 4 still contained a complete drum and in graves 2 and end of the Han period
10 we found parts of drums that had presumably already been dug in north Vietnam and
out. south China are called
Heger I. The later types
At a minimum, we may estimate several dozen bronze drums
II-IV reach far into
for this burial site, which were lost for scientific evaluation. We only the historical periods.
have pictures of two of the drums. Villagers dug out one of these The fundamental
drums on the 20th of May, 2007 in the presence of some Cambodian importance of Heger’s
archaeology students (ill. 17 and 18). The drum from burial 4 is the publication becomes
clear by the fact that a
only one which could be saved (ill. 65). Unfortunately, it has been few years ago it was re-
deformed by soil pressure and the foot section is partly fragmented. printed in the Chinese
Nevertheless, we can determine the height of approx. 30.5 cm and language.
the largest diam. of 45.0 cm. Originally, four frog figures were placed 80 Nguyễn Văn
Huyên / Hoàng
around the border of the tympanum of the drum from which only
Vinh / Phạm Minh
traces remain. The drum belongs to type I according to Franz Heger’s Huyền / Trịnh Sinh
1902 typology79. This is the same type to which most samples discov- 1989, 26-27; Phạm Huy
ered in archaeological contexts from the 3rd century BC to 1st century Thông / Phạm Minh
Huyền / Nguyễn Văn
AD belong. Following the Vietnamese typology, it is a typical repre-
Hảo / Lại Văn Tới (eds.)
sentative for group C280, and according to the 1980 accepted typol- 1990, 52-131.
ogy in China it fits with the Lengshuichong type81. 81 Wenshan 2004, 37,
The main elements of tympanum decorations (star with ten rays 83-89.
in the center, stylized feathered men, and six flying birds) signal that 82 Phạm Huy
Thông / Phạm Minh
the drum from burial 4 is more similar to the somewhat larger drum Huyền / Nguyễn Văn
of Phu Luu in Quang Binh province in central Vietnam82 or to the Hảo / Lại Văn Tới (eds.)
38-cm-high drum of Truong Giang in Thanh Hoa province83 than to 1990, 176-177.
65 The bronze
drum discovered in
burial 4; height 30.5
cm, diam. 45.0 cm
(Drawing: A. Reinecke)
the four drums from the nearby area of Phu Chanh in Binh Duong
province84.
The second drum from Prohear, identified by a photo thanks to
the archaeological students, belongs to the same group C2 (ill. 66).
The main decorative elements on the tympanum of this drum are
composed differently: the 10-ray star in the center is surrounded by
zones of a meander, a band with double circles, a zone with radial
lines, and then not the stylized feathered men, but a meandering
band of three parallel twisted lines. It is possible but not clear to see
on the photo that the second main zone has flying birds. We cannot
recognize traces of broken and lost frog figures on the rim of the
tympanum – however, there may have been some. A similar tympa- 83 Phạm Văn
Đấu / Đỗ Như Chung
num can be seen on two nearby drums from Phu Chanh85 in Binh 2004, 106-108, 187.
Duong province or on the drum from Vinh Phuc in Binh Dinh prov- 84 Bui Chi Hoang
ince86. However, this type is found in northern Vietnam, too (e.g. Bac 2008.
Ly, Bac Giang province, or Dong Hoa I, Thanh Hoa province)87. 85 M. Yamaga-
ta / Pham Duc
Another Heger-I-type bronze drum from Prek Puoy in Kampong
Manh / Bui Chi Hoang
Cham province discovered in 2006, provides only a patinated frag- 2001, 103.
ment that is under restoration (ill. 67). 86 Hồ Thùy
Primarily, bronze drums are instruments and when beating the Trang / Nguyễn Thúy
tympanum they make an impressive sound resembling thunder. One Hồng 2004, 141-142,
485.
could hear the beating drum over long distances, and could com- 87 Phạm Huy
municate with neighbors or the ancestors in the other world. One Thông / Phạm Minh
could ask gods for rain or strike fear into the enemy troops before a Huyền / Nguyễn Văn
battle. Some minority groups used similar drums in the recent past to Hảo / Lại Văn Tới
(eds.) 1990, 182-183,
announce the death or funeral ceremony of a high-ranking person.
188-189.
Bronze drums were more than just percussion instruments, how- 88 “đô lão” see
ever. Historical Chinese and Vietnamese records suggest, that after Nguyễn Duy Hinh
their casting, they were submitted to a consecration by the whole 1974, 28.
89 Lê Tắc 1335/2002,
community and then became the property of the chieftain88, becom-
73; W. Eberhard 1979,
ing de facto the center of the whole group89. Additionally, the records 225-226.
inform us that bronze drums were an ‘acoustic weapon’ in battle 90 Ibidem; Đại Việt
until the 17th century90. Based on archaeological research we know sử lược 1377-1388, 44;
that bronze drums also had a different secondary function as magi- Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư
1697/2004, vol. II, 407;
cal or treasure containers. After a ‘personal history’ with one or more similiar information in
generations, they would be buried together with their high-ranked Chinese records, see C.
owner as an offering on their last way to the other world, as with Higham 2006, 20.
66 A bronze the graves of Prohear. Despite their many functions, during the pre-
drum from a looted Christian era they were never ‘normal trade ware’, and so their distri-
burial in Prohear
bution does not mark ‘trade routes’, ‘trade centers’ or ‘trade networks’
(Photo: Hong Ranet)
no matter how often it is claimed. Instead they were markers of traf-
fic ways, networks, and burial sites of the Yue elite (see Chapter 12).
Bronze drums originated in a world where most things were
impermanent. Most of the everyday objects were made of wood or
bamboo. Therefore, drums were not an everyday occurrence. They
appeared like a marvel, originating in flames, created for eternity,
and handed down from generation to generation with all their inde-
structible magical information. They were among the greatest mas-
terpieces that bronze casters had ever created in Southeast Asia. The
drums have a large size (on average about 50 cm in high) but are
relatively low in weight due to their millimeter thin walls. Further-
more their rich meaningful decorations, unique to every piece, are
highly challenging for craftsmen in both the past and the present. In 67 A fragment (30
April 2006, metal-workers at Tra Dong in Thanh Hoa province tried cm wide) of the tym-
panum of a bronze
to cast one of the biggest bronze drums of all time, with a diameter
drum from Prek Pouy
of 120 cm and a height of 95.7 cm. Unfortunately, at 260 kg the result
in Kampong Cham
was enormously overweight. province that was
Apparently, every drum is unique, because no duplicates have given to the Memot
ever been found. Fragments of molds for casting drums are seldom Centre in 2006 (Photo:
discovered, so in northern Vietnam two small pieces from Lien Lau RGZM Mainz, Sabine
in the area of the Lung Khe citadel in Bac Ninh province, may be the Steidl)
only fragments of the tympanum-mold piece91. This evidence sug-
gests that molds for drums had to be destroyed during their produc-
tion process and could not be reused a second time. 91 M. Nishimura
1998 and 2005.
A wall-fragment of the drum from burial 4 was analyzed with 92 For the method
energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDRFA) by Roland Schwab see J. Lutz / E. Pernicka
(Mannheim)92. The result shows that the drum was made from a cop- 1996.
per-tin alloy (74:11 percent) with high lead ratio (15 percent). In a
prior study of a relatively small number of samples of Heger I drums,
an increasing lead ratio was observed with younger drum variants.
This was explained by the growing experience of the drum makers
to increase the flow of the bronze during the casting process93. More
recently published metal analyses of the drums from southern China
93 D. Hollmann / D. to Indonesia show that about one third of all bronze drums show a
R. Spennemann
ratio of more than 15 percent lead94.
1985; more examples
confirming this trend
for the Chinese drums
see Peng Zicheng / Li
Xiaocen / Zhang Bin-
3 “Ordinary women … wear gold bracelets”
glun / Li Zhichao / Li
Kunsheng / Wan Fubin
As a whole we discovered 79 gold or silver objects in 52 burials from
1991, 358. Prohear. Furthermore, two small ring fragments were found in Units
94 For a large series of C and D without a clear relation to any burial. More than 15 gold or
analyses see Phạm Đức silver items came from looted burials, which are only known from
Mạnh 2005. After that,
photos. Thus the total number of all documented gold or silver orna-
more than 15 percent
lead is recorded in: ments is 96 pieces. Analyzed samples show that more than a half
9 from 39 drums in of all precious metal objects contained more silver than gold (see
Yunnan (pp. 153-156), Chapter 8.4). Zhou Daguan mentioned in his “A Record of Cambo-
37 from 87 drums in dia – The Land and its People” in 1297, that “ordinary women…wear
Guangxi (pp. 157-162),
16 from 37 drums in
gold bracelets on their arms and gold rings on their fingers”95, but
north Vietnam (pp. we never expected that 1300 years earlier burials could be equipped
188-190) and in 8 from with such rich gold and silver jewelry.
14 drums from the One third of all of the precious metal items are small spirals of
Indonesian islands (p.
at least one and a half coils (31+5 specimens; ill. 68:1). The longest
178).
95 Zhou Daguan spirals have up to ten coils and can be more than 4 cm long. Their
1297/2007, 55. diameter is up to 1 cm with a wire thickness of 1-2 mm. Their posi-
96 For the early tion in the burials is at the skull, indicating they could be ornaments
period of such orna-
for ears or hair96. Found almost as often were simple wire slit rings,
ments see the gold
“hair-rings” (German: with a diameter of about 1 cm whose ends do not or only partially
“Lockenringe”) from overlap by a few millimeters (21 specimens; ill. 68:2). Similar in size
Troja in M. Treister and shape are small rings, but with a thickened central section (8
1996, 203-206; or small specimens, outside diam. 1.4-1.7 cm; ill. 68:3). Both types are most
spiral rings of the 3rd
millennium BC from
likely earrings.
Georgia (A. Miron / W. All these rings and spirals are widely distributed ornaments in
Orthmann 1995, 75). many parts of the world and are relatively simple to make by ham-
68 Gold jewelry
from different burials
in Prohear: 1 – burial
25, 2 – burial 2, 3
– burial 4, 4 – burial
14, 5-6 – burial 3, 7
– burial 46, 8 – burial
33 (with blue glass
bead in situ), 9 – burial
18, 10 – burial 50, 11
– looted burial (sold),
12 – burial 10, 13
– looted burial (sold),
14 – burial 10 (Photos:
A. Reinecke; 11, 13:
Seng Sonetra)
mering and twisting gold or silver wire. In contrast, some objects tes-
tify to more specialized goldsmithing skill: two split earrings from
burial 3 were made from silver and gold and are similar in shape
and size. They are 13-tiered bicone shaped ornaments composed of
ring-shape bent wires soldered together and decreasing in diameter

on both sides of a medium axis. 35 granulated globules with a diam-
eter of 1 mm were placed around the central wire (ill. 68:5-6). At
first glance both these earrings look identical, but they differ in some
details. The wires of the gold earring seem to be melted into each
other more than the silver wires. The ribbed surface is 0.3 cm larger
than the silver earrings. A smaller split ring from burial 14 seems to
be composed from five conical segments (ill. 68:4). The central axis
has a more ribbed surface than the other segments. Most likely this
split ring is also an earring.
The heaviest gold object is a ribbed earring weighing 16 grams
(diam. 2 cm) that was discovered on the left cranial side in burial
46 (ill. 68:7). Most other gold-silver ornaments weigh only a few
grams. In contrast a small spiral from the same burial weighs only
1.14 grams on the micro scale. A gold foil tube, also from burial 46,
weighs no more than 3.71 grams (ill. 70). Villagers in Prohear told
us that they found and sold at least two or three earrings of the same
shape and size. This earring type was made from a round bar that
was about 0.6 cm thick. Before the bar was bent, the goldsmith made
30 ribs, perhaps using a special file.
The widest or largest ornaments in gold or silver from Prohear
are a bracelet from burial 4 (diam. 5 cm, weight 7.6 grams) and a
silver bracelet (6 cm, 25 grams) from burial 40. The gold annular
bracelet was found inside the bronze ‘buffalo bracelet’ (ill. 64:5) and
was made of hammered round wire. The massive silver bracelet had
a round cross-section with expanded trumpet-shaped ends (ill. 52),
97 Bracelets of this and adorned the right forearm of a man who was also buried with
type in silver or gold, the only short-sword97. Another silver spiral ring of 3.7 grams was
are very common and made from a hammered round wire and badly bent into a spiral of
widespread, as ex-
one and a half coils. It was found near the left hand of the ‘First Lady’
amples see: for Ukraine
S. Salvi 1987, 89, 121; in burial 4 and the 1.8 cm inside diameter tells us that perhaps it was
for Afghanistan (Tillya a finger ring. This ring looks more like a botched work than a ‘mas-
Tepe) see F. Hiebert / P. terpiece’ for that rich woman and arouses suspicion that this was a
Cambon (eds.) 2008, quickly made substitution for a real finger ring (ill. 64:4). Some other
253, 283, 290; for
Pakistan (Taxila) see
silver jewelry was found in burial 12: a small goblet lay with the rim
J. Marshall 1975, 633- close to the left side of the skull and covered three head ornaments
635, Plate 195. including a great spiral and a silver ring (ill. 46:3-5).
69 Pair of gold foil

tubes (length 2.8
and 3.0 cm) found in
burial 33 (Photos: A.
Reinecke)
98 Burials 4, 2x10, 12,

18, 33, 50.
99 From burials 2x10,
18, 33, 50, and 2 pieces
from looters.
All together, ten finger rings with different obverse shapes were 100 Finger rings or
found in six burials98 or photographed as looted objects before they seals engraved with
were sold by the villagers. Seven finger rings are more massive than horses or with a horse-
man is a common
the rest, and have no trace for a closing seam99. One of these fin-
motif in East Europe
ger rings is decorated with an animal of the panthera species, most and West Asia during
likely a tiger facing to the left (ill. 68:11). Another finger ring shows the last centuries BC
a horse looking to the left (ill. 68:13). The image of a horseman rid- and may be modeled
on coins of that period.
ing to the right on the finger ring from burial 18 might be one of the
See e.g. A. Miron / W.
earliest examples found in the southern part of Southeast Asia (ill. Orthmann 1995, 17;
68:9)100. On all three finger rings the animal decorations were most J. Marshall 1975, 638-
likely made by engraving and their lines show the jumpy movements 639, 650, Plate 198,
of the fine-pointed burin101. 207.
101 To the horse im-
The remaining three finger rings102 are made from a bar-shaped age see also chapter 12.
work piece that was more or less intensely wrought to form the 102 Burial 4, 12 and a
undecorated obverse of a very different size, between 0.8 cm and single find.
70 Gold foil tube

(length 2.5 cm) found
in burial 46 (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
2.1 cm. Next both ends were bent, and then the overlapping ends on
the reverse were beaten together. All three finger rings having a sil-
ver-rich color are less elaborate than the finger rings without seam-
trace (ill. 64:7).
Two gold foil tubes were found in burial 33 and a third one in
burial 46. They are 2.5 to 3.0 cm long and if one rolled them out
they would be of rectangular shape of 2.5 to 3.5 cm width (ill. 69).
The diameter of all three tubes is about 1 cm, and the edges of both
tubes from burial 33 overlap about 0.5 cm. The tube from burial 46
does not have overlapped edges and differs from the other tubes by
lines of repoussé dots along the upper and lower edge (ill. 70). The
upper edge of all tubes is turned down to the reverse. Both pieces
from grave 33 show one or two holes in the upper corners, which are
absent in the tube from grave 46. We have only a picture of a fourth
71 Gold objects tube from a looted burial that includes a single bicone gold bead and
from different looted gold spirals (ill. 71).
burials. All were sold
All three gold tubes lay near the skull. The two pieces from grave
(Photo: Hong Ranet)
33 were directly under the upside down bronze bowl, which covered
the face of the dead person. Their use is not quite clear yet, but we
have four suggestions. First, they could have been part of a chain in
this rolled up condition. Second, it is possible that the tubes were
originally ‘rolled out’ and used as a pendant or as plaques fixed on
a base. A third interpretation could be that these were fittings for
thin handles of wooden tools. And last but not least, they could have
been used as decorative caps on long precious stone ornaments, such
as the tube-shaped agate beads with cartouche-shaped gold caps on
both ends, from a private collection103. The gold tubes on this bead are
similar in size and orientation to the tube from burial 46 (ill. 72).
It is also interesting to note which gold objects were discovered in
Prohear in surprisingly small quantities. In all 52 graves there was not
a single ‘normal’ gold bead. At least, we have photos of gold offerings
from looted graves and know that sporadically double-conical gold
beads (ill. 71) have been found. These are similar to beads from Lai
Nghi104 or Go Mun105 in central Vietnam. However, in Prohear gold
beads were nothing that stirred anyone’s blood.
Some broken pieces of gold-silver objects were also offered, e.g.
an earring fragment in grave 2. Such fragments are worthless as jew-
72 Long tubular
elry for the dead but maybe have a meaning as currency on their way
agate bead with gold
in the next world. Zhou Daguan discusses trade and currency in his leaf capsules at both
daily life, which might reflect a long tradition of commercial trans- ends; a burial offering
actions. He writes that “small market transactions are paid for with from a looted Iron Age
rice or other grain and Chinese goods… Large transactions are done burial in Cambodia or
with gold and silver”106. Vietnam in a private
By comparing Prohear with other cemeteries of the early Iron collection in Bangkok
and now for sale on
Age in Southeast Asia, we identify the unusual character of all these
ebay (length 9.6 cm;
gold and silver offerings, but we will come back to this issue in chap-
photo: unknown
ter 11. dealer)
4 Water buffalo bracelet

The aforementioned ‘buffalo bracelet’ from burial 4 is an amazing
object and a rare find in Southeast Asia (ill. 73 and 74). The villagers
provided several looted bracelets of the same type made from bronze
and iron in different sizes, although the iron samples have not pre-
served the four long ‘horn-ends’ (ill. 56).
103 E.C. Bunker / D.
One only has to look at the profile of this ring to recognize the A.J. Latchford 2008, 10.
symmetrical long curved horns as an impression of the water buffalo 104 A. Reinecke 2009,
(ill. 51). It does not surprise us that in an agriculturally based society 27, Fig. 5a.
such an important animal is represented as a symbol or expression of 105 A. Reinecke / Lê
Duy Sơn 2000, 11,
worship. It is remarkable that at Prohear and at Go O Chua only very Fig. 5.
few water buffalo bones remain. At other cemeteries in northwestern 106 Zhou Daguan
Cambodia or in northeastern Thailand there is more clear evidence 1297/2007, 70.
73 In situ bronze of water buffalo bones (e.g. Phum Snay107; Ban Lum Khao108; Noen
bracelet in burial 4 U-Loke109).
(Photo: Seng Sonetra) The same bronze ‘buffalo bracelets’ were also found 340 km
northwest of Prohear at the burial site of Phum Snay. Unfortunately,
107 A. von der those objects did not come from an archaeological excavation, but
Driesch / D.J.W. from looted graves in private collections110. Moreover, during their
O’Reilly / V. Voeun excavations in 2001 an 2003, Dougald J.W. O’Reilly and Pheng Sytha
2006, table 1 and 3.
documented several bronze finger rings with a buffalo horn symbol
108 C.F.W. Higham
2004, 159-160. from looted inhumations (ill. 75). They found one such item in burial
109 M. McCaw 2007. 7 in 2003111. Similar finger rings from northeastern Thailand have
110 S.V. Lapteff also been published112. Also found in the same context at Phum Snay,
2008, 174, fig. 111.
were the absolutely amazing ceramic epaulettes, which included an
Pers. comm. Sergey V.
Lapteff (Shigaraki), on attached pair of iron or bronze buffalo horns (ill. 76)113. Even bronze
16th September 2009; helmets with horns have been found in the midst of the looted burial
M. Tranet 2008, 133, equipment114.
fig. 72. The symbolic buffalo jewelry arose during an early period and
111 K.M. Domett / D.
J.W. O’Reilly 2009, 73.
was widespread across southern China and Southeast Asia (ill. 77). It
112 A.J. Labbé 1985, is the reflection of a very distinctive water buffalo cult present in the
6. rich figural art of the Dian culture as well as by the gold objects from
74 Bronze bracelet
from burial 4, length
13.2 cm (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
75 Bronze ‘buffalo
finger rings’ from
looted burials at Phum
Snay (Photo: Dougald
J.W. O’Reilly)
113 D.J.W. O’Reilly / T.
Chanthourn / K.
Domett 2004, 225, fig.
10; S. Lapteff 2009, 13;
K.M. Domett / D.J.W.
O’Reilly 2009, 73.
114 D.J.W.
O’Reilly / K. Domett / P.
Sytha 2006, 217.
76 Ceramic
epaulette with affixed
iron ‘buffalo horns’
from burial 13-2003
at Phum Snay (Photo:
Bonnie Baskin)
77 Many differ-
ent bronze items from
early Iron Age sites in
Southeast Asia have
‘buffalo symbols’,
especially rattles or
bells like this object
(diam. 16 cm) from a
looted burial now for
sale on ebay (Photo:
unknown dealer)
southern Vietnam115. Its traces reach into the modern period. In the
18th century in Tonkin, the present-day northern Vietnam, buffaloes
were more an offering than a meal, a clear sign of great worship for
a work-animal in a country where almost all other living beings are
eaten116. And the long tradition of buffalo fighting is still practiced
on the 9th day of the 8th lunar month in Do Son community in Hai
Phong province.
115 L. Malleret 1962, 5 The face under the bronze bowl

pl. XXVII-XXVIII; for
more examples see S.
During the excavation of burial 33 it seemed that no skeletal remains
Lapteff 2008, who has
delved into the topic were preserved. The length of the grave was used to estimate the
of the ‘symbolic water body placement with the help of the surrounding pottery sherds and
buffalo’ in China and offerings including iron bracelets near both wrists. At the southern
Southeast Asia. end of the inhumation, where the head would have laid, a bronze
116 A. Reinecke /
Nguyễn Thị Thanh
bowl was found upside down with the mouth on the ground. While
Luyến 2007, 67, 136, uncovering the bowl, two unusual gold foil tubes and beads of pre-
142. cious stones were found (see Chapter 7.3). We did not excavate the
78 The skull, prob-

ably from a woman, in
burial 33 was covered
by a bronze bowl
of Han style, diam.
16.5 cm. On her face
beads from blue glass,
garnet and carnelian
(Photos and drawing:
A. Reinecke)
whole bronze bowl immediately in Prohear because it was very frag-

ile and crushed into many small pieces. Instead, we decided to take
it as a block, and we transported a lump of soil with the bowl to the
lab in Phnom Penh.
There, Seng Sonetra began with drawings of all the bronze

bowl fragments in situ. Then she worked carefully piece by piece
and started to scrape the soil from inside of the bowl. One by one,
beads came to light until there was a big surprise: a complete human
skull. The bone substance was extremely soft and fragile and during
uncovering the skull had to be stabilized. However, after one week
this hard work was rewarded with an amazing feature: the face of a
young woman with rich jewelry on her head that had been covered
by the bronze bowl. The small size of the gold finger ring and the
great number of spindle whorls, more than from any other burial at
Prohear, suggested this was a woman’s burial. This complex is remi-
niscent of the ‘First Lady’ in burial 4 whose skull was found in the
drum, and another inhumation in burial 47 where the face of a 9-
year-old boy was covered by a disc-shaped object that may have also
been a shallow bronze bowl (ill. 78).
Comparable features are not often documented in Southeast Asia.
An inhumation similar to burial 33 seems to have been discovered
at Phum Snay. During the excavation in 2003 in the rich grave 9,
a very similar bronze bowl was found beside the skull of what was
most likely an adult woman117. Furthermore two similar graves were
found at Thanh Hoa province in northern Vietnam. Between 1935
and 1939, O.R.T. Janse excavated burials of the Dong Son culture
and Han period brick tombs. He reports that he discovered in burial
117 A.von der No. 19 of Lach Truong “two bronze bowls…, one placed where the
Driesch / D.J.W. head of the dead was supposed to have been…contained part of a
skull …”118, and he supposed “had been used as a pillow …”119 – how-
2006, 108; K.M. Dom-
ett / D.J.W. O’Reilly ever, we do not know exactly in which position the bronze bowl was
2009, 59, Fig. 3. found.
118 O.R.T. Janse 1947, Another example, which O.R.T. Janse described for burial no. 2
20, pl. 37:1.
from “Locality 3” in Dong Son, dates to the last centuries BC. He
119 O.R.T. Janse 1958,
54, not. 83. describes “the only skeleton remains we ever found at Đông-sơn,
120 O.R.T. Janse 1958, was a part of a human skull placed inside a bronze situla…”. This rich
34, not. 56, and fig. 4, burial also included a bronze drum and many other offerings120.
p. 22. A very good equivalent for the bronze bowl from burial 33 at Pro-
121 Prohear: height
7.0 cm, diam. 16.5 cm
hear, with almost the same shape, size, and line decoration was found
– Lai Nghi: height 5.9 in one of the richest burials discovered at the Lai Nghi site in central
cm, diam. 15.9 cm. Vietnam in 2004121. This bowl, found together with five other vessels,
belonged to the greatest bronze complex of the Han period ever found
south of the Chinese dominated area122. Another interesting burial
from the Sa Huynh culture was uncovered in Tien Lanh about 42 km
southwest from Lai Nghi in the same province, Quang Nam. In 2001,
Bùi Chí Hoàng excavated seven partly destroyed burials including
four jar burials that are typical for the Sa Huynh culture, but he also
uncovered some inhumations. Fortunately, burial 2 in sector 2 was
almost intact. The skeleton of the dead did not remain, but because
of the offerings it is assumed that the head was oriented to the east-
southeast, and the foot position was marked by pottery vessels. What
makes this burial so special is the 55 cm long iron sword and two
bronze bowls that were of different size but nested into one another
and placed upside down with their mouths presumably on the lower
abdomen or between the upper thighs of the dead123. Farther north
from Thanh Hoa province, small bronze bowls of almost the same
shape, size, and line decoration are standard features in rich burials
of the indigenous Han-Chinese elite124.
The custom of covering the head of the dead with bronze objects
like bowls or discs, as well as burying the head in a drum is seldom
attested to Southeast Asia and might be foreign in origin. We will
come back to this issue in chapter 11.2 in the context of long distance
relations at Prohear.
6 The boy with a bell between his thighs

The 9-year-old boy from burial 47 had a 12 cm beautiful bronze bell
between his thighs. Additionally, a disc-shaped bronze object cov-
ered the face of the child (diam. 13.2 cm; ill. 117). Because it is very
fragmented, it is not yet possible to identify if it is a mirror, shallow
122 A. Reinecke 2004,
bowl, or a disc similar to the bronze object from Village 10.8 (see 225-226.
Chapter 11, ill. 117). 123 Diam. 17.5 cm
The age of the child was determined by Simone Krais on the basis and 11 cm, height 8 cm
of bio-anthropological characteristics. From the archaeological point and 5.5 cm, see Bùi Chí
Hoàng 2008.
of view, the child is most likely a boy, because the position of the 124 O.R.T. Janse 1958,
bell is reminiscent of men’s burials, where we found half or complete 54-55, pl. 33; Hà Văn
stone pestles between the thighs of the dead (ill. 50). Tấn (ed.) 1994, 109.
79 Bronze bell
(length 11.7 cm) from
a child’s burial, num-
ber 47 (see also ill. 50;
Photo: A. Reinecke)
The bell has a hexagonal cross section and is decorated at the end
with a ring made for suspension. Inside the bell there is no clear sign
of a hook to fix a clapper, which would mean it had to be struck from
the outside (ill. 79).
A bell of the same shape and cross section is not known from
125 Hà Văn Tấn 1994,
other sites in Cambodia or Vietnam. With its medium size, the bell
117-119, pl. XXXVI, from Prohear seems to be a cross between the great so-called elephant
513. bells without a clapper from the Dong Son culture125 and the small
80 Fragmented
bronze disc-shaped
object, maybe a
shallow bowl or disc,
covered the dead
person’s face in burial
47. Around the skull
about ten glass and
garnet beads are in
situ (Photo: Seng
Sonetra)
bronze bells from Guizhou province, which are only a few centime-
ters long with a ring on one end and include a clapper126. South of the
Dong Son culture bronze bells are few and far between127. Therefore,
the 2007 discovery of a bronze bell near the skull of an inhumation at
Hoa Diem in Khanh Hoa province is also worth mentioning128.
With only a small number of early Iron Age sites in Southeast
Asia it seems too early to look for parallels of these objects at sites
much farther away. As only a suggestion for the possible function we
want to point to a pair of bronze bells of nearly the same size (length
about 8 cm) with an octagonal cross section and a clapper. However,
the bells are missing the pointed top decoration. They were found
with the headgear of a horse from a site in Georgia, dating to about
700 BC.
126 Guizhou Sheng
Wenwu kaogu
yanjiusuo (ed.)
2008, 278.
127 A. Mirion / W.
Orthmann 1995, 328.
128 Bùi Chí
Hoàng / M.
Yamagato / Nguyễn
Kim Dung 2008, 126.
99
Chapter 8: Analyses and their interpretations in prog-

ress
1 Dating of the burials and finds
The dating of burials and their offerings is based primarily on their
recognized correlation with contemporaneous sites and artifacts
that are already part of a fixed chronological framework for this
region. For Prohear these are archaeological objects of gold, bronze
or ceramic that we know from burial sites between southern Viet-
nam and southern China. By cross-dating we know that the burials
of Prohear are part of a 2000-year-old network. Items imported from
southern China found in Southeast Asia are chronological bench-
marks because they are connected with known historical events or
persons, whose dating is recorded in early written sources. As we
described in chapter 3 we can also distinguish burials from period
I from the later period II by noting differences in head orientation,
depth, stratigraphy, and artifact combinations.
The validity of extending relative or exact date sequences from
one well researched and dated site to another newly excavated site, or
from a historically recorded area to a prehistoric environment is lim-
ited by many factors, including the time of circulation or distribution
of artifacts before they were buried in graves. Thus, dating the site on 129 The charcoal
the basis of archaeological methods alone is not precise enough if we samples are from
burials 3, 4, 7, 8, 33,
need reliable data for the commencement of funeral activities in Pro-
36, 40, 46, and 47, and
hear during the 5th-2nd centuries BC, or for the more poorly equipped the bone samples from
burials. For this reason we collected charcoal or bone samples from burials 15, 16, 19, and
13 burials for radiocarbon dating by Bernd Kromer in the radio- 21, which belong to
different periods of the
carbon laboratory of the Institute of Environmental Physics at the
site.
University of Heidelberg129. 130 Another ra-
The measurement is produced using Accelerator Mass Spectrom- diocarbon date from
etry in Zürich and a radiometric method in Heidelberg. The estima- burial 9 (Hd-27899:
tion of the age of our samples is based on comparison of the remain- 5195+/-30 BP) will
not be discussed here
ing fraction of 14C in a sample to that expected from atmospheric 14C. because the charcoal
At present all the samples have not yet been dated, but eight samples sample is not related to
from the cemetery130 have produced a ‘core-time-frame’ for the use the burial.
100 Chapter 8: Analyses and their interpretations in progress
81 Current
measured radiocarbon
dates from Prohear
(November 2009)
of the cemetery that falls between 200 BC and AD 100; three dates
are older.
Within this time span fall most of the Prohear funeral activities
dated by radiocarbon dates from the south-southwest oriented inhu-
mations 3, 4, 33, 36 and 46. The charcoal sample from burial 3 was
found near the skull on the burial ground near the southwest edge
and gave the date 203-55 cal. BC131. This burial was rich in gold and
silver and in ceramic vessels; it also included two spindle whorls and
about 70 glass beads. We assumed that this inhumation of a woman
dates from the middle to the end of the last century BC, belonging
to period IIb. The radiocarbon date is slightly older, so perhaps we
131 Lab-No. Hd- should consider the possibility of the ‘old wood factor’, which results
27588: 2122+/-21
from using charcoal that did not originate from a freshly cut tree.
BP; calibration of
all dates at 2 sigma The charcoal from burial 4 was sampled directly inside the
with INTCAL04 and bronze drum and is dated from 44 cal. BC to AD 51132. This complex
CALIB5 (P.J. Reimer et is the most richly equipped burial of a woman more than 40-years-
al. 2004). old (see Chapter 7.1). The radiocarbon date corresponds well with
132 Lab-No. Hd-
27257: 2001+/-17 BP.
our expectations based on the archaeological artifacts.
133 Lab-No. Hd- In burial 33 we found a charcoal sample in an ideal position
28520: 2079+/-18 BP. inside the bronze bowl. The radiocarbon date of 165-46 cal. BC133
Chapter 8: Analyses and their interpretations in progress 101
corresponds exactly with our archaeological expectations. We think

that a date in the last third of this 2 sigma range, which falls in the
second third of the 1st century BC, fits this inhumation of a woman
buried with rich offerings (see Chapter 7.5).
The radiocarbon date for burial 36 came from a charcoal sam-
ple near a bronze bracelet on the left side of the dead underneath a
ceramic sherd. Therefore we wrote in our excavation diary: “…could
also be earlier than the burial”. The date of 162-1 cal. BC removed all
our doubts134.
A charcoal sample was taken in burial 46 near the skull between
the ceramic sherds in the upper layer over the skeletal remains. The
date of cal. AD 25-135135 fits excellently with the archaeological evi-
dence because it is a typical burial of mortuary phase IIb. It is rich in
metal offerings, including a gold foil tube like that in burial 33 and the
heaviest gold object, the ribbed earring, from all excavated burials.
Closest to these dates is the result for burial 21; a western oriented
inhumation from mortuary period I, likely of a woman and poorly
furnished. A skeleton bone was sampled and had enough collagen
for radiocarbon dating. The result of 356-176 cal. BC136 fits optimally
with our expectations for period I.
Let’s have a further look at dates that fall outside the ‘core-time-
frame’. For burial 7, a possible jar burial of a child, a charcoal sample
taken inside the jar is dated 513-397 cal. BC137. We cannot exclude
such an early time period for the jar burials at Prohear, which must
be rechecked with further samples from other jar burials (ill. 81).
A unique problem is presented with burial 47 that is dated to
510-394 cal. BC138. That would be 300-400 years earlier than our
archaeological expectations. The charcoal sample was taken between
the ceramic sherds in a deep layer on the eastern side of the right leg.
134 Lab-No. Hd-
This inhumation of a child, with rich offerings including non-local
28523: 2057+/-18 BP.
bronzes and other objects, seemed to fit well in mortuary phase IIb 135 Lab-No. HD-
(see Chapter 7.5). However, the radiocarbon date put it at the begin- 28519: 1910+/-24 BP.
ning of all inhumations in Prohear. We hope to find a solution to this 136 Lab-No. Hd-
problem in the future by discovering a parallel to the bronze bell in 28531: 2180+/-17 BP.
137 Lab-No. Hd-
this burial at another site in Southeast Asia. At present we suspect 27590: 2381+/-21 BP.
that the charcoal sample belonged not to the burial complex, but 138 Lab-No. Hd.-
came from an earlier context. 28714: 2372+/-20 BP.
In conclusion, it should be said that the chronological framework

for the early Iron Age in Cambodia and southern Vietnam is still
under construction. At present, dating of the ceramics, gold, bronze,
or iron objects is fraught with uncertainty, which cannot be compen-
sated by blind confidence in the radiocarbon dates. Thus, our bench-
mark data from the imported bronze vessels, drums, or coins that
can be tied together with Chinese events remains important.
2 The secrets of the human bones

In only a few burials were the remains of human skeletons in such
good condition that we could make in-the-ground assessments about
the buried person on the basis of their dental health or the body’s
length. So we garnered the assistance of Simone Krais (Freiburg)
to conduct a careful bio-anthropological examination of all human
remains. Although at first this seemed an unfruitful and labor-inten-
sive task in view of the extremely fragile bones, she provided us with
many exciting results. However, in only a few cases was it possible to
produce a ‘death certificate’ with age, gender, teeth status, and health
or diseases.
Bones and teeth from the upper layers (until 0.9 m) were in such
bad condition that it was not possible to wash them. In the water,
they would have fallen into tiny indefinable fragments. Thus, several
students helped to carefully scrape the soil from the bones, as well as
to stabilize them centimeter by centimeter with a fixative (ill. 82).
All diagnostically conclusive skeletal remains were photographed
and then on the basis of comparative values, checked for the person’s
age. The usual and more precise measurement of the skeletal remains
was not possible, because the bones were too fragmented. In only a
few cases could the sex characteristics of the individual be recorded,
because the relevant skeletal parts, pelvis and skull, were deformed
or not preserved. Our archaeological data were not available for Sim-
one Krais during her work to guarantee an independent estimation
of sex or age (see Chapter 4).
It was interesting for us to observe how small bone pieces could
be selected out as animal bones (ill. 83). Normally, the distinction
82 Cambodian stu-
dents of the Faculty of
Archaeology and Fine
Arts in the lab of the
Memot Centre during
cleaning and restora-
tion of fragile human
bones from Prohear
between complete human or animal bones is not a problem based

on morphological characteristics. However, with small fragments,
specific features of bone structure must be checked. In general, the
83 Brush, scalpel
and a special glue,
Simone Krais is saving
the bone’s information
(Photo: Vuthy Voeun)
Speaking dead – what skeletons tell us about people’s lives
The analysis of the human remains from the Prohear burial site was
a special challenge for me as an anthropologist. The preservation
of the bones was one of the worst I have ever seen. The bones were
fragmented to a great extent, decomposed into many little pieces,
and huge parts of them were already dissolved. So I had to do plenty
of reconstruction and restoration work before I could start with the
conventional analyses. For example, there was a femur (thighbone) in
about forty little pieces; to reconstruct something like that takes lots
of patience and time.
Human bones store plenty of information about an individual.
Most fascinating is information and diagnosis of diseases, which
allows insight into individual life stories. One individual (burial 13)
femur shows a tumor that was partly encapsulated and partly incor-
porated with the circumfluent soft tissue. The same individual had a
healed fracture of the upper side of the metatarsals. Such a fracture
can happen through a heavy object falling from above on the foot.
Another individual (burial 15) showed signs of anemia and physical
stress and died at an age of 20 to 30 years. The most-probable can-
didate for the eldest individual within this society (burial 4) showed
extreme tooth wear, which almost eradicated one tooth and opened
its root canals. This is an extremely painful procedure that made the
consumption of food difficult for this person.
Despite all the interesting results found in bones, more data was
left within the preserved teeth. Teeth are the hardest material in the
human body, so they remain in the soil much longer than the softer
bones. Also, in the Prohear sanctuary the remains of dentition of
many individuals were found and they provided plenty of informa-
tion about the ancient people of Prohear (ill. 85:1-3). The strong wear
of the teeth was remarkable in all individuals. This tells us that the
people during that time ate at least partially very hard food or food
that included little pieces of sand or dust. The strong wearing of teeth
is commonly found in early settled societies. But among the people of
Prohear, even little children younger than six years had an extraordi-
nary degree of tooth wear that would normally not even be found in
a 90-year-old person and from modern, ‘western’ societies.
Another basic piece of information that teeth can give us is the
age of a person. The age of a person can be diagnosed very precisely
especially during the rotation of teeth, from milk teeth to permanent
teeth. The age at death of the people from Prohear ranged from
very young children to one person who died in later maturity. Many
remains of very young individuals were found; at least 25 percent of
the people died before reaching the age of 13 years. Within the teeth
of these young departed individuals dental enamel defects were
found, that are considered to be a sign for physical childhood stress.
This shows that the conditions of life were quite hard, especially for
young individuals. Reasons for that could be for example malnutri-
tion, raging diseases, or less care-behavior from adult individuals. This
result may be shocking for modern ‘western’ people, however it used
to be quite normal for these ancient societies and sadly is still com-
mon in some parts of very poor societies.
The age of a person can also be examined through histological
analyses. Like every mammal, human permanent teeth create ‘annual
rings’, similar to the annual rings of trees. Starting in the year of erup-
tion, teeth normally develop two lines every year, a darker and a
brighter one, in the outer areas of the permanent teeth root. To find
the age at death the number of dark rings are counted under a micro-
scope and added to the amount of years of average eruption of the
tooth. This method, called TCA (Tooth cementum annulation), is cur-
rently the most accurate method for the analyses of age at death. The
results from the TCA-analysis from the burial site of Prohear are not
available yet, but will probably give interesting information about the
people at Prohear.
Human anatomy is basically uniform, but nobody is exactly the
same, every body shows features that are uncommon. Some of these
anatomical variants are known as genetically bequeathed within a
genetic pool, such as the genetic pool of one population. If one of
these variants (called epigenetic variants) is found within the skeletal
remains of a population several times, it is a strong signal for genetic
kinship between the affected individuals. In the Prohear population
four individuals (burials 2,7,19 and 44) showed a very rare genetically
variant, a so called ‘foramina molaris’, which is a small pit in the molar’s
exterior (ill. 85:3). This is a sign that there is kinship between these
individuals. Further studies are planned for investigation. If this fea-
ture is found within other populations that lived close to the people
at Prohear, we may find evidence of genetic kinship to surrounding
populations.
By Simone Krais
84 Ready,
cleaned, and dis-
played for anthropo-
logical analyses: the
skeleton of burial 19
(Photo: S. Krais)
microstructure of animal bones is different because the surface of

mammal bones (cortical bone) often appears thicker and heavier
than human bone. Of course, also the structure of animal bones is
depending on the species, age, and size of the animal. Such bones ‘feel
different’ from animal bones. Also the cancellous bone, the internal
spicules of the bone, is somewhat finer in a pig than in human bone.
Finally, a microscope was used to examine the different microstruc-
tures and select out the animal bones.
Most information about the age of individuals could be found by
investigating the teeth. This is more exact with the individuals who
were still in the process of changing from primary to permanent den-

tition. With individuals from whom no teeth survived, only a very
rough estimation of the age was possible. An almost complete denti-
tion survived from only five individuals. In no cases did we find an
intentional ante-mortem loss of anterior dentition (canines or lateral
incisors) such as at other Iron Age sites like Go O Chua, Phum Snay139,
Prey Khmeng, the Bronze Age site of Koh Ta Meas140, or as has been
recorded in prehistoric Thai populations in southern China141.
3 Human teeth as passport

Archaeological data, such as changing customs, cultural features, or
the spread of imported objects have long been the primary indica-
tors for the migration of people. But the distribution of ideas, skills,
fashions, or special products could have been caused by many dif-
ferent factors, of which ‘immigration’ is only one possibility. Other
possibilities include trade, cultural relations, or outside influences.
Thus the distribution of archaeological artifacts can have different
causes and their interpretation as only a sign of immigration can be
wrong. Concerning offerings in burials, the problem has always been
that ‘non-local artifacts’ do not necessarily mean that the person was
an immigrant. Conversely ‘non-local people’ may have integrated
themselves enough not to be recognized by special offerings.
Increasingly, archaeological suggestions become facts by using
bio-anthropological methods and records. Environment and diet
leave their traces in human bones and teeth as in a personal file, and 139 M. Takayuki
combined with the archaeological artifacts we recognize the amaz- 2008, 102; K.M. Dom-
ing details of the fates of individuals. For archaeologists it becomes ett / D.J.W. O’Reilly
2009, 70.
exciting if the bio-anthropological and archaeological records cor-
140 C. Pottier / J.-B.
respond with one another. For example, a person in a burial could be Chevance / E. Llopis / C.
identified by anthropological analyses as ‘non-local’ and the recheck Souday / M. Frelat / N.
of our archaeological offerings now shows features that were hardly Buchet / F. Demeter / K.
worth mentioning before. This may sound confusing so we provide Vireak / C. Socheat / S.
Sang 2006, 3.
a more specific example. 141 N. Tayles 1996;
Compared with Prohear, the cemetery of Go O Chua has very K.M. Domett / D.J.W.
similar ceramics but has poorly equipped burials. There is no gold, O’Reilly 2009, 70-72.
85 Teeth nor-
mally survive longer
in the soil than bones
– a lucky situation
for anthropologists
because teeth are a
record of the life and
environment of the
buried people. Teeth
can give indications
on the region where a
person was born, their
diet, or their age at
death. This illustration
shows: 1 – teeth from
an individual in burial few precious stone beads, and no imported bronze. In more than
26 with the preserved 50 burials excavated at Go O Chua, there was nothing that could be
human dentition of seen as the special property of a ‘non-local person’. The teeth from 34
an adult, 2 – teeth individuals were preserved and could be sampled using Strontium
from an adult in burial vs. Oxygen isotopic analyses to detect the ‘non-local individuals’.
33 with heavy wear,
This archaeometric method relies upon the variation of stron-
and 3 – a tooth from
tium isotope ratios in rocks of different ages and compositions. Soils
burial 2 that shows
a very rare genetic are formed from these rocks, and freshwater in contact with these
variant, called ‘foram- sediments shows the same strontium isotope ratio as the plants
ina molaris’, which growing in the soil. These plants are then eaten as food, which brings
is a small pit in the the isotopic fingerprint into the human teeth. Oxygen isotope val-
exterior of the molar ues change in different altitudes. In general, the higher the altitude
(Photos: S. Krais) the lower the isotopic value in the drinking water and in the tooth
enamel of an individual using a water source from a higher altitude.
Tooth enamel will not grow or change its isotopic composition after
the formation of adult permanent teeth. If an individual has a value
different from the isotopic composition of the local soil, they must be
interpreted as being of non-local origin. For standardization of the
local values of strontium and oxygen isotopes, a tooth of an animal
is also measured, because animals normally only consume the local
food and water142.
142 M. Schweissing
2004; T. Tütken / C.
From Go O Chua, samples of seven men and women show higher-
Knipper / K.W. Alt than-local values, thus they were most likely born in another region.
2008. A re-evaluation of their offerings and other bio-anthropological
information gave the three men in this group some special charac-
teristics. The first man was the only individual at this site that had
an intentional ante-mortem loss of two incisors. He was equipped
with seven iron arrowheads, which could indicate he was a hunter.
The skeleton of the second man was unique due to the skeletal traces
of an accident or a fall. The third man was buried with tiger teeth
amulets, which were quite likely offerings for a hunter. All seven
‘non-local persons’, including 3-4 women, were equipped with local
ceramics, an indication that they were not really seen as ‘strangers’
but well integrated.
Let’s return to Prohear. During the excavation and documenta-
tion, we paid close attention to burials that showed ‘non-local fea-
tures’ in funeral customs or offerings. In Prohear these are very
clearly the burials 4, 33 and 47 because of the exceptional bronze
offerings (drum, bowl, bell, and disc). In addition, one can specu-
late as to whether the graves of the mortuary period I (jar burials
and graves with head in east- or west-orientation) could be classified
as ‘local’, and the earliest graves with south-orientation of mortuary
phase IIa classified as ‘non-local’.
Because most skeletons are not available or poorly preserved,
‘aDNA’ analyses seems unpromising. In 20 of 52 burials from Pro-
hear we sampled teeth for Strontium vs. Oxygen isotope analysis to
detect non-local individuals. At present, the analyses are in progress
by Mike Schweissing, Bavarian State Collection for Anthropology
and Palaeoanatomy in Munich. We hope for a solution for the riddle
of the cemetery of Prohear from his results.
4 Nothing but gold and silver

The provenance and traffic or trade routes of the rich precious metal
jewelry from Prohear must be investigated using interregional com-
parative metal analyses, and by searching related jewelry objects in
southern Vietnam and Cambodia. However, based on the first 30
metal analyses of gold and silver objects from Prohear, we can now
say that there is electrum (a natural alloy of silver and gold), silver,
and gold, as well as intentional alloys of different compositions. In
fact, the most ‘golden’ looking ornaments from Prohear are not pure
gold, but electrum or silver with a rather low gold content.
By analyzing a great number of gold-silver offerings from differ-
ent graves at Prohear we want to find out not only the different com-
positions, but also which objects were made from native or inten-
tional alloys. Moreover, we hope for indications about how many
different metal sources left their ‘fingerprints’ on the alloys. It will
also be interesting if the analyses show that some inhumations were
equipped with gold-silver jewelry from the same source. This could
indicate that they were contemporaneous with one another as well as
It depends on the right mixture
Of the 30 analyzed small rings or fragments, three are made of gilded

silver wire and 27 from simple massive metal wires. They are mostly
silver-gold alloys of different compositions with generally low copper
content. Based on their composition, the samples can be divided into
three groups. 1) 9 samples with 35 to 44 percent silver and copper of
about 0.2 percent. 2) 7 samples with 56 to 68 percent silver and the
same low copper content. 3) 7 samples with 73 to 83 percent silver
and a slightly higher copper content of about 1 percent.
Moreover, there is one ring fragment from grave 27 with 76 per-
cent gold, 24 percent silver and about 0.3 percent copper, currently
being the object with the richest gold content from the cemetery.
Two silver rings (burials 3 and 24) are exceptions due to their higher
copper concentrations of 4 and 7 percent. Other components are 86
and 91 percent silver and 6 and 7 percent gold.
An earring from burial 4 consists of almost pure silver (99 percent)
and therefore groups well with the cores of the three gilded silver
rings. The gilding of the rings from burials 3 and 4 is of identical com-
position, while the third ring from burial 12 is clearly different. Nev-
ertheless, all three rings could come from the same workshop. The
same gilding technique was used (ill. 87-88) and they have similar
tin content in the gold foil (2-3 percent). This proves that the gilding
material was made from an intentional alloy.
Because of the low copper content of less than 0.5 percent it
could be assumed that the majority of the gold-silver-rings are com-
pletely natural alloys that occur as electrum in rivers or mines. How-
ever, two aspects contradict this. The first being the wide range of
point towards relationships between the dead. Furthermore it would

suggest a very direct route from the gold sources, via a goldsmith, to
the Iron Age people of Prohear. Conversely, a collection with differ-
ent objects of many different alloys in only one grave would indicate
an exchange with different ‘business partners’ and a broader network
of gold prospectors and goldsmiths.
At present, Sandra Schlosser at the Curt-Engelhorn-Centre for
Archaeometry in Mannheim is analyzing a series of gold-silver
samples from Prohear using LA-ICP-MS (Laser ablation-Inductively
coupled-Mass Spectrometry). Aside from the major and minor ele-
compositions. We would suppose that electrum coming from cer-

tain natural sources would show more uniform composition. Second,
the behaviour of platinum in the metal indicates that it was alloyed
with silver. Platinum, as a trace element in natural gold, comes from
tiny platinum nuggets that were panned together with the gold from
the river. Thus, platinum is primarily an indicator for placer gold and
shows that the gold was not exploited in mines. In Prohear, those
objects with the highest gold content also have the highest platinum
values, and those with a high silver content have less. Obviously the
platinum has been diluted by adding silver (which contains no plati-
num). Moreover, different platinum-palladium ratios in the samples
indicate that gold or electrum came from rivers from at least two dif-
ferent regions.
Another indicator for the fluvial origin of gold is the tin content,
because a river can also carry the heavy mineral tinstone (cassiterite).
Most objects from Prohear show tin values between 20 and 200 ppm,
which also points to placer gold, if tin did not enter the gold during
alloying or smelting.
In summary it can be said that we find Prohear objects made from
natural electrum, silver and gold, as well as from intentional alloys.
Additionally, old metals may also have been reused. For example, the
first group mentioned above, which also shows a uniform palladium-
platinum ratio, would fit well a natural electrum from a placer. Given
the purity of the silver used in Prohear objects it is very likely that this
precious metal was produced directly by mining and not extracted
from galena, as in the Roman Empire.
By Sandra Schlosser
86 Metal objects
contain the fingerprint
of its origin and fab-
rication. The secrets
of nearly 50 gold and
silver samples are
visualized by Sandra
Schlosser at the Curt-
Engelhorn-Centre
for Archaeometry in
Mannheim, Germany
(Photo: CEZ-Archae-
ometry)
ments (Au, Ag, Cu, Sn) about 25 trace elements were also analyzed
(ill. 86). The results of the first sample series of 30 objects are in many
respects surprising and promising. Thus far, all the analyzed samples
came from the smallest and least valuable gold-silver objects, like
fragments of small wire spirals rings from 16 different graves143.
By analyzing the gold-silver artifacts using a quadrupole ICP-MS
(X SeriesII, Thermo Electron Corporation) with collision cell tech-
nology144 and a scanning electron microscope (ZEISS EVO MA 25),
it was found that only 12 of all 30 objects contained more gold than
143 Burials 2 (2x), 3 silver. The preliminary results indicate interesting relations in space
(3x), 4 (5x), 8, 10, 12, and time between different burials, which we will formulate in detail
22 (4x), 24, 25 (2x), 26, after finishing all analyses.
27 (2x), 34, 35 (2x), 43,
*
44, 45, and one sample
of a stray find in Unit Until now, we knew of only a few comparable analyses of early gold
C. objects from Vietnam and Cambodia. These include an analyzed
144 For details sample of a gold bead from the looted Sa Huynh burial site of Go
about the methods, Mun in Quang Nam province of the same date as Prohear. The result
see S. Schlosser / R.
Kovacs / E. Pernicka / D.
shows that it was natural gold (94 percent), with a low silver content
Günther / M. Tellen- (5 percent) and less than one percent other elements. This gold most
bach 2009. likely came from a gold source in central Vietnam, a different source
than the gold from Prohear145. The low silver content suggests placer
gold.
From the cemetery Phum Snay, where about 50 inhumations
were discovered and dated from about 100 BC-AD 500, only two
gold earrings from burial 11/2007 were found. The analyses of the
Japanese team show a composition of 70 percent gold and 30 percent
silver without copper. Other trace elements were not mentioned.
The high gold content is similar to the richest gold objects from Pro-
hear. The gold earrings from Phum Snay were interpreted as having
“intentionally added silver to the gold” to produce a composition
with the “maximum strength” for gold-silver alloys146. Regarding our
results for Prohear, we cannot agree with this interpretation for the
145 A. Reinecke / Lê
gold objects from Phum Snay. That composition is more reminiscent Duy Sơn 2000, 17;
of the gold-silver objects in group 1 from Prohear, which we believe analyzed by Joachim
were made from natural electrum panned from rivers. The same Lutz, formerly at the
composition of both rings from Phum Snay points to electrum from TU Bergakademie
Freiberg.
one location. It is also hard to comprehend why gold-silver orna-
146 S. Hieda / H.
ments have to be produced with “maximum strength”147. Yoshimitsu / K. Shigeru
From the great gold collection of the Transbassac region in 2008, 141.
southern Vietnam, Louis Malleret published the results of samples 147 Pers. comm.
of two objects: an ingot of 7 grams and a wire fragment of 2.8 grams. Sandra Schlosser
(Mannheim) on 12th
Both are from silver-rich gold with noticeable copper content that August 2009.
suggests an intentional alloy148. 148 Silver 19.24 resp.
The largest series of gold analyses from Southeast Asia com- 10.26 percent, copper
prises about 100 samples of Javanese gold objects from the Hunter 5.36 resp. 1.20 percent;
see L. Malleret 1962,
Thompson collection and was conducted in the 1990s at the Rathgen
460. His comment
Research Laboratory in Berlin149. Although the origin and dating of on p. 8: “Il semble
the objects is still unclear, these objects are still of relevance to Pro- donc…que les orfèvres
hear. As J. Riederer noted, “… the very old objects in the collection… de l’époque aient su
incorporer au métal
are of a very low gold content, 20-30%” and “… the amount of gold in
précieux certaines
the Javanese alloys tends to decrease the older the alloys are”150. That quantités de cuivre
reminds us of the analyses of the objects from group 1 at Prohear, but pur et d’argent qui
this does not mean that Prohear’s gold came from Indonesia. This suffisaient à le rendre
statement points to the possibility that a high silver content in early résistant”.
149 J. Riederer 1994
gold objects could be a common feature in Southeast Asia! und 1999.
A recently published geological study lists 19 gold mines in Cam- 150 J. Riederer 1999,
bodia. The Sampeou Loon deposit is closest to Prohear. It is situated 67.
87 More illusion only 85 km to the northeast and is near the site of Memot in Kam-
than reality: Some pong Cham province (ill. 89)151. In March 2009 we visited Sampeou
‘golden’ objects from Loon. This gold deposit had been discovered by local farmers in 1985
Prohear like this small
and is now under the concession of a Chinese owned company, but
ring from burial 3,
clearly show under the
was closed down by the Cambodian government. The whole area is
microscope that a sil- perforated by 3-5 m deep holes, the remains of the gold rush that
ver core was covered ensued in 1992 and brought about 2000 gold miners to work in that
on the surface with area (S. Sotham 2004).
a precious gold foil Farther to the north, we know of gold deposits from Laos (Phu
with a high gold ratio Kham, approximately 100 km north-northeast of Vientiane), central
(Photo: S. Schlosser)
Vietnam north of Dac Lac province (e.g. Bong Mieu152) and to the
88 The silver
northwest in Thailand (Phichit province, about 45 km southeast of
core of a small spiral
ring from burial 4 was
Phichit).
wrapped with gold We also expect to find alluvial gold in rivers and in alluvial sedi-
foil. The red arrows ments of the Mekong Delta. Louis Malleret had already speculated
show the edges of the about gold-containing sands in the plains of Rach Gia, but could not
foil dressing (Photo: S. follow-up on this matter153. In Go De village in Long An province
Schlosser) in 2007, villagers reported that they had panned small gold frag-
ments from the sand (ill. 90). We suspected that they were panning
small gold foil fragments from looted or destroyed graves, because
many villagers in that area had found gold beads and other objects
in the soil. However, it cannot be excluded that in some areas placer
151 S. Sotham 2004. gold was actually found. Indeed, it seems hard to believe that gold
152 Nguyễn Nghiêm
Minh 2005, 111, 121.
panning at any time in this region could be so productive as to find
153 L. Malleret 1962, enough gold to produce jewelry like that found in Prohear or around
p. 5. Oc Eo (see Chapter 11.3 and 11.5).
89 The abandoned
gold mine of Sam-
peou Loon near
Memot in Kampong
Cham Province, Cam-
bodia in April 2009:
a – general view; b
– one hole dug (4-5 m
deep) in a perforated
area that in 1992 was
the focus of exploita-
tion by about 2000
villagers, local miners
and migrant workers;
c – entrance for deep
ore mining (12-20 m)
by a Chinese owned
company (Photos:
L./A. Reinecke)
Rich deposits of electrum and epithermal gold deposits with high

silver content are recorded in southern China. This region has one
of the richest precious metal deposits in the world. At the junction
of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces, significant sedimen-
tary rock-hosted Carlin-like deposits form the so-called ‘Southern
Golden Triangle’ south of the ‘Northern Golden Triangle’ of China
in northwest Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi. The ‘Southern Golden
Triangle’ is also known as the Dian-Qian-Gui area154. Some of the
most important deposits in the ‘Southern Golden Triangle’ are in
Jinfeng (Lannigou), Zimudang, Getang, Yata and Banqui in Guizhou
province, as well as Jinya and Gaolong deposits in Guangxi prov-
ince155. Additionally some important gold deposits can be found in
Yunnan as well, for example at Laowangzhai, Dongguolin, Jinchang, 154 Khin Zaw / S.G.
and Daping156. In chapters 11 und 12 we will discuss some strong Peters / P. Cromie / C.
archaeological evidence for contact between Prohear and southern Burrett / Zengquian
Hou 2007, 23.
China’s ‘Southern Golden Triangle’ (see map 2). This will reveal the 155 Ibidem, table 1,
possibility for a long distance origin for the precious metal objects 9-10.
found in southeast Cambodia. 156 Ibidem, 10, 27.
90 Go De, Long

An province, near the
Mekong Delta. Villag-
ers are demonstrating
gold panning (Photo:
A. Reinecke)
5 Small beads – big information

Many burials of women, children, and men in Prohear were fur-
nished with beads made primarily from glass (about 2580 items).
But some were also made from precious stones including 70 garnet
beads, 20 carnelian beads, and 20 agate beads. The exact number of
beads cannot yet be determined because some burials were saved en
bloc, and are still awaiting restoration in the Memot Centre. Looters
found some rock crystal beads as well. However they were sold and
only photos remain (ill. 95). Beads of glass or the aforementioned
stone variants are found in Cambodia and Vietnam as early as the
middle of the last millennium BC. However, we cannot speak of a
real ‘stream of beads’ arriving from the coast and rivers, and being
distributed over large areas before the end of the 2nd century BC.
Thus, beads also give us a kind of benchmark for dating burials and
sites in mainland Southeast Asia.
The 52 burials at Prohear containing about 3000 beads from stone
or glass are quite ‘normal’ for a site with burials that date mainly
to about 200 BC-AD 50 (ill. 91). For comparison, at the cemetery
in Giong Lon, about 2350 beads were found amongst 79 excavated
91 Blue and red

glass beads and beads
made from carnelian,
agate, and garnet
from different burials
burials157. We also know of sites from the same period that are much
richer in beads, such as Lai Nghi in central Vietnam that had more
than 10,000 beads in 63 burials. One burial alone (burial 27) had
more than 3000 beads made from glass or precious stones158. There
are also sites much poorer in beads, such as Go O Chua in southern
Vietnam, which had only about 50 beads in 62 burials. This may be
an indicator that most of the burials at Go O Chua are 100-200 years
older than the inhumations in Prohear.
157 Vũ Quốc
How common were glass ornaments? Hiền / Trương Đắc
During the last century BC beads were some of the most common Chiến / Lê Văn Chiến
objects found in burials. Alone, they do not demonstrate the wealth 2007, 32-36; 2008a, 35;
different total number
of a population, or a single individual. We have already discussed in 2008b, 40-41.
the problem of different funeral customs and the unknown ‘scale of 158 A. Reinecke
value’ (see Chapter 4). A pig tooth, as the last remains of an abundant 2009a, 46-48.
92 This clump of banquet for the journey to the other world, could have been much
soil was found beside more valuable than a few dozen glass beads. We are also reminded
the skull in burial 46, of the glass bead adhered to the bottom side of a smithing hearth
and includes some
(Chapter 5). This may indicate glass beads were scattered around
hundred blue glass
beads (Photo: A.
the Iron Age village, and were hardly noticed in everyday life. In
Reinecke) only six burials no glass beads were found. But these are all par-
93 Some of tially destroyed inhumations. A few more richly equipped burials
these small blue glass had more than 150 beads including graves 24, 33, 34, 46 (ill. 92).
beads (dia. 0.1-0.3 cm) The richest collection, more than 500 beads, was found in burial 46,
from burial 3 show together with three gold ornaments weighing a total of 21 grams (ill.
‘broken ends’ (Photo: 68:7 and 70).
A. Reinecke)
Eleven burials included fragments of glass earrings. Three graves
contained small remains of bracelets made from a deep-blue or light
blue glass. If we want to assume that large amounts of glass were an
expression of wealth, we must also consider grave 15 with 40 glass
earrings and grave 49 with 21 glass earrings (ill. 53). We think that
both burials belong to the older mortuary period I and phase IIa, in
which glass ear jewelry functioned as an antecedent to gold jewelry
during mortuary phase IIb.
Bead variants in Prohear

During their first great ‘distribution wave’ in the 2nd/1st century BC,
glass beads were relatively modest in shape and color. The most com-
mon beads in Prohear are small blue beads, known as ‘Indo-Pacific
beads’, with a maximum diameter of 0.3 cm159. Sometimes they are

not rounded but appear to have been broken off a tube, and retain
their sharp edges (ill. 93). In these beads we can assume that the last
step, in which the chopped tube fragments were stirred over heat to 94 More seldom are
round off their edges, remained unfinished160. Compared with other black disc-shaped
burial sites the small number of ‘Indo-Pacific beads’ colored light beads like these from
blue (e.g. burials 8, 11, 14, 23) or red-brown (burial 24) is notable. burial 42, diam. 0.9 cm
Small green or yellow beads, popular from other sites of this period
like Lai Nghi, are missing.
In addition to these ‘mini-beads’ we found in a few burials larger
unrounded blue beads (diam. 0.4-0.8 cm), and beads in a rarer green
color (burial 24, 33). We also discovered black glass disc shaped beads
(burial 34, 39, 42; ill. 94), and red-brown disc-shaped beads (burials
34 and 43). Moreover, there are some uniquely colored silver-white
beads from burial 4 (diam. 0.2-0.3 cm) or an opaque-yellow variant
that was a stray find in Unit A. With this list the inventory of glass
beads from Prohear is finished.
We mentioned already, that at Prohear we did not find as many
stone beads as glass beads (for stone beads see Chapter 11.6). There
are only a few variations of stone beads, primarily bicone and barrel-
shaped (agate, carnelian), spherical (carnelian) or rounded shape- 95 Thousands of
beads were found and
less pieces (garnet). A single carnelian bead is hexagonal (burial 47),
sold by the villagers,
and two more have a plano-rectangular cross section (burial 24).
including these long
However, we know that the looters found greater numbers of stone tubular-shaped agate
beads in other shapes, such as long tube-shaped agate beads (ill. and rock crystal beads,
95). length of the left bead
It is also notable that beads were often not found near the neck or 6.4 cm (Photo: Seng
chest like a necklace, but sometimes scattered over the whole skull as Sonetra)
a head/hair ornament (burial 35) or close to the wrists and bracelets
(burials 14, 23, 24, 33; ill. 62). In one case a bead was stuck together
with a gold finger ring (burial 33; ill. 68:8) indicative of wrist or hand
ornaments.
*
By studying beads from different sites in Cambodia, including a col-
159 I. Glover / J. Hen-
lection from Prohear, Alison K. Carter (Madison) will find out how derson 1995, 144.
people in these different areas were interacting with one another (ill. 160 P. Francis 1991,
96). 29.
96 By analyz-
ing glass and stone
jewelry from Pro-
hear, Alison K. Carter
(Madison) is hoping to
uncover information
on their origin, distri-
bution and manu-
facturing processes
(Photo: A.K. Carter)
Beads are excellent objects for studying ancient trade
… because they are small and easily transportable. At the same time,
they often carry evidence of how and sometimes when and where
they were made. This evidence can help archaeologists trace the
beads back to their original manufacturing locations and identify the
trade networks that moved them across the landscape. Additionally,
examining how ancient people used beads can tell us more about
how that society was organized. For example, different cultures
around the world have used beads to distinguish themselves from
other people, as a way to display wealth, as a currency, or in religious
ceremonies.
One of the primary ways to study beads is to understand how they
were made, because different cultures had different beadmaking tra-
ditions. For glass beads, we can distinguish different beadmaking tra-
ditions by understanding the recipe being used to make the glass.
During the Iron Age period there were several different glass recipes
in circulation that can generally be tied to different locations and time
periods. Glass recipes can be studied by doing compositional analy-

sis of the glass. One technique used in this analysis is Laser Ablation
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This is a
virtually non-destructive technique that determines the different ele-
ments, and by extension the different recipes, in each glass object.
Most of the beads in this region are small monochromatic glass
beads called ‘Indo-Pacific beads’ that come in many colors including
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and white. At Prohear,
the main type of glass is called potash glass. This means that it has
high levels of potassium oxide (K2CO3), which is added to lower the
melting point of glass and make it easier to work. Many different
sites in Cambodia (e.g. Village 10.8, Phnom Borei, Phum Snay) and
the whole of Southeast Asia, including Ban Non Ta Phet in Thailand
and Giong Ca Vo in Vietnam, also have beads made from potash glass
(M.N. Haidle / U. Neumann 2004; J.W. Lankton / L. Dussubieux 2006).
With further research, we hope to tell if these different sites were get-
ting their potash glass beads from the same source and interacting
with one another.
Stone beads can also be analyzed to understand how and where
they were made. The process of making stone beads from carnelian
or agate was labor intensive and took a high degree of skill. By closely
examining the surface or the drill hole of a stone bead with a micro-
scope, marks of the manufacturing process are visible. These clues
can be compared with other beads to determine if they were being
made in a similar fashion. Multiple beads with similar manufacturing
techniques could be the result of a single bead-making workshop or
tradition.
Like glass beads, stone beads can also undergo compositional
analysis using LA-ICP-MS. In this case, the composition of an ancient
bead is compared with the composition of a geological source to find
a location that seems to be the best match. Although this analysis is
still in the preliminary stages, it appears that the carnelian and agate
beads from Prohear fall more closely into the group of sources from
South Asia than Southeast Asia. However, the garnet beads may have
come from nearby garnet sources in what is now Vietnam. With con-
tinued analysis and research we will soon have more information on
where the stone and glass beads from Prohear came from and how
Prohear fit into the broader trade networks in Southeast Asia.
By Alison K. Carter
The examination of the origin and distribution of glass beads in

Southeast Asia is an exciting field of bead research, and closely linked
with research on trade routes and interregional contacts. In the last
ten years, many analyses of large bead collections were done. James
W. Lankton (London) discusses this exciting research below.
Several types of potash glass of the last few centuries BC

… are found all over Southeast Asia. It is possible that people in what
is now Vietnam and Cambodia were perfectly capable of making this
potash glass at that early time. So far, soda glass is so rare in most early
Iron Age cultures in Southeast Asia that local production, at least in
Vietnam and Cambodia, seems unlikely. The manufacture of the early
types of Southeast Asian potash glass may actually have stopped in
most parts of Southeast Asia when what appear to be large numbers
of drawn beads made from South Asian soda glass first appear in
about the first century BC.
The only major known exception to the early-potash, later-soda
glass rule was at Khao Sam Kaeo (KSK) in peninsular Thailand. There,
dating from about the 4th to 3rd century BC, a particular type of soda
glass, higher in MgO and much higher in uranium (up to 400 parts per
million) as compared to South Asian soda glass with uranium ca 10-30
ppm), was used extensively in the workshops of KSK to make brace-
lets and lapidary-worked beads. The finished bracelets and beads
were then exchanged around Southeast Asia. While we do not know
where this ‘KSK’ type of soda glass was made, the geographic limita-
tion of its distribution would point toward someplace in the Upper
Thai-Malay Peninsula, possibly very near Khao Sam Kaeo itself.
After the turn of the millennium, soda glass becomes much more
common (e.g. almost all of the analysed samples from Angkor Borei
and Oc Eo). Most of this soda glass is very high in Al2O3, and is con-
sistent with a South Asian origin. Then, at some time between about
the 2nd and 4th centuries AD the picture changes again, and there is
a fair amount of soda glass with moderate Al2O3 and CaO, usually in
the form of beads, often colored blue with cobalt, found at a number
of sites in Southeast Asia and as far north as the Korean Peninsula. It
seems likely that this glass has a Southeast Asian origin, with one pos-
sible production site at Khlong Thom in peninsular Thailand, although
there may be other production areas as well.
By James W. Lankton
Certainly, the first glass was a precious curiosity for the inhabit-
ants of Prohear and many other pre-Funan people in the 4th/3rd cen-
turies BC161. How long did it take for local craftsmen to recognize
how it was made? Perhaps, only a short time!
Glass as an ideal substitute to imitate stone ornaments

As early as the second century BC, garnet beads and large dark
blue glass beads (both with a diameter of about 0.8 cm) were found
together in some graves (e.g. burial 33, 35). During the excavation,
we found that at first glance unwashed glass beads are hard to distin-
guish from garnet beads (ill. 80). It seems that both kinds of beads
were used alternatively. Moreover, it appears that even though glass
was a ‘newcomer’ at this early period, it was already used to make
imitations of precious stones. Glass is easily made from raw mate-
rials available almost everywhere and was the ideal substitute to
imitate the rarer stone beads. One impressive example are the glass
double-headed animal earrings from the Giong Ca Vo site. At first,
161 For a general
six pieces were published, apart from a few made from stone162. But view on the historical
a later revaluation showed that there were actually eight copies of background, beginning
glass, not six, and that two pieces made from dark green glass that of distribution and
were not immediately recognized by the excavators. They appeared different types of glass
beads in Southeast Asia
to have been artificially patinated to make a papyrus-colored surface see J.W. Lankton 2003,
which looks quite similar to nephrite jewelry163. Moreover, it seems 60-61, I. Glover / J.
that not only the garnet beads from Prohear or the bicephaleous ear- Henderson 1995, 147-
rings from Giong Ca Vo, but also almost all local stone jewelry vari- 155, and B. Bellina / I.
Glover 2004, 74-75.
ants were copied in glass in lightning-speed. These include earrings
162 Đặng Văn
with three protrusions (lingling-o) as well as split earrings from many Thắng / Nguyễn
different sites of this period. All were in colors similar to the original Thị Hậu / Vũ
nephrite stone ornaments. Using glass to make precious stone imita- Quốc Hiện / Trịnh
Căn / Nguyễn Kim
tions seems to have been a main impetus for the quick distribution
Dung 1995, 146.
of glass all over Southeast Asia. As a result, glass makers were some 163 Both pieces
of the first successful fakers in this region. from burial 93 GCV
TS M27: Nguyễn
Glass making – a local handicraft? Kim Dung / Trịnh
Căn / Ðặng Văn
Because of the many thousands of glass beads found at nearly every Thắng / Vũ Quốc
Iron Age site in Southeast Asia in the last century BC, we assume that Hiện / Nguyễn Thị Hậu
glass making, being similar to ironworking, was already a widespread 1995, 36.
handicraft in Southeast Asia. This corresponds to the identification

of local objects such as the lingling-o or bicephalous earrings in the
Sa Huynh culture area164. Both crafts have much in common, as they
need similar hearths and blowers for high temperatures. They can
use raw or recycled material, and they need a lot of fuel. Addition-
ally, primary more than secondary glass production, must have been
situated away from settlement areas, similar to iron ore smelting sites
(see Chapter 5).
Disputing this hypothesis is the fact we have not yet discovered
enough evidence for local production of raw glass165, semi-products166,
or production waste167. However, at this point in the research we still
know of only a few dozen burial sites and small-scale excavations at
settlements in Cambodia as well as southern and central Vietnam.
Because we are still lacking clear archaeological evidence for glass
workshops in pre-Christian times, the current interpretations are
based more on chemical compositions of different glass types. It will
be amazing to see how much history is behind the different potash/
soda/lime ratios. Do they actually reflect the trade routes of beads or
the step-by-step distribution of raw glass, receipts, raw materials, or
the movement of craftsmen? Either way, the answers will come from
continued archaeological excavations and research in the future.
164 A. Reinecke 1996,
22-23, 46.
165 E.g. from Go 6 Animal bones – remains of the last meal
Cam, Quang Nam
province: Nguyen
Amongst the finds from Prohear are only a few morphologically
Thi Kim Dung / I.
Glover / M. Yamagata identifiable animal bones. However, almost half of all graves con-
2006, 226. tained teeth or small bone fragments that could be the remains of
166 A. Reinecke / Lê larger parts (skull or jaw) of an animal, though they were poorly pre-
Duy Sơn 2000, 12, 16,
served by the soil conditions. This problem is similar to the human
34.
167 E.g. from Go skeletons, as discussed earlier. Only in the bottom of a jar burial was
Thap, Dong Thap prov- a large part of a pig mandible preserved (grave 5). The small human
ince: Le Thi Lien 2006, bones in this burial are from a child. The bronze bracelet with a small
235, 241 (that remains inside diameter of only 3.9 cm also points toward a child’s burial (ill.
to be analyzed and
proven); for more see
97).
I. Glover / J. Handerson Norbert Benecke (Natural Scientific Department of the Head
1995, 150. Office of the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin) found that
97 View inside jar

burial no. 5: On the
bottom of a large
ceramic vessel Norbert
Benecke (Berlin) rec-
ognized a mandible of
a more than two year
old pig with full grown
permanent dentition.
Additionally a narrow
bronze bangle (diam.
4 cm) and the bones
of a child were found
almost all small animal remains belonged to pigs of different ages.

Only three tooth fragments of bovinae, perhaps from water buffa-
loes, were found, one of them was in the rich burial 4168.
The animal remains did not find their way to the graves by
chance. They are evidence for a component of the funeral custom
and the most likely interpretation is as food offerings for the way
to the after-life. Many animal bones show clear traces of fire. Their
white color indicates that they were burnt in a fire of more than 250°
C and may have been ‘grilled meat’ that had been given to the dead.
These fired animal bones were not recognized during the excava-
tion but were detected when Simone Krais examined the skeletal and
bone remains in the Memot Centre. She also identified some burnt
animal bones from five burials with edges too straight for a ‘break’169.
It looks instead as if carving tools have been used, which would sup-
port the impression that ‘cooked food’ was offered. It is possible that
the other animal bones that were not burned could have been heated
under lower temperatures.
In most cemeteries of the Bronze/Iron Age in Cambodia or
southern Vietnam, pig skulls or jaws and other bones were discov-
ered as offerings in burials. In the Iron Age burial site Go O Chua 168 Besides no. 4 also
almost half the graves had evidence of pig jaws. In one burial a com- burials 9 and 13.
169 Burials 4, 9, 18,
plete pig skull lay under the feet of an old man (ill. 98). An identical 26, 32.
situation is described for a burial at the site of Koh Ta Meas, dated 170 C. Pottier 2006,
from about 1000 BC170. Pig skulls or jaws are also reported from the 305.
98 Burial 48 from Go O Chua: Jawbones or

skulls of pigs are discovered at many Iron Age
sites in Southeast Asia. However, due to the
acidic soil conditions in Prohear, animal bones
and human skeletons are rather poorly preserved
in most burials. In view of the many small pig
bone fragments and teeth we can assume that
in Prohear, as at Go O Chua and other sites,
pork was the favorite dish for the journey to the
afterworld. Prohear and Go O Chua show many
similar funeral features. For instance, in burial 48
of Go O Chua beside a well preserved skeleton
were discovered a bowl near the back of the
head (1), a small bottle on the right shoulder (2),
4 garnet beads around the skull (3), the skull of a
pig below the heels (8), a human skull of another
inhumation under the forefeet (4) and many
ceramic fragments (5-7) (Photo: A. Reinecke)
Iron Age cemeteries of Vat Komnou, Phum Krasang Thmei or Prey

171 M. Stark 2001, 24 Khmeng171.
and 26; S.K. Sovannara Certainly, a last meal for the dead could have been more luxuri-
2008, 109; C. Pottier
ous. Besides pig, the meals could have included chicken or fish as well
2006, 305.
172 A. Reinecke 2008, as crocodile and tortoise which were common parts of the diet in a
401-402. population living near bodies of water. Remains of these animals have
173 A. von den also been found at Go O Chua172, Phum Snay173 and Koh Ta Meas174.
Driesch / D.J.W. It is notable that the richest burial 4 was also unique in having the
2006.
remains of three different animals: pig, fish and bovinae (possible
174 C. Pottier 2006, buffalo). Unfortunately, the bones of many small animals are not well
305. preserved amidst the finds, and are also more difficult to identify.
127
Chapter 9: Have a look under a coating of rust – won-

derful restored objects
Restoration is like a second excavation as things that were not recog-
nizable amongst the smashed pottery or because of a thick coating of
rust become visible. Only well-preserved bronze objects or the pre-
cious metal, stone, or glass offerings show their true face after a first
cleaning during the excavation.
On average, each of the 52 discovered burials contained between
five and twenty broken vessels (diameters vary from around 8 cm
to larger than 50 cm) and many fragments of other ceramics. Dur-
ing the excavations in Prohear, several thousand fragments of some
hundred restorable vessels were recorded. Thus, restoration of the
ceramics began with the cleaning and reconstruction of the pots. In
order to glue the sherds together Paraloid B72 glue diluted with Ace-
tone was used. Many other kinds of glue that are traditionally used in
temperate zones (e.g. UHU) do not harden under the high humidity
and heat in Cambodia, and the vessels often break down after a few
days. Composing the ceramics using this special glue requires much
time because the adhesive hardens very slowly in tropical conditions.
Thus far, about 250 vessels have been rebuilt and the missing parts
were filled in with gypsum (ill. 60 and 99).
The metal restoration includes approximately 100 iron offer-
ings, 35 bronze objects, and the cleaning of 96 gold or silver pieces
of jewelry. Generally, the restoration work of all metal artifacts starts
with the documentation of their original uncleaned state (weight,
measurements etc.). The pieces are then carefully examined under
a microscope to detect organic remains, traces of use and produc-
tion, and other features on their surface (ill. 100). Before and dur-
ing cleaning or restoration, photos of each object are taken to record
their state and shape.
Cleaning of pure gold ornaments (or those objects with a small
ratio of silver) is not difficult. Generally, water, a soft brush, and cot-
ton are good enough to remove soil from the surface. Sometimes
there is a red stain that must be cleaned using a scalpel or bamboo
sticks. This must be done with great caution otherwise we would cre-
128 Chapter 9: Have a look under a coating of rust
99 The labora-
tory of the Memot
Centre in Phnom Penh
in 2008: Thanks to
the help of students
from the Faculty of
Archaeology and Fine
Arts of the Royal Uni-
versity of Fine Arts the
ceramic restoration of
Prohear ceramics has
a good start (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
ate new marks on the surface of the gold objects. Some gold orna-
ments with a high silver ratio have a black-grey silver oxide corro-
sion that is difficult to remove mechanically or with normal solvents.
100 Restoration
of metal objects starts
with examining the
surface under a micro-
scope (Photo: Seng
Sonetra)
Chapter 9: Have a look under a coating of rust 129
Metal Restoration Laboratory

in the Memot Centre for Archaeology
Metal restoration requires technical training and equipment that is

not yet available in most parts of Southeast Asia. Instead the major-
ity of all excavated iron and bronze objects are sitting unrestored
in museum storage. This makes scientific interpretation and analy-
sis almost impossible, because an unrestored iron artifact is hiding
its real form under a thick rust coating, and the unrestored bronze
objects are very fragile and difficult to handle.
In 2006 the Memot Centre for Archaeology (see: http://memot-
centre.org) metal restoration laboratory was established in the com-
pound of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Phnom Penh with
the support of the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD), the
Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmu-
seum in Mainz (RGZM; see: www.rgzm.de), the Conservation Office of
Freiburg, Gerd and Barbara Albrecht (Badenweiler) and many private
donors from Germany. The Lab was inaugurated in December 2006.
Two Cambodian archaeologists were trained at the RGZM with a gen-
erous grant from The Alexander Rave Foundation (see: http://cms.ifa.
de/en), and private donors of the Memot Centre.
For two years a great number of iron and bronze objects from
the Iron Age burial site of Krek 10.8 were restored.Thanks to the sup-
port of the German Embassy in Phnom Penh and the Federal Foreign
Office’s “Cultural Preservation Program”, the restoration of the newly
discovered finds from Prohear could begin immediately after the first
rescue excavation campaign in July 2008.
In this case, cotton buds dipped in a solution of water with a low

concentration of sulfuric acid can be used to softly clean the gold-sil-
ver alloy. After cleaning, the item must be soaked in water for twice
as long as it had contact with sulfuric acid.
The restoration of bronze objects starts by cleaning with acetone,
ethanol and using a scalpel or bamboo sticks to remove dust and cor-
rosion from the surface. If the crust is too hard, it can be removed by
carefully using an abrasion machine. If there is still metal core left,
more complicated treatments must be applied (BTA, silver oxide) to
prevent further corrosion. Some bronze artifacts are very thin and
fragile because the bronze has turned into a soft powdery substance
101 A shapeless
iron tool showed its
‘real character’ dur-
ing restoration and
revealed a sock-
eted axe (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
102 Two dif-
ferent iron bracelets
before (1-2) and after
restoration (3-4): 1/3
– from burial 2, 2/4
– from burial 7 (Pho-
tos: A. Reinecke)
Chapter 9: Have a look under a coating of rust 131
after reacting with oxygen and other soil conditions. After careful 103 Cleaning the
cleaning, glass fiber strips are used to strengthen and fixate the frag- iron objects carefully
ile pieces. The cleaned bronzes are then stabilized with Acryloid B using sandblasters is
the primary step in
72 and coated with mineral wax Cosmoloid H 80 diluted in a white
transforming a rusty
spirit, to maintain and to protect the artifact from direct contact with
lump to a beautiful
the environment. exhibition object
The treatment of an iron object is more laborious but produces (Photo: A. Reinecke)
terrific surprises, because most of the iron offerings from Prohear
are hidden under a thick rust coating. This coating is so thick that
the excavators could barely distinguish an iron tool from a bangle.
Sometimes during cleaning and restoration, an ‘iron tool’ is revealed
to be two objects that were attached to one another (ill. 101). We were
deeply impressed by the variety of iron bracelets that would have been
absolutely unrecognizable without restoration. Or in other words,
much valuable information about these important items would be
lost forever without careful restoration (ill. 102). To remove the rust
coating and to clean the iron object, abrasion machines and sand-
blasters are available (ill. 103). After cleaning, the iron objects were
also stabilized with Acryloid B 72 and protected with mineral wax
Cosmoloid H 80 diluted with a solvent (white spirit). The restored
bronze and iron objects are safely stored in an airtight container
with a soft bed and a bag of silica gel to prevent further corrosion
caused by the hot air and high humidity outside. We have to check
the restored items regularly to look for signs of new corrosion.
For advice on this subject we are grateful to our colleagues from
the Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums (RGZM) in Mainz/
Germany, Markus Egg, Uwe Herz and all the specialists who gave
training and help to facilitate the restoration work. We are also thank-
ful for Matthias Heinzel, who spent his time in Cambodia installing
all the equipment in the laboratory and giving extra training and
advice in both the field and in the lab.
133
Chapter 10: Strangers in Prohear
Prohear was a secluded, unknown village. This has changed. No, not
by our excavation campaigns in the last two years, but by the newly
built asphalt road that crosses Cambodia in a west-east direction,
and since 2009 has connected Prohear with the outside world.
It is very likely that during the last two years more Western for-
eigners visited Prohear than during the 100 years before. The villag-
ers were good hosts for our team. This was not expected at the begin-
ning of the excavations, as there were some dramatic prejudices on
both sides before the first get-together. The villagers believed that
“Foreigners want to take away all our valuable things!” For the for-
eigners, we wondered, “How can we organize an excavation in the
midst of looters and return home unscathed?” The slogan: “Yes, we
can!” emboldened us to give it a try.
As strangers and guests, we have gained experience being sur-
rounded by ‘digging experts’. During our stay there were no frosty
relationships in the village, but animated conversation and an oppor-
tunity to get to know one another. The villagers had free time, because
our excavations took place at the end of the dry season, during which
time almost everyone was resting before the imminent tillage of their
fields. They were playing cards under the shade of their stilt houses,
renewing their roofs, working in their gardens, or taking their water
buffaloes to the field. Sometimes they organized cockfights for about
100 spectators only 30 meters away from our ‘Unit D’. However,
everyday many villagers curiously watched what was happening in
the middle of their main road (ill. 104-107).
During the first week, the onlookers were bored and commented
about the extremely slow progress of our excavation. In contrast,
they had dug out many thousands of square meters with innumer-
able burials in only a few months, and made a bigger haul than our
long shot ‘brushing-team’. However, after a few weeks of the excava-
tion many villagers began to recognize that it was not the ‘amount
per time’ that was important for the ‘strangers’. Out of pity, they now
began to observe the events on the road.
134 Chapter 10: Strangers in Prohear
104 The future
of Prohear (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
105 Making a
roof from palm leaves
during the dry period,
in which villagers take
rest from field work
106 The excava-
tion is under con-
tinuous observation
107 Cockfight:
Seen as a carving at
the Bayon temple in
Angkor and in Prohear
in action (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
Chapter 10: Strangers in Prohear 135
108 H.E. German
Ambassador Markus
F. Mann and his wife
visiting Prohear,
May 2008 (Photo: L.
Reinecke)
109 Burials are on
‘XXL-camera’ (Photo: L.
Reinecke)
It was a great pleasure for us that in May 2008, during our first
excavation season, the German Ambassador Frank M. Mann together
with his wife came from Phnom Penh to honor our excavation with
a visit. This visit was surely a high point in the village’s unwritten
chronicle, as our presence had already become an everyday occur-
rence (ill. 108).
At the beginning of the next campaign in February 2009, the
uniqueness of this site and of the excavation was already becoming
well known. In the beginning of March 2009 we were joined by a
film team from the “Deutsche Welle” channel under the direction
of Jörg Seibold. They filmed at the Memot Centre in Phnom Penh,
at the gold mine of Sampeou Loon about three hours by car north-
east from Prohear, and of course at the excavation site in Prohear. In
four days shooting, eight tapes were produced, which were then cut
down to nine broadcasting minutes and combined with shots from
the German-Cambodian restoration project in Angkor. For authen-
tic ambience in the village, living pigs were set in motion in front of
the ‘XXL-camera’ of Thomas Koppehele, water buffaloes were moved
about the scenery, and the village musician, Kong Quern, took out
110 Scene-
change: Drawing
attention to res-
toration work in
the Memot Centre,
Phnom Penh (Photo: L.
Reinecke)
Chapter 10: Strangers in Prohear 137
111 German delega-
tion visiting Unit D in
Prohear, March 2009
112 Kong Sung, the

record holder for dig-
ging bronze drums,
climbs up a ten meter
high coconut tree
his two-string fiddle to play for the microphone of Friederike Wag-

mann (ill. 109-110).
On the 8th of March 2009, a new wave of ‘foreign immigrants’
came to Prohear, employees of the German Embassy and German
aid organizations came from Phnom Penh along with their families
to visit the excavation. On this occasion, Kong Sung, the record-dis-
coverer of bronze drums, courageously climbed a ten meter high
palm, wearing only a sarong around his feet to aid him, and picked
coconuts for the refreshment of the foreign visitors. For our team
it was a great pleasure that the guests were not disappointed by the
archaeology. They returned to Phnom Penh and visited the Memot
Centre on the 4th of April to check on the progress of the restoration
work (ill. 111-114).
In 2008 and 2009 we also welcomed colleagues from the Faculty
of Archaeology of the Royal University of Fine Arts175, from the Min- 175 Mao Chhengleng,
istry of Culture Fine Arts Department of Archaeology and Prehis- Kong Vireak, Chy Ro-
tory176, a television film crew from the Ministry of Culture and Fine tha, Sun Chandeb.
176 Pel Vithar,
Arts, and colleagues from the Department of Culture and Fine Arts Chheng Sereivuthy,
in Prey Veng province. We were grateful to all our guests on the exca- Buay Raiya, Mon Tha,
vation and in the lab for the exchange of ideas and moral support. Heng Sreang.
113 The excava-
tion team together
with visitors (Photo: L.
Reinecke)
114 Discussing
finds and restoration
work with German
visitors in the Memot
Centre (Photo: L.
Reinecke)
139
Chapter 11:
Prohear’s contacts more than 2000 years ago
At present, the cemetery in Prohear is one of the richest prehistoric
sites in Southeast Asia. Due to the increased research and fieldwork
activities that have taken place over the last 15 years, we have new
information on other Bronze/Iron Age burial sites. In the last two
chapters, we want to go further into questions regarding the common
traditions and relationships that these sites had with one another
during the last millennium BC. Were there overwhelming cultural
differences or were commonalities more prevalent despite gaps in
time and space? What role did Prohear play in these Iron Age inter-
action networks? Does Prohear’s great number of exotic gold-silver
ornaments and unique bronze items point more towards successful
trade, or do we have to interpret them as the result of immigration?
1 Recently discovered neighbors and their burial customs

Let’s first have a look at the remarkable continuity of funeral tradi-
tions in the Cambodian-southern Vietnamese area during the early
Metal Age. Over this period the offerings in the burials would have
changed by type, material, and value, however we can still assign
some benchmarks. From about the 4th century BC, iron objects were
added to bronze offerings in burials. During the 3rd century BC, the
first glass and garnet jewelry are found in burials. Lastly, during the
1st century BC jewelry of gold, silver, carnelian, agate and rock crys-
tal177 become increasingly more common. Some rich burials also
have offerings of non-local bronze goods.
Overall funeral practices did not change much during the 1st mil-
lennium BC and were quite similar across the whole region. Funeral 177 Beads from the
practices change when one reaches the bay of Vung Tau, where some last three materials are
of the southernmost jar burial sites of the Sa Huynh culture are situ- found in Thailand in
large quantities since
ated (see Chapter 5). From the earliest known burials at Koh Ta Meas the 4th century BC
dating from about 1000 BC to the latest graves of Phum Snay dat- (pers. comm. I. Glover
ing to AD 500, inhumations were the common custom for adults in on 16th October 2009).
140 Chapter 11: Prohear’s contacts more than 2000 years ago
Cambodia. Small children seem to be interred in jar burials more

often178. Cremation is mentioned with other funeral practices in Chi-
nese records of the 1st millennium AD, but seldom attested at the
sites of Go Thap179, Oc Eo180 and possibly Vat Komnou181.
During this long period the inhumations are similar in their
arrangement. The dead are placed on their back, with arms extended
along the body. They are then wrapped in a bamboo mat, and sur-
rounded by a number of broken pottery vessels. In contrast, the
head orientation seems to have been a variable that changed due to
breaks in culture and customs during the last thousand years BC.
Because such modifications in custom can reflect a dramatic change
we should briefly delve deeper into this subject. This also gives us
the opportunity to introduce some other important prehistoric sites
in this region. Unfortunately, the gaps in space and time between
these sites are great and so the picture that we draw is only a sketchy
one.
At the Bronze Age burial site Koh Ta Meas in Siem Reap prov-
ince near Angkor Wat, 27 graves dating to the centuries around 1000
BC were excavated in 2004-2005. They were separated into three dif-
ferent mortuary phases on the basis of stratigraphic observations,
depth, burial offerings, and head orientation. Mortuary phase 1 with
head orientation to the northeast is represented by only 2 burials.
15 burials with their head oriented to the south belong to mortu-
178 Not all children ary phase 2, and mortuary phase 3 includes eight burials with their
were buried in jar buri- heads to the northeast182.
als as is clearly attested
Traveling forward about 600 years, we come to two burial sites:
by an inhumation of a
newborn in burial 51 at Go O Chua in southern Vietnam and Village 10.8 in southeast Cam-
Go O Chua. bodia. At Go O Chua 57 inhumations were excavated from 2004 to
179 Le Thi Lien 2006, 2006. All are unified in their head orientation to the southeast with
236.
only one exception. The head in burial 42 is oriented to the opposite
180 P.-Y. Manguin
2004, 291, 293. direction. We speculate that this burial 42 is the only representation
181 Le Thi Lien 2006, of an early mortuary period discovered from about the 4th century
236; at Vat Komnou, BC. However this suggestion has to be verified with further excava-
cremation has been tions at this site (ill. 115). The inhumations with southeast orienta-
indicated only by vil-
lagers’ reports (M.T.
tion at Go O Chua primarily belong to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. As
Stark 2001, 28). already discussed (Chapter 8.3 and 8.5) most of the burials are poorly
182 C. Pottier 2006. equipped with only ceramics, iron objects, and a few ornaments.
Chapter 11: Prohear’s contacts more than 2000 years ago 141
The burial site of Village 10.8, situated about 60 km northeast 115 Burial site of Go
from Prohear, near Memot in Kampong Cham province, was exca- O Chua in Long An
province: Vietnamese-
vated during seven campaigns from 2002 to 2008, but is not yet pub-
German excavation on
lished (ill. 116). The first radiocarbon dates indicate that Village 10.8
the Southern hillock
belongs to the time from the 4th to 1st century BC183. About 50 burials in 2005 (Photo: A.
were discovered and their offerings were richer than their contempo- Reinecke)
raries at Go O Chua, but more poor than at Prohear. Gold and silver
objects were not found and bronze objects, like bracelets, are rare.
The ‘big wave’ of glass or precious stone beads had still not arrived in
southeast Cambodia. Therefore, the main funeral activities in Village
10.8 might be earlier than at Prohear. However, there could be some 183 S. Soubert / G.
overlap into the beginning of mortuary period IIa of Prohear, for Albrecht 2006.
116 Burial site which we assume dates to the end of the 2nd century BC (see Chapter
Village 10.8 in Kam- 3). The most interesting features from Village 10.8 are many types of
pong Cham province:
implements and bracelets from iron. A unique bronze disc (diam.
Cambodian-German
15.1 cm) from Village 10.8 is relevant in view of the non-local bronze
excavation in 2005
(Photo: A. Reinecke) objects from Prohear, and especially to a similar bronze disc (diam.
13.2 cm) on the face of a child in burial 47 (Chapter 7.6). At first, we
thought that the bronze object from Village 10.8, with three concen-
tric rings around the central cone, could be a mirror (ill. 117). How-
ever, the conical knob in the center does not have a hole that could
be used to hold the mirror by looping a cord through it, and on the
other side is a small dent in the center. A second consideration was
that it was a very shallow bronze bowl with a low rim of only 1-2 cm.
117 Shallow bronze
bowl or decorative
disc with cone from
Village 10.8, diam.
15.1 cm (Photo: Seng
Sonetra)
It is reminiscent of shallow omphalos bowls that are widespread

across South and Southeast Asia, dating from the 4th century BC.
These bowls were forerunners of the coming western influence from 184 B. Bellina / I.
South Asia184, and about 20 similar bowls with a higher rim were dis- Glover 2004, 75-77; B.
covered at the 4th century site Ban Don Ta Phet in central Thailand185. Bellina 2007, 49-50.
185 I. Glover 1990,
Similar omphalos bowls from Thanh Hoa province may belong to a 156-157.
later context dating to about 2000 years ago186. However, we are wary 186 O.R.T. Janse 1962,
of the classification of this object as a ‘bowl’ in view of such a low esp. 286, Fig. 10 and 11.
118 Excava-
tion at the burial site
of Vat Komnou in
Takeo province by a
Cambodian-American
team (LOMAP) in 1999
(Photo: M.T. Stark)
rim, which is more ornamental than functional. Therefore we should

also take into consideration its classification as an ornamental disc,
as similar discs with central cone but without an attachment hole
have been found at the site of Kele in Guizhou province187.
Finally, we also must ask about the head orientation of the burials
in Village 10.8. The skeletons were not preserved but the position of
offerings suggests that the most inhumations were oriented to the
southeast. This is similar to the burials of the 3rd/2nd century at Go
O Chua, but not exactly like the inhumations of mortuary period
II at Prohear whose heads were to the south-southwest. In Village
10.8, some burials seem to have a west or east orientation (e.g. burial
187 A good parallel
31 and 35). These could be contemporaneous with the burials from
is a disc from burial 15
in Kele with a diam. mortuary period I at Prohear (about 500-150/100 BC). They were
of about 9 cm, see more poorly equipped than the dead at Village 10.8 but also oriented
Guizhou Sheng Wenwu to the east or west. If we look beyond Cambodia to northeastern
kaogu yanjiusuo (ed.) Thailand, then we find this E-W- or W-E-orientation at Ban Lum
2008, 451, ill. 36:5.
188 C.F.W.
Khao in Nakhon Ratchasima province, during mortuary phase 3 that
Higham / R. Thosarat dates from 600 to 400 BC, almost contemporaneous with the early
2004. period at Village 10.8 and Go O Chua (Burial 42)188.
There are also seven burials at Village 10.8 for which it is assumed 119 Chronologi-
that the head is to the northeast. If we take a closer look at these cal overview about
recently discovered
inhumations then doubts arise. Distinct head ornaments were not
burial sites of the
found, which would help determine the body orientation. Therefore,
Pre-Funan and Funan
these people may have also been buried with their head to the south- culture (Drawing: A.
west with more divergence of some burials (e.g. 24 and 25) to the Reinecke)
west than some burials of mortuary period II at Prohear. Thus in
southern Cambodia and Vietnam at the end of the 3rd/2nd century
BC we can see a common trend in head orientation to the south,
with some divergences to S-SW or S-SE. This new custom may have
been caused by a cultural push from the outside perhaps due to an
immigration of new people into the area. It appears that this process
began earlier at Go O Chua than at Prohear, where we assume a date
for this change at the end of the 2nd century BC.
This corresponds with the early phase of burials at the site of Vat
Komnou at Angkor Borei, in Takeo province (ill. 118). More than 50
graves were excavated in 1999-2000 and belong to the period from the
2nd century BC to the 4th century AD (ill. 119)189. Although more than
half of the burials were incomplete or indeterminate, most inhuma-
tions were buried with the head to south, southeast or southwest, cor-
189 M.T. Stark 2001,
28.
responding perfectly with Go O Chua (southeast), Village 10.8 (south-
190 Pers. comm. east and maybe southwest) and Prohear period II (south-southwest).
Miriam T. Stark at 26th Furthermore, there are some burials at Vat Komnou with the head to
November 2008. the north or northeast190, which may belong to another period.
191 K. Phon 2009, 4.
The next early Iron Age cemetery, Phnom Borei, is situated about
192 For the early
phase of the burial site 6 km to the south of Vat Komnou. A small-scale excavation in 2004
of Phum Snay different provided nine burials dating from the 1st century BC, which relate to
dates are published. The mortuary period II from Prohear. We were not surprised to find all
most early radiocarbon the inhumations have the same head orientation to the southeast191.
date is mentioned as
348-307 BC for a burial
The last example for Cambodia that we want to take into account
excavated in 2001 is the burial site of Phum Snay, dated to the period from about 100
(K.M. Domett / D.J.W. BC to AD 500192. It is noteworthy, that so far this is the latest evi-
O’Reilly 2009, 56). Yet dence for inhumations dating to the 5th century AD in northwest
published documenta-
Cambodia. This has been confirmed by sufficient radiocarbon
tions and known finds,
esp. the ceramics, speak dates193, unlike at other burial sites that are also seen as late, but are
for a beginning at not amply substantiated by enough dates (Phum Krasang Thmei194
Phum Snay not before or Prey Khmeng195).
100 BC. There were many offerings found at Phum Snay, from which the
193 Alone from the
excavation in 2007,
wealth of beads is most impressive. In some graves thousands of
ten radiocarbon dates beads were discovered, but at the whole site only two electrum ear-
from different burials rings. This is in clear contrast to the amount of the precious metal
and cultural layers are objects found in burials at Prohear. Actually, except for some utili-
available from Phum
tarian bead types or iron tools, there are few similarities with earlier
Snay.
194 Phum Krasang cemeteries like Go O Chua, Village 10.8 or Prohear196. Even so, ‘buf-
Thmei was set in the falo bracelets’ (see Chapter 7.4) from looted graves in Phum Snay are
period from 1st century a probable indication that the cemetery’s beginning overlaps with
BC to 4th century AD,
mortuary phase IIb from Prohear (about 100/50 BC-AD 100).
but this based on two
radiocarbon dates (51 Based on ceramic parallels, Y. Miyatsuka stressed influence from
cal. BC – cal. AD 128 Yunnan in southern China, which might have arrived in Phum Snay
and cal. AD 137-341) around the 4th/5th century AD197. Additionally, the lead isotopic char-
from bone samples acteristics of most of the analyzed bronze artifacts from Phum Snay
from that we do not
know their collagen
are similar to bronze objects from Thailand. Both groups should
status (S.K. Sovannara share characteristics of bronzes that were produced in the Huanan
2008, 108). region (Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan) in China. By contrast,
Vietnamese bronzes should be different, as another mining locality 195 From Prey

is assumed198. Khmeng a charcoal
Some other offerings from Phum Snay are quite peculiar, such sample is radiocarbon
dated to 1910+/-40
as the previously mentioned ceramic epaulettes with bronze or iron BP (0-cal. AD 220),
buffalo horns (ill. 76)199. Thus, Phum Snay is in many respects some- but also a dating in
thing special, and also the head orientation differs from period II the 1st century AD to
at Prohear. The head orientation for men and women is “strictly” the 7th century AD is
mentioned. In view
to the west, based on excavations in 2001 and in 2007200, but also to
of a similar east or
the east as found during excavations in 2003201. Probably the exca- west head orientation
vation units, which were located some hundred meters from one on both sites it seems
another202, reflect different periods and changing funeral customs. possible that Prey
The 2003 excavations seem to overlap with the same time period as Khmeng belongs to the
same period like Phum
Prey Khmeng, where the inhumations have also been found with an Snay (R.K. Chhem / K.
east-west-orientation203. S. Venkatesh / S.-C.
Turning from northwest Cambodia to the south, the few discov- Wang / K.-M. Wong / F.
ered burials in the Mekong Delta suggest another development in J. Rühli / E.P.Y. Siew / K.
Latinis / C. Pottier
the regional funeral tradition. Besides Go O Chua, Vat Komnou, and
2004, 235-236).
Phnom Borei, we know of the burial site of Go Thap in Dong Thap 196 D.J.W. O’Reilly /
province, that has the common southern head orientation of this K. Domett / P. Sytha
period. At that site we have a unique indication about the change 2006; Y. Yashuda (ed.)
from inhumations to cremations taking place about 2000 years ago204. 2008.
197 “…kendi have
Thus far, there have been no more inhumations published from the a decorative pattern
Mekong Delta dating to the early Iron Age. This could indicate that similar to the ‘Sun
the only occupied areas southwest of present-day Saigon fell within pattern’ of the pottery
a narrow strip south of the modern Vietnamese-Cambodian border, found at the Yo-Ho-To
archeological site in
except for some isolated sites (see Chapter 5).
Yunnan province” (M.
Let us now turn to the cultural position of Prohear in the 2nd/1st Miyatsuka 2008, 88).
century BC based on the artifacts. 198 S. Kakukawa / S.
Hieda / Y. Hirao 2008,
128. In this publication
nothing is said about
2 Relationships reflected in the bronze offerings where the analyzed
Vietnamese bronzes
Covering or placing the head under or in bronze objects was seen came from (northern
at Prohear in burials 4 (skull in the bronze drum), 33 (skull under or southern Vietnam)
as well as for which
a bronze bowl), and 47 (skull under a disc). This custom is seldom types or cultures the
found at other sites in Southeast Asia, although we have already men- selected samples are
tioned similar inhumations (face under bowl) from Phum Snay and representative.
Dong Son (Chapter 7.5). Concerning the unusual head-in-drum

practice, villagers told us that they almost always found skulls inside
199 D.J.W. drums. This strange funeral custom has not been seen in South-
O’Reilly / K. Domett / P.
Sytha 2006, 217.
east Asia except at Prohear. To find it elsewhere, we must look to
200 For 2001 ex- the north, to the burial site Liujiagou in the Kele community in the
cavation see D.J.W. southern Chinese province of Guizhou. During excavations in 1976-
O’Reilly / K. Domett / P. 1978 and 2000, dozens of burials of the Yelang culture were found
Sytha 2006, 209; for
with a cauldron or bronze drum covering the head205. The authors of
2007 excavation: Y.
Akayama: “… the ori- the Kele publication wrote, that “head covered burials … never have
entations of the heads been discovered in other areas of China, nor abroad”206. We will come
in burials containing back to this issue and the Yelang culture at the end of chapter 12.
human skeletal remains
were strictly western…”
(2008, 91).
Disc, bowls, and bracelets
201 For 2003 The bronze disc and bronze bowls very likely made their way to Pro-
excavation see A. hear from southern China or northern Vietnam during the 1st cen-
von der Driesch / D. tury BC. We have already discussed similar offerings in elite burials
J.W.O’Reilly / V. Voeun
from elsewhere in Southeast Asia (Chapter 7.5). It is possible that the
2006, 106.
202 S.V. Lapteff 2009, bronze bell from grave 47 followed a similar path; however we have
40. to confess that we are not sure about the dating of this bell in the last
203 R.K. Chhem / K. century BC (see Chapter 8.1).
S. Venkatesh / S.-C. We mentioned above that the bronze and iron ‘buffalo bracelets’
Wang / K.-M. Wong / F.
J. Rühli / E.P.Y. Siew / K.
were part of a widespread water buffalo cult that was distributed
Latinis / C. Pottier across Southeast Asia and southern China. However these objects
2004, 236. also provide strong evidence for a direct relationship between Pro-
204 An exact date for hear and Phum Snay 2000 years ago. Only at Phum Snay were these
this transition phase is
bracelets found together with related bronze horn finger rings or
not yet available. From
two cremations there epaulettes. This suggests an origin for the bronze buffalo bracelets
are radiocarbon dates in northwestern Cambodia or northeastern Thailand, where bronze
with ranges that are too horn finger rings are also known (Chapter 7.4; ill. 75 and 76).
large: 2090+/-85 BP or
The relationship with southern China that we see at Prohear in
362 cal. BC- cal. AD 66
and 1770+/-60 BP or terms of the bronze artifacts and drum-covered heads was also sug-
cal. AD 93-407 (Le Thi gested for the site of Phum Snay. The Japanese–Cambodian team
Lien 2006, 236). argues for this relationship based on the aforementioned lead iso-
205 Guizhou tope analyses for bronze types of an unidentified origin (Chapter
Provincial Museum
1986; 2003; Guizhou
11.1). Furthermore, some bronze artifacts from Village 10.8 should
Sheng Wenwu kaogu also point towards a southern Chinese origin, although the results of
yanjiusuo (ed.) 2008. the lead isotope analyses are not yet published in detail207.
The bronze drum network

In chapter 7.2 we discussed that the few bronze drums that are doc-
umented at Prohear have similar parallels with drums in south or 206 Guizhou Sheng
Bigie diqu shehuikexue
central Vietnam, which most likely have their origins from the pri- lianhe hui (ed.) 2003, 8.
mary distribution center in northern Vietnam208. Most of the bronze The English translation
drums of Heger I type from the other side of the border in the south- “a big metal ware on
ern Chinese provinces of Yunnan209, Guangxi210, Guizhou211, and the head of the dead”
(p. 8) is a bit ambig-
Sichuan212 differ in details of their decoration. Without a doubt, the
ouos and means the
bronze drums from Prohear are typical representatives of the Dong skull was found inside
Son variant and not of the Dian variant from Yunnan213. the drum exactly like
Twenty years ago only a few bronze drums had been discovered in Prohear (p. 11) or in
in central and southern Vietnam in contrast to the north. Since then, Guizhou Sheng Wenwu
kaogu yanjiusuo (ed.)
the distribution map has changed greatly with the discoveries of 2008, 7,8, 476: “…the
about 50 drums in this region214. Around a few dozen bronze drums deads’ heads were
have been uncovered from sites in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and put into cauldron or
island Southeast Asia215. Meanwhile, the total number of all Heger I drums…”.
207 Some general
bronze drums, including the miniature variant, is estimated at more
information about lead
than 500 pieces. isotope analyses of
The looted burial site of Bit Meas in Prey Veng province is worse bronzes from Village
off than Prohear. Unfortunately, we have no fragments or pictures 10.8 was given at the
of the bronze drums found at that site (see Chapter 1). The villagers conference at 15th
August, 2009 in Phnom
of Bit Meas did not know what a bronze drum was. During their Penh.
digging in 2006 they called them “bronze pots”, in Khmer “chhnang 208 Phạm Huy
kvan”. One year later when the looting in Prohear started, participat- Thông / Phạm Minh
ing ‘specialists’ from Bit Meas introduced this term to Prohear and Huyền / Nguyễn Văn
Hảo / Lại Văn Tới (eds.)
the real bronze drums were again labeled “chhnang kvan”. Therefore,
1990.
we can safely assume that the big “bronze pots” from Bit Meas were 209 Wenshan 2004;
in reality bronze drums. Yunnan Provincial
Let us now take a closer look at the distribution of drums along Institute of Cultural
Relics and Archaeology
the Mekong River and its tributaries216. The sites of Prohear, Bit Meas
et al. 2007.
and Phu Chanh in Binh Duong province about 140 km east-south- 210 Guangxi 1991.
east away217, appears like a bridge between the middle Mekong River 211 Guizhou Pro-
to the bay of Vung Tau. Another recently discovered drum from vincial Museum 1986,
Prek Pouy in Kampong Cham province also falls into this network, 2003.
212 A. Calò 2008,
which is partly traversed by the Vam Co Tay and Vam Co Dong 216.
Rivers. Unfortunately, only a tympanum fragment remains from the 213 A. Calò 2008,
drum at Prek Pouy. Its decoration shows characteristics of a Heger 215-217.
I drum of the Dong Son variant, but more cannot be specified (ill.
67).
E. Nitta interpreted the distribution of bronze drums along the
Mekong as “status markers and prestige goods buried with groups
in control of early exchange networks”, because the drums seemed
to relate to “strategic points along the river where geographic fea-
tures (rapids, waterfalls, river mouths) interrupt river transport”218.
214 Phạm Minh
What does “strategic points” mean. Are they traffic junctions, con-
Huyền 2005; Phạm
Đức Mạnh 2005, 45-47. trol stations, fords, boat landings, or points for trade or conflicts?
215 A.J. Bernet Kem- In any case, one would expect not only an isolated bronze drum at
pers 1988; M. Jirawat- such places, but many remains from busy life and umpteen dead on
tana 2003; Nguyễn settlements or cemeteries. Perhaps the bronze drums at these sites
Văn Huyên / Hoàng
Vinh / Phạm Minh
had another meaning than as “buried prestige goods”. Prohear or Bit
Huyền / Trịnh Sinh Meas do not fit in this hypothesis of “strategic points along the river”.
1989; S. Hirayama We will see a little bit later what is behind all this …
2006; M. Nishimura
2008; A. Calò 2009.
216 E. Nitta 2005.
217 Bui Chi Hoang 3 Prohear’s competition:
2008.
218 E. Nitta 2005,
the gold treasures from the Transbassac region
125. Some of the almost 100 gold-silver objects from the excavation in
219 The Bassac is the
southernmost estuary
Prohear are similar to the Transbassac collection published by Louis
of the Mekong and Malleret, a French archaeologist, who bought this rich collection in
at present called by different villages in the southernmost provinces of Vietnam between
the Vietnamese Song 1942 and 1945219. There are several analogies with Prohear, includ-
Hau. Currently, the
ing small earrings with a thickened central section220 or the small
Transbassac includes
the six southernmost segmented split ring from burial 14 (ill. 68:4)221. Similarities between
provinces in Vietnam. Prohear and Oc Eo sites could mean that some objects in the Trans-
Certainly, An Giang bassac collection are earlier than assumed, and were made and bur-
province with the
ied at the latest during the 1st century AD. Otherwise it is certainly
famous trade center Oc
Eo, also belongs in this possible that goldsmiths made the same types of jewelry over many
region. generations, because these products did not fall out of fashion.
220 L. Malleret 1962, It is not known if the objects from the Oc Eo area were found in
pl. V, no 831. burials or in another context. Only a few burials are known from
221 Ibidem, pl.
XXXV-XXXVI.
this region, such as a jar burial from the Oc Eo site that belongs to
222 P.-Y. Manguin the 1st to the 3rd century AD and contained gold foil and carnelian
2004, 291, 293. beads222. Malleret reports in his major publication about the Funan
culture in the Mekong Delta, that his museum collection brought

together a total of 1311 gold objects with a weight of 1120 grams. He
estimates that all of the gold he saw in the Transbassac area weighed
a total of two kilograms. In his writings, Malleret also refers to the
biggest prehistoric gold treasure ever found in this region. On the 6th
of August 1945 at a spot in Oc Eo, gold objects of an overall weight of
453 grams were found, including one ingot of 378 grams. This points
toward a later date for the cache, most likely from the middle of the
1st millennium AD223. Other sites rich in gold artifacts have also been
discovered in the last twenty years, such as Go Thap in Dong Thap
province. In the 1990s some hundred small gold plaques and several
gold finger rings were found in so-called ‘graves’224.
Without a doubt, scholars who study early gold in mainland
Southeast Asia owe Malleret a great debt. His excellent observations
and in-depth considerations are actually a rich source of informa-
tion, with fascinating hints for our interpretation of the gold-silver
ornaments from Prohear. Therefore, we should consider some of
his meaningful notes. First, Malleret suggested that the different art
styles of the gold jewelry point to the fact that the artifacts belonged
to several periods. However, he emphasized how well-preserved all
gold ornaments of the Transbassac area were. For this reason, he
assumed that the artifacts, in spite of their different periods, were
buried in the ground because of a sudden emergency at the end of 223 L. Malleret 1962,
the Oc Eo era (7th century AD). This would mean that most of these 3-4.
gold finds were typical hoards. 224 Le Thi Lien 2005,
149-150; 2006, 233.
For stylistic reasons, Malleret made a distinction between
225 L. Malleret 1962,
imported gold ornaments and local objects that should have been 4-5: “Nous possé-
produced by goldsmiths in the Transbassac region. Evidence for dons aussi des outils
local gold processing was excavated at Oc Eo in 1944, including d’orfèvre, des récipients
que nous croyons des
waste, semi-finished products, and a workshop. The aforementioned
creusets avec alvéole
gold ingot can have been used as currency as well as imported raw peut-être pour un bou-
material225. Further indications for a local production of gold jewelry ton de coupellation,
may have been discovered in 2002 at the Go Thap site in Dong Thap des pierres de touche,
province; however, it is still awaiting analysis226. des lingots, des chutes
d’atelier et des bijoux
There are clear differences in the dating and varieties of precious inachevés…”.
metal objects from Prohear and the Transbassac area. Additionally, 226 Le Thi Lien 2006,
it seems that in the early Iron Age cemetery, silver and high-silver 237.
containing alloys play an important role, but in the later hoards in

227 L. Malleret 1962, the Transbassac region, silver was reserved for coins227.
7, 140-141.
228 J.N. Miksic 1994,
13; E.C. Bunker / D. A.J.
Latchford 2008. 4 Gold and silver before Oc Eo
229 S.S. Fehrenbach
2009, 29. It seems clear that the majority of gold objects discovered in the
230 To get an impres-
Transbassac area belong to the ‘Funan period’ of the 2nd to 7th cen-
sion of an average
selection of grave offer- tury AD, but all the gold-silver ornaments from Prohear are dated in
ings with precious met- the period before and were probably buried by the 1st century AD at
als at burial sites of the the latest.
same period here three Comparing Prohear with other sites before the 1st century AD
typical examples: at Lai
Nghi, central Vietnam,
highlights its special position. Similar gold rich cemeteries are
102 gold beads and known, but, like Bit Meas, are looted, unexcavated, or have not been
4 gold earrings were published by archaeologists228. Almost all known archaeological sites
found in 63 burials (A. of the BC era are poorer in gold-silver offerings. At Vat Komnou we
Reinecke / Nguyen Thi
know of only a few small gold objects (gold leaf and beads)229 and
Thanh Luyen 2009,
61). At Noen U-Loke, there was no gold or silver in the graves at Village 10.8. The burial
northeast Thailand, 100 site of Go O Chua is rich in pottery, but with only about 50 stone or
gold beads, 2 silver- glass beads and ornaments and not one single small gold bead230.
gold earcoils, and from
silver 1 bangle, 2 finger
rings, a toe ring and a
Gold masks and other items from Giong Lon
strip were discovered Apart from Prohear and Bit Meas, there is only one other recently
in 125 burials (N.J. discovered site in this region with amazing gold objects from the
Chang 2007, 413; S. same time period (100 BC-AD 100) – this is the site of Giong Lon in
Talbot 2007, 323-324).
southern Vietnam. During excavations in 2003 and 2005 more than
And at Giong Ca Vo
in the bay of Vung Tau 500 square meters with 72 inhumations and seven jar burials were
about 66 beads, one uncovered. No skeletal remains were preserved, but ceramic vessels
finger ring and some suggest the position of the dead. In Giong Lon three gold masks were
small gold fragments
found in three different graves (ill. 120). They are some of the ear-
were discovered in
about 25 of 356 burials, liest large gold objects in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese excava-
that means, more the tors also listed among the offerings about 2000 ornaments, mostly
325 burials had none different colored glass beads, 178 gold beads, and beads made from
gold offerings (Dang carnelian, rock crystal, garnet or clay. Some burials also contained
Van Thang / Vu Quoc
Hien 1997, 33; Đặng
bracelets made from nephrite, carnelian, or rock crystal, as well as
Văn Thắng et al. 1998, two gold foil plaques, eight gold earrings of two different types, and
151). a small spiral gold ring231. It is notable when reviewing the sump-
120 Gold mask
(length 9.7 cm) exca-
vated at the burial site
of Giong Lon in Ba
Ria-Vung Tau province
in southern Vietnam
(Photo courtesy
National Museum of
Vietnamese History,
Hanoi)
tuous jewelry collection, that the site had sparse iron and bronze 231 Vũ Quốc
offerings. Only 22 iron weapons or tools and a single bronze Wuzhu Hiền / Trương Đắc
Chiến / Lê Văn Chiến
coin were found together with one of the three gold masks in a grave
2008a, 34-38; Vũ Quốc
uniquely equipped with a sword. Wuzhu coins were introduced by Hiền / Lê Văn Chiến
the Emperor Wudi (141-87 BC) during the Western Han period, and 2007, 32-38.
cast after 118 BC. A radiocarbon date and some ceramic types sup- 232 A. Reinecke /
port the dating of the gold masks and of the majority of all finds to Nguyen Thi Thanh
Luyen 2009.
the heyday of Prohear (100/50 BC-AD 100)232. The physiognomy of 233 The dating and
the masks is clearly related to an image of a face on a one centimeter site of the tube ring
long gold tube ring that was very likely discovered in the Transbassac are unclear. Most
area233. Early gold masks from Java and Sulawesi show a distinctly likely it belongs to a
southern Vietnamese
different style and do not have a definite date, but we cannot yet rule
complex from the 1st to
out that they belong to this same tradition234. 3rd century AD. See L.
Malleret 1962, 23-24,
The ribbed gold earrings 120-121, pl. XIII.
234 J.N. Miksic 1990,
We should also discuss the ribbed earring from burial 46 in Pro-
55-57.
hear. The first four gold earrings of this type were found in 2002 235 A. Reinecke
at the Sa Huynh site of Lai Nghi (ill. 121)235. Six smaller specimens 2009a, 27.
were also discovered within two burials at the cemetery of Giong 236 A. Reinecke /
Lon236. In 2007, archaeologists from the Memot Centre in Phnom Nguyen Thi Thanh
Luyen 2009, 63; Vũ
Penh recovered a pair of these earrings from looted burials at Bit Quốc Hiền / Trương
Meas (ill. 11). All of these earrings are smaller and lighter than that Đắc Chiến / Lê Văn
item from burial 46. Similar earrings of a heavier variant are known Chiến 2008a, 24, 37.
121 Four gold
earrings, amongst
beads made from
glass, carnelian, agate,
and gold are offer-
ings from jar burial 7
of Lai Nghi in Quang
Nam province, Central
Vietnam (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
from the north coast of central Java, however their context and dat-
ing is not known237. Comparable earrings are also found in burials
from Western Asia and Europe, although it is unlikely that such a
widespread earring type shows a long-distance relationship in every
case. However, within Southeast Asia the presence of the same ear-
ring type at four different contemporary cemeteries is hardly pure
chance. Especially the more so as Lai Nghi and Giong Lon were very
likely situated near important South China Sea trade ports.

5 “They hold Chinese gold and silver in the highest regard”
pl. XX, right below;
J.N. Miksic 1990,
Group 11, 67-68.
Generally speaking, there are more known gold deposits from the
238 A. Reid 1988, Southeast Asian mainland than silver238. However if we follow the
96-100. historical records, it seems that before the arrival of the Europeans
in Cambodia in the 16th century, gold and silver was imported and
not locally produced.
Chinese gold and silver

In contrast, in China local gold production seems to have begun as
early as 1000 BC, based on the rich gold finds from Sanxingdui and
Jinsha in Sichuan province239. Up to the middle of the 1st millennium
BC, the Chinese character ‘jin’ as ‘metal’ radical was used for gold as
well as silver, bronze or copper. Gold was not the major symbol of
excellence, that was jade (see Chapter 4). It was not until the ‘War-
ring States period’ (475-221 BC) that gold was specified as yellow
metal ‘huangjin’240. Until the Eastern Han period (25–220 AD), Yun-
nan was included in the list of important gold deposits in China241.
Like gold, silver from Yunnan is also mentioned in Chinese records
as a local product since the 1st century AD. By the end of the Ming
dynasty (1368-1644), “Yunnan had produced 2.5 million kilograms
of silver, three quarters of China’s total output …”242.
In the Han shu, the history of the Han dynasty (202 BC-AD 220),
gold and silk are described as dispensable export wares of the Han
Empire243. It is imaginable that the precious metals, bronze drums,
and other bronze objects traveled together either from Yunnan along
the Mekong River to southeast Cambodia, or they may have taken
another route via the Red River to the Gulf of Tonkin, then passed by 239 Leisure and Cul-
a sea route to Vung Tau, and finally up the Vam Co Tay River reach- tural Service Depart-
ing the surroundings of the gold-rich sites of Bit Meas and Prohear. ment Hong Kong (ed.)
2007, 39.
The ribbed gold wire earrings from Lai Nghi, Giong Lon, Bit Meas
240 E.C. Bunker 1993,
und Prohear may have followed this sea route (ill. 11, 68:7, 121). 29; Xiang Zhonghua
Certainly, we cannot compare the gold-silver jewelry from Pro- 2006, 4-5.
hear to the objects found in the super-rich burials of the Dian culture 241 Xiang Zhonghua
2006, p. 7.
about 1450 km to the north. Only a few of the burials from the site
242 B. Yang 2004, 302.
of Lijiashan contain more bronze and gold offerings than discovered 243 Wang Gungwu
at Prohear244. We have already mentioned the rich deposits of gold 1998, 18.
and electrum in that region in chapter 8.4. It is hardly by chance that 244 Yunnan Pro-
the burials of the Dian culture have such a variety of objects that they vincial Institute of
Cultural Relics and Ar-
look like the window display of a jeweler or antique shop. Despite chaeology et al. 2007.
this assortment, we do not see clear parallels to the gold, silver, or 245 Hongkong Muse-
bronze ornaments from Prohear245. Heger I bronze drums were also ums of History 2004.
found at the Lijiashan burial site, but their decoration is also not
comparable with the drum motifs from Prohear.
However, it would not be surprising if the sources of the metal
ingots or finished products were found to be in southern China.
Especially as we already have looked north to find parallels with
both the bronze drum burial at the site of Kele in Guizhou province,
and for the primary distribution area of Dong Son bronze drums in
northern Vietnam.
Historical records about gold and silver in Cambodia

Let us now come back to the question about what the historical
records tell us about gold or silver in Cambodia. In the early Chi-
nese records about Funan, we can read the accounts of the Chinese
envoys Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, who were received by the Funan
emperor Fan Xun between 245 and 250 AD. They note that gold and
silver played a role as currency246. The Nan Qi shu, written in the 6th
century AD, informs us that “the inhabitants of Funan wore finger
rings and bracelets cast in gold …”247. However, this does not mean
the people of Funan used locally produced gold or silver at that time.
Not until Zhou Daguan’s record of Cambodia from 1297 do we find
246 Jin shu (compiled that “They do not produce gold or silver in Cambodia, I believe, and
at the beginning of the
7th century AD) after
so they hold Chinese gold and silver in the highest regard”248. He also
P. Pelliot 1903, 254: “L‘ mentioned the products that were exchanged for Chinese gold or
impot se paie en or, ar- silver. He writes, “Fine things including kingfisher feathers, elephant
gent, perles, parfums”. tusks, rhinoceros horns, and beeswax. Less refined things include
247 P. Pelliot 1903,
rosewood, cardamom, gamboge, lac, and chaulmoogra oil”249. The
261: “Les habitants du
Fou-nan fondent des trade of these products was also confirmed by Zhao Rugua (1170-
bagues et des bracelets 1228), inspector of foreign trade in the Chinese province Fujian dur-
en or …”. ing the Song dynasty (960-1279). He notes that Cambodia imported
248 Zhou Daguan
– among other things – gold and silver and exported elephant’s tusks,
1297/2007, 71.
249 Ibidem p. 69. gharu-wood, yellow wax, kingfisher’s feathers, dammar resin and
250 F. Hirth / W. gourd dammar, foreign oils, ginger peel, and other products250.
W. Rockhill, eds., Local gold resources and production is not mentioned in Cambo-
1911/1996, 53. dia until the arrival of the Europeans. Tomé Pires writes at the begin-
251 B.-P. Groslier
2006, 110.
ning of the 16th century, that “this country has gold”251. At the begin-
252 G.Q. de San An- ning of the 17th century Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio knew of
tonio 1608/1998, 6. “renowned silver, gold, copper and tin mines”252. It is likely that these
local resources were becoming exploited more frequently from this

time period253. The German ethnologist Adolf Bastian, who crossed
Cambodia in 1863/1864, also mentions gold panning as well as min-
ing at a location northwest of Battambang, near the Thai border254.
Nevertheless, all these observations and accounts do not pro-
vide us with a real impression of the local gold production during
these centuries. Apparently, not even the country’s own demands
were satisfied with the local gold processing activities. In about 1570,
Christoval de Jaque wrote “the most gold came from Laos”255. Frank
Vincent learned that in 1871/72 the Cambodian goldsmiths manu-
factured gold locally, but also used gold and silver coins from Hue256.
It is likely that until recent times the gold production in Cambodia
could not compare with the gold production in central Vietnam, for-
merly Champa, then Cochinchina. The first European reports discuss
the exceptional gold in this region257. Cochinchina is listed as a gold
supplier in Japanese trade lists from the 17th century, however they
imported silver from Batavia (Indonesia) and Manila (Philippines).
During this same period Cambodia continued to export roughly the
same natural and forest products as those discussed during the time
of Zhou Daguan258. To summarize, nothing in the old records speaks
to gold exploitation at any of the currently known 19 gold mines
throughout Cambodia (Chapter 8.4; ill. 89).
253 T. Thon 2007,
The early ‘golden network’ 168.
The analyses and interpretation of the gold ornaments have only 254 A. Bastian 1868,
38-39, 57; some other
just started. The style and metal composition of every single object
arguments for the pos-
needs to be carefully investigated in order to demonstrate the origin sibility of using local
of the metal. Additionally, the finished products will be examined to alluvial gold resources
determine both the goldsmith’s manufacturing techniques, as well as by L. Malleret 1962,
6-7.
information on local elements and traditions. During this investiga-
255 B.-P. Groslier
tion we will not focus our view only towards the southern Chinese 2006, 117.
region. This is because the published gold jewelry from the ‘Southern 256 F. Vincent 1873,
Barbarians’ of the Western Han Empire does not appear to be related 234 and 296.
in style and decoration to the finished gold ornaments of Prohear 257 See e.g. C. Borri
1633/2006, 107.
and southern Cambodia. 258 B.-P. Groslier
These precious metal objects could have also been produced at 2006, 123; L. Tana
many trade and workshop sites in different areas. One example are 1998, 66, 76-77.
the parallels between the gold jewelry of the Transbassac region

and the Island of Java as discussed by Malleret259. Although such a
connection between Prohear and central Java is not definite, it can’t
be wholly denied in view of the ribbed gold earring from burial 46
of Prohear260. During this early period both areas were well linked
through shipping networks, as indicated by the numerous Dong Son
drums in central Java261.
Thus, in our future research, we can expect surprises in multiple
p. 28. directions, with links to both China and Indonesia. At the moment,
260 J.N. Miksic 1990, it is difficult to say what role South Asia played in this network. Many
Group 11, S. 67-68. gold ornaments are small simple objects similar to those that were
261 A. Calò 2009, widely distributed over large areas of Eastern Europe and Western
103.
262 See e.g. M. Tre-
Asia from the 3rd/2nd millennium BC262. The area between Georgia and
ister 1996; V. Sarianidi Pakistan is rich with many gold deposits, some of which were exploited
1985. in ancient times263. However, within India there was a great demand
263 T. Stöllner / I. for gold that may have prevented this gold from traveling all the way
Gambaschidze / A.
to Southeast Asia. The South Asian gold objects that have been pub-
Hauptmann 2008.
264 H.C. Bhardwaj lished do not appear to compete with the wealth of gold from southern
2000, esp. 74-76; A. China during the pre-Christian era264. This may be due to a different
Richter 2000, 20. status of fieldwork or a lack of publications, however we must note that
265 H.C. Bhardwaj in later periods South Asia was well known for importing rather than
2000, 70-97, esp. 94-
95; N.P. Unni 2006, I:
exporting gold265, despite the many South Asian gold mines or placer
228-237. resources266. Gold was imported from Southeast Asia during the Gupta
266 J. Marshall 1975, period (320-about 550 AD)267, but known gold tribute payments were
619-620; H.C. Bhard- made to Persia or China268. Thus, it appears that South Asia may have
waj 2000, esp. 78-79,
passed on jewelry making techniques, as well as motifs and shapes
85.
267 H.C. Bhardwaj to Southeast Asia, but hardly the gold itself. Based on the finds from
2000, 86. Prohear, we have concrete evidence for the beginning of the goldsmith
268 F. Hirth /W.W. handicraft in Southeast Asia. Almost all other early gold objects in
Rockhill, eds.,
Southeast Asia have come from undated and unknown sites269.
1911/1996, 111: gold
was a tribute for Xuan
Wu (500-515 AD), Em-
peror of the Chinese
6 Where did the precious stone beads come from?
Wei Dynasty.
269 For Indonesia see
J.N. Miksic 1990, 22;
We did not discover signs for glass or precious stone bead produc-
for South Vietnam see tion in Prohear. So far, there has not yet been any early Iron Age
L. Malleret 1962. bead production workshops discovered in the interior of southern
Vietnam or Cambodia. It is likely that these objects were imported

to Prohear, but from where did they come? For glass beads, we favor
production workshops close to the coast in present-day southern
Vietnam, as was discussed in chapter 8.5. Future glass analyses and
fieldwork in this region will confirm or refute our hypothesis.
Southeast Asian beads made from carnelian or agate are com-
monly assumed to come from a source in South Asia. However, the
large number of these beads in Southeast Asia has put this assump-
tion into doubt. Geochemical analysis of a small series of carnelian
beads (from the sites of Ban Don Ta Phet and Noen U-Loke) and
raw carnelian from one location in Thailand, and a few from India
and Sri Lanka, noted differences in the chemical compositions of
the objects. These results suggest that, “a complex multi-source ori-
gin including some local manufacture appears likely”270. Additional
observations of beads from Noen U-Loke and Non Muang Kao may
support the hypothesis of a Southeast Asian production center that
included modification and recycling271.
In order to have compelling evidence for local stone bead pro-
duction, we need the luck of finding the remains of a settlement with
a workshop, similar to those found at Khao Sam Kaeo, on the east
coast of Thai-Malay Peninsula272. However, we have not yet had such
fortune in central or southern Vietnam, because settlements dating
to the Sa Huynh or Pre-Funan culture are few and far between. A
systematic examination of all early Iron Age beads found in this area
would bring amazing insights to light.
Some arguments for local precious stone bead-making

In the 1st century BC, carnelian beads are fairly common artifacts at
burial sites in this region, but beads made from agate or rock crys-
270 R. Theunissen / P.
tal are rarer. The distribution of some recently discovered artifacts
Grave / G. Bailey 2000,
suggests that along the present-day Vietnamese coast, bead-making 85, 101-102.
workshops similar to those on the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Khuan 271 R. Theunissen
Luk Pad, Khao Sam Kaeo) very likely existed273. During the first 2007.
interaction phase, itinerant Indian craftsmen may have played an 272 B. Bellina / P. Sila-
panth 2006, 388-389.
important role in the expansion of bead workshops, as discussed by 273 Ibidem.
B. Bellina274. However this may not have happened for a long period 274 B. Bellina 2007,
or everywhere within Southeast Asia. 54.
What is certain is that hard-stone bead making workshops along

the coast had to import the raw stone material from either the inte-
rior of Southeast Asia, South Asia or farther afield. We’ll come back
to this matter to the end of this chapter. During the last few centuries
BC in central Vietnam, the craftsmen created local stone ornaments,
different from those made by Indian craftsmen. Amongst these local
ornaments are the three pointed earrings (lingling-o) such as those
from Giong Ca Vo made from carnelian275 or those from Bien Ho in
Gia Lai province, made from rock crystal276. Since the 4th century BC,
stone-craftsmen in central Vietnam were able to make these earrings
out of nephrite. They also have a long tradition in making beads and
other nephrite objects that goes back at least to the beginning of the
2nd millennium BC. These craftsmen did not need a century-long
apprenticeship from an itinerant Indian craftsman to create these
objects.
From many sites along the coast of the South China Sea we find
indications for local bead manufacturing about 2000 years ago. We
will discuss only two examples from the Pre-Funan and Sa Huynh
culture areas. In 2005 at Giong Lon near Vung Tau, Vietnamese
archaeologists found a beautiful polished globular carnelian bead of
2.0 cm in diameter in a burial277. As usual, the bead was perforated
by being drilled from both sides. However, the bead-maker was not
at the top of his form. Both drill holes did not meet each other in the
center, however the craftsman was an inveterate fellow. So he drilled
the bead again and again. After three more failed attempts he decided
to stop. It was not possible to string this bead, but it was buried with
the dead nonetheless!
If we travel 700 km to the north we have a similar situation. Dur-
ing the German-Vietnamese excavations of the Sa Huynh cemetery
Lai Nghi near Hoi An in 2002-2004, the richly equipped jar burial
275 Đặng Văn Thắng 31 was discovered with many carnelian beads including a lion bead.
et al. 1998, 662, ill. 39. Besides this masterpiece, an unfinished carnelian bead was uncov-
276 Nguyễn Khắc Sử ered that was only ground to a flat surface on one side. Then the
1995, 10. bead-maker may have stopped his work because the drill holes from
277 Vũ Quốc
Hiền / Trương Đắc
both sides were not good enough to pass the quality check. Another
Chiến / Lê Văn Chiến bead has a finished surface, but the drill holes did not meet as with
2008, 35. the bead from Giong Lon. It is hard to believe that such junk was
shipped from India or other far distant places, and for an itinerant
Indian craftsman it would be a shame and time to go home.
Hard-stone beads – individual and regional distinctions

Distribution and frequency of hard-stone beads also provide indica-
tors for their origin. To examine this in more detail we will quickly
look at some 2000-year-old ‘bead collections’ from different sites.
Certainly, the total number and numerical proportion of beads dif-
fers from site to site. There was also no uniformity in the arrange-
ment of beads within individual jewelry pieces, but instead creativity
and individualism in unlimited combinations. This becomes com-
pletely clear if one looks at the different beautiful compositions of
jewelry in burials from Lai Nghi; one of the most bead-rich jar burial
sites of the early Iron Age in Southeast Asia.
There were also great differences between burial sites in neigh-
boring areas. To clarify this example we will consider collections
from two of the largest burial complexes of the last two centuries
BC, which were recently discovered along the coast in central Viet-
nam. From Lai Nghi there are 1391 hard-stone beads from 63 burials
including 1136 from carnelian, 83 from garnet, 61 from rock crystal,
56 from nephrite, and 55 from agate (ill. 121). Con Rang and Con
Dai are two jar burial sites very close to one another and situated
only 5 km west of the northwest corner of Hue’s citadel. There were
278 burials, more than four times as many burials at these sites as
compared with Lai Nghi, but only 346 precious stone beads. Inter-
estingly, all were made from carnelian. What a startling contrast
between two sites in the same region, both near the coast, both from
the same culture, and from the same period! Did the early Iron Age
people of Con Rang only have access to carnelian?
Whether more carnelian, agate, garnet or other kinds of hard
stone beads are found at a site depends on many different factors.
This includes distance to the raw materials, to the craftsmen, to the
trade routes, and also to cultural-regional preferences, fashion trends
and, finally, funeral practices. At the moment, such a ‘package of fac-
tors’ makes it difficult to explain the differences in the hard stone
beads throughout Southeast Asia during the early Iron Age. How-
ever, something is already recognizable:
From nephrite to garnet

Nephrite was popular in Southeast Asia since the Neolithic period278.
However it seems that in some areas of Cambodia and Vietnam
before the 2nd century BC, garnet also plays a preferred role. Gar-
net resources are known in northern Vietnam279, and their existence
in Cambodia is also quite likely (see below). At the end of the 2nd
century BC, a great variety of shapes and types of stone were avail-
able and en vogue. The stronger the wish for bigger ornaments with
278 See e.g. Hung
Hsiao-Chun et al. 2007, more complex shapes and gaudy colors, the more garnet went out of
19746. fashion. In northeastern Thailand garnet seems unavailable or not
279 Garnets are popular. At the two early Iron Age cemeteries, Noen U-Loke and
known from Vinh Non Muang Kao, the most common material for hard stone beads is
Phuc, Nghe An, Yen
Bai in north Vietnam
agate, less popular is carnelian; garnet beads were not discovered280.
and in the highlands of In Cambodia and Vietnam, garnet was never used to make larger
central Vietnam (Dak objects like earrings, bracelets, or long-tubular beads. However, these
Lak, Dak Nong, Gia items were frequently made from nephrite, carnelian, rock crystal, as
Lai, Kon Tum, Lam
well as agate. The reason seems clear, as garnets came from meta-
Dong provinces). These
are mostly small-scale morphic formations that had suffered an extreme mechanical load.
deposits of low qual- Therefore, they are usually small and fractured and are not a good
ity from the present raw material for ornaments. In contrast, nephrite, agate, and other
point of view, but good crypto-crystalline quartz varieties are very tough, and therefore a
enough for making
garnet beads 2000
better material for larger ornaments.
years ago (pers. comm. Following the work of Wolfgang Hofmeister (Mainz)281, the gar-
Lê Thị Hương, Hanoi nets from Prohear and Go O Chua and some other sites in this region
University, on 28th are spessartine, which is a nesosilicate, maganese aluminum garnet
August 2009).
species282. This garnet variety is dark purple in color and when exam-
280 R. Theunissen
2007, 362. ined before a source of light it shows an orange-colored shade caused
281 Head of the De- by manganese. The dark color of many garnet beads in Southeast
partment for Precious Asia is indicative of their high iron content. Garnet is widespread
Stone Research at the
and the raw garnet for the beads from Prohear very likely came from
Johannes Gutenberg-
Universität Mainz. river sand placer deposits. This means that garnet may not have had
282 The name is a to travel as far to southeast Cambodia as other hard stone varieties.
derivative of Spessart
in Bavaria, Germany; Carnelian and agate
for garnet varieties and
their historical back-
At the end of the 2nd century BC, carnelian became the most fre-
ground see J. Ogden quently used hard stone for beads in the areas near the South China
1982, 97-99. Sea. Carnelian beads dominate the bead assemblages at the large
cemeteries of Giong Ca Vo, and Giong Lon or Hoa Diem in the

south, to Lai Nghi or Con Rang/Con Dai in central Vietnam. The
further one goes into the interior, the more this dominance is lost.
At Phu Hoa, Go O Chua, or Prohear garnet beads predominate. This
indicates different origins, suppliers, or trade routes for these stone
varieties. However it is not an evidence that all carnelian beads, or
even all raw materials, had to come from South Asia.
A decade ago, deposits of agate or carnelian, both chalcedony
varieties, were not known in Vietnam or Cambodia despite the given 283 Pham Van
geologic conditions. The reason seems simple, as these hard stones Long / G. Giuliani / V.
play a minor role in the modern economy. Meanwhile, agate deposits Garnier / D. Ohnenstit
have been found in Vietnam near Loc Ninh in Binh Phuoc prov- 2004.
284 B. Bellina 2007,
ince283, only 110 km to the east of Prohear. This region has similar 30-31.
surprises in store, as Bérénice Bellina has described for Java, Sumatra 285 Pers. comm. Lê
and Thailand284. It may only be a matter of time that carnelian depos- Thị Hương on 28th
its will also be discovered in Vietnam. This is suggested by new dis- August 2009.
286 C.J. Frape pub-
coveries of large amounts of chalcedonies in Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak
lished some lion beads
Lak and Dak Nong provinces, some of which weigh several tons285. which may have been
The quest for the origin of Southeast Asian hard stone beads is found in north Viet-
complicated by some other reasons. In archaeology, often the opin- nam and comments:
ion exists that rare beads have their original production center in “Created using sculpt-
ing method strongly
an area where these beads were at the most discovered. This can reminiscent of, and
sometimes lead in the wrong direction. As an example, we could evidently influenced
argue that the origin of all lion beads must be in the area of Hepu in by, the Han ‘8-cut’
Guangxi in southern China, because they have published the most technique, they are
nevertheless, in their
lion beads. However, this bead type is widespread even to Gandhara
more angular, stylized
in Pakistan, with some differences in surface treatment, style, and presentation, clearly
material286. This matter becomes even more confused when we think distinguishable from
about how these objects travel across a landscape. So, for example, their Chinese coun-
terparts” (C.J. Frape,
beads can travel from Hepu to central Vietnam, although they were
ed., 2000, 90). For
originally produced somewhere in South Asia. Vietnam und Guangxi
In conclusion, there are several alternatives to the previously held s. A. Reinecke 2009a,
assumptions that all hard stone beads were imported from South 47-48; for Taxila in
Asia. Specialists from South Asia could have expanded their bead north Pakistan s. H.C.
Beck 1941, 55, pl. VII;
making workshops along the coast of Southeast Asia. At first, these for India see M. Jyotsna
may have been itinerant craftsmen who were Indian. However, we 2000, 44-45, and S. B.
can wonder how long it takes an itinerant bead-maker to produce Deo 2000, 84-85.
a rival? Hardly longer than one generation, as we can argue that a

present-day professional training takes no longer than three years
up to ten years for the highest quality. It is quite possible that the
long tradition of bead-making was as well protected in India as silk
production was in China. But it may have been difficult for itinerant
bead-makers to settle down abroad, where they would want to go into
partnerships with local partners, women, and craftsmen with a rich
tradition in stone-working, who they would want to keep the secret
of their techniques. Finally, every protected secret was disclosed over
time; even the secret of the much more complex silk production was
eventually revealed.
165
Chapter 12: Prohear’s historical background –

the comeback of a discarded idea?
In Prohear there are local cultural characteristics that have great
depth, such as burial rituals, inhumations, head orientation, wrap-
ping the dead with a mat and including a last meal, the arrangement
of offerings and ceramics in the burial, and the pottery types. There
are also non-local phenomena in the burials, such as placing a head
in a bronze drum, covering a face with a bronze bowl or disc, and
stone pestles or a bell between the thighs. There are also non-local
offerings primarily of the last century BC, such as imported bronze
drums, bowls, gold-silver objects, and beads. Some of these artifacts,
especially the bronze objects, may have come from the ‘Southern
barbarians’ of the Han Empire, but for others we do not yet know
their origins due to lack of certain parallels.
Prohear and the waves of change

Between the local traditions with their deep roots in the early 1st mil-
lennium BC, and the ‘new foreign elements’ of the last two centuries
BC, we argue for a cultural break. This wave of influence, let’s call it
the ‘first wave’, may have been caused by an immigration of foreign-
ers to the southern half of Cambodia and present-day southern Viet-
nam, which resulted in a new head orientation in the burials, and in
new trends in the local pottery tradition. In some places it may have
started around 250 BC (Go O Chua). In other areas, it may have
begun some generations later around 200 BC (Vat Komnou), and in
Prohear it might not have begun until 150/100 BC. This is the begin-
ning of mortuary phase II at Prohear. It should not be astonishing
that the newly established ceramic forms apparently resisted the next
‘second wave’ of influence that arrived at Prohear around 100/50 BC.
Generally, locally produced simple pottery forms do not change with
every ‘new wave’.
Based on the pottery from Prohear we see a clear relationship
with Vat Komnou/Angkor Borei, with Go O Chua, and with other
sites of the 2nd/1st century BC near the bay of Vung Tau. These rela-
tions are directed more to the south than to the north. Is the south
166 Chapter 12: Prohear’s historical background
the direction from which the ‘first wave’ of foreign influence came?
Miriam T. Stark received the same impression based on the ceramics
found at Angkor Borei. She argues that the Mekong Delta polities
were focused more southwards toward the South China Sea network
until around 400 AD287. This seems neither astonishing nor illogical,
however, there are still huge gaps to the north and northwest as cem-
eteries or prehistoric sites from this same period have not yet been
discovered. From Prohear, Angkor Borei, or Village 10.8 there is a
broad jump of about 300 km, to the cemeteries in northwest Cambo-
dia (Phum Snay, Prey Khmeng, Phum Krasang Thmei). These sites
all have their main mortuary phases later then the sites in the south.
Besides, the ceramic complexes from these sites have not been well
published yet, thus we are not able to properly compare them with
the ceramics found in the south.
The southern influence seems to weaken at about 100 BC, and is
later clearly obscured by the stronger relationship with sites to the
north. We must remember the ‘buffalo bracelets’ which provide strik-
ing evidence for the relationship between mortuary phase IIb at Pro-
hear and the finds of the 1st century BC/1st century AD at Phum Snay
(see Chapter 7.4). We also argue that all bronze objects came from
the north, not just the drums, bell, and bowl, but also the bracelets,
earrings, and other bronze items. We have already explained why we
think that iron came as ingots from the north to the blacksmiths in
Prohear (see Chapter 5). We also discussed that some of the objects
that may have originated in the north, such as the bronze drums and
ribbed gold earrings, traveled to Prohear by the Vam Co Tay River
from the bay of Vung Tau (see Chapter 11.5). However, this must be
proven with more evidence!
The Prohear-Kele connection

Let’s come back to the Kele site in the southern Chinese province of
Guizhou. Despite the 1740 km distance between Kele and Prohear,
in the 1st century BC both areas appear to have been connected with
one another. Kele is situated in an area with unbelievably rich gold,
silver, and electrum resources (Chapter 8.4). Kele also belongs to the
287 M.T. Stark 2006, northern distribution network of bronze drums (Chapter 11.2). At
100. present, Kele is the only site besides Prohear with the same unusual
Chapter 12: Prohear’s historical background 167
funeral custom of burying the head in a bronze drum (Chapter 4).

We also know of a bronze disc with a central cone from the Kele
cemetery, similar to the ornament disc from Village 10.8 and grave
47 at Prohear (Chapter 11.1). The Yelang culture from Kele has many
bronze objects with long buffalo horns that are reminiscent of the
bracelets from Prohear and Phum Snay288. This is a motif that we also
find in the Dian culture in Yunnan289.
The Yelang is one of the most important groups of the ‘Southern
or Southwestern Barbarians’ of the Western Han Empire during the
2nd century BC besides the Dian people in Yunnan and Nanyue in
present-day northern Vietnam, Guangxi and Guangdong290. How-
ever, their characteristics are still little known in Southeast Asia.
Nevertheless, Prohear is not the only site with clear relationships to
the Yelang culture. Another example is a group of three recently pub-
lished swords of the Kele type from Ba Thuoc district in Thanh Hoa
province291. A better knowledge of this little investigated culture will
enable more attention to their special artifacts south of Yelang in the
areas of the Dong Son, Sa Huynh or Pre-Funan culture.
Collaborate, die, or flee!

Western Han Emperor Wudi (141-87 BC) used every possibility to
expand his reach and power to the south and southwest. A special
aspect of Wudi’s efforts was his attempt to establish in 122 BC the so-
called Southwest Silk Road, a Han-controlled land route through the
area of the southwestern barbarians to the land of Shendu (India)292. 288 Guizhou Sheng
Bigie diqu shehuikexue
Although Wudi’s ‘road-efforts’ failed, the southwest was dramati-
lianhe hui (ed.) 2003,
cally changed. The Yelang people felt this aggressive policy at the end 43. T. Pang 1998, 172,
of the 2nd century BC. Some federated and collaborated with Han ill. 194.
China against the Dian in 109 BC. Chieftains who were willing to 289 J. Rawson 1983,
179.
surrender were accepted as client-kings and were rewarded with a
290 B. Watson 1968,
gold seal, like the rulers of Yelang and Dian. The king of Dian died at 290. A general insight
the beginning of the 1st century BC and took his seal to his burial at by B. Yang 2009 and
Shizhaishan where it was excavated in 1955. R.S. Wicks 1992, 33-41.
Neither the chiefs of Yelang nor of Dian were unified in their 291 Hoàng Xuân
Chinh / Hoàng Đình
position for or against the Western Han Empire. Not all of the elite of Long / Hoàng Văn
the Yelang, Dian, and their neighboring tribes bowed to the Western Thông 2008, 239-240.
Han Chinese claim of power. There were certainly strong fallouts, 292 B. Yang 2004, 282.
many owing to the loss of ground and positions, a radical break from
tradition, and invasion by Han Chinese settlers. Opponents of the
Chinese and their elite collaborators were killed293. Those who chose
to escape had few choices but to move south, along an established
route through Laos or northern Vietnam to Cambodia294. We can
guess that this re-location to the south was a process over a number
of generations and from different areas. This may explain how more
and more finds were spread across Southeast Asia during the 2nd/1st
century BC, with an intensity that no one foresaw ten years ago295.
Now we are confronted with foreign objects, such as at Prohear,
where they are mixed with local artifacts.
Who lived and died in Prohear?

Let’s remember again that horses were pictured on two gold finger
rings. Pigs, buffalo, and tigers fit well into the everyday life in the
tropics, but horses are actually strange in this region. There is no
indication that horses were in the ‘long forest’ of Prey Veng 2000
years ago, or that the local early Iron Age people rode on horses to
their paddy fields. But for an elite person who came from the north
with their bronze drums, a horse motif makes sense. In Yunnan, local
husbandry provided horses for transportation and war296. They were
found in the center of battles alongside tigers, buffaloes, and buffalo-
horned men297 as demonstrated in the figures on a drum-shaped
293 B. Watson 1968, cowrie container298. A horseman was at that time not a symbol for
295. peaceful farming or ‘low-impact traveling’, but for war, struggle,
294 B. Yang 2004,
hunting, and power. Thus, the Dian horsemen are seen as a “selective
287-288.
295 I. Keiji 1998. group of people in the society” (ill. 122)299. Even 200 years later in
296 B. Yang 2004, the 3rd century, horses were apparently so unique here, that the first
294-296. Indian envoy brought four horses as a special present from his king
297 A. Calò 2008,
to the ruler of Funan300.
213-222.
298 T. Chiou-Peng It is also notable that both horses on the gold finger rings from
2008. Prohear do not have a saddle! Is this only because it is a simplified
299 T. Chiou-Peng vignette? The motif is of a stick figure without any recognizable cloth-
2008, 230. ing or weapons. Or do we have to attach serious value to this detail
300 M. Vickery 2004,
108.
and assume that the gold ring really depicts a rider without a saddle?
301 B. Watson 1968, If so, we could be confronted with the symbol of a rider of a nomadic
290. minority from the neighborhood of the Dian community301. Or it
122 Armored horse-
man in a battle scene
on top of cowrie
container in the
shape of a classical
Heger-I bronze drum,
excavated in burial
M6 of Shizhaishan
site in 1956, about 3rd
century BC (Photo: A.
Reinecke)
could be an enduring memory of the nomadic origins of the ‘south-

western people’ in the Yunnan-Dian-Guizhou area.
Who were the people who found their final resting place in the
Iron Age cemeteries of Prohear and Bit Meas? Is it possible that both
places are parts of a larger group of burial sites that contain the buri-
als of both locals and expatriates from Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi
and Giao Chi? Did these people flee from the growing danger of Han
Chinese expansion between the end of the 2nd century BC until 43
AD? This is the time between when the Yelang lost their indepen-
dence and when the Trung sisters, leaders of the Nanyue people in
the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam, died in the last great fight,
along with the hope of their tribes. This time span from the end of
the Yelang to the end of Nanyue’s independence coincides exactly
with mortuary period II a and II b at Prohear!
Why did they come to the area around Prohear and Bit Meas? Was
this region in any way more safe, hospitable, and welcoming than
areas in central Vietnam occupied by the Sa Huynh people? Were they
connected to people buried at the Phu Chanh cemetery about 140 km
to the east, and home to the site with strange bronze drum burials?
302 G. Coedès 1966, Perhaps they were also connected to people at other undiscovered
60; 1968, 36-37. The port and trade sites near the ‘gold-mask-site’ of Giong Lon in the bay
information of G. of Vung Tau. Were the elites from the north welcomed in the south
Coedès, the distance
between Oc Eo and Ba
as advisors on foreign policy, strategy, or weaponry? Was the ‘long
Phnom is 200 km or forest’ of Prey Veng at that time not a jungle, but the surroundings
120 miles and would of a political center and a magnet for people such as foreign elites?
therefore correspond A place where refugees could ask for protection and a new future?
to the 500 li men-
A ‘Yue-Village’ within ‘eyeshot’ of Funan-City? You may think there
tioned in the Chinese
records, has apparently are too many questions without any answers! A framework for these
contributed to much puzzling questions is discussed below. First we should mention that
confusion. Actually, while our eyes are mainly directed to the north, we do not forget indi-
the distance is about cations for relationships with the gold-rich areas of Indonesia or even
115 km. This is not a
disproof of G. Coedès’
to Bactria in Western Asia (Chapter 11.5). On the one hand these are
thesis, that the early mostly vague clues, but on the other hand it seems very logical that
capital of Funan should an immigrated elite got their jewelry and exotic goods from different
be sougth at the foot of places. However, we cannot exclude that the Yelang and Dian people
Ba Phnom, but more
get ideas or goods from Bactria via the overland route through north-
an argument against
the consensus opinion ern India before some refugees headed to their exile in the south.
that Oc Eo would be
the historical starting Where was the capital and ‘main port’ of Funan?
point for the Chinese Let’s return to the unanswered questions. If we bring back, after half
observations. This is
an absolutely unproved
a century, the unfashionable theory of the French scholar George
thesis. Coedès, then we would have to locate the capital of the early Funan
303 H. Loofs-Wissowa polity, the legendary ‘Temu’, near the mountain of Ba Phnom in Prey
1991: “We might thus Veng province302. Now, suddenly the richness and the many myste-
imagine the coming
rious artifacts from Bit Meas and Prohear get a striking historical
and going of embassies
or missions from tribal background. The presence of these unusual finds is explained because
chiefs in various parts both sites are situated only 30-35 km northeast from Ba Phnom. With
of Southeast Asia who Coedès’ thesis as a backdrop, the large number of bronze drums from
through the obtaining
Prohear and probably from Bit Meas makes sense, because we agree
of a drum would seek
to become kings in the with H. Loofs-Wissowa’s interpretation of bronze drums as ‘symbols
then accepted sense of power’ or ‘regalia of local chiefs’303.
of the term and thus The excavation at Oc Eo in 1944, and the concentration of archae-
be integrated into a ological research over many years at Angkor Borei, contributes excit-
wider politico-religious
system….” or “… the
ing new facts to the historical relevance of both these sites. Undoubt-
drums were the regalia edly, Oc Eo was a center of workshops and long distance trade with
of local chiefs the west. Nevertheless, for 60 years it has remained a part of scholarly
opinion that it was the ‘major port of Funan’, without critical distance who asked for these
to the scattered discoveries in many southern Vietnamese provinces … to become part of a
over almost 500-700 years, and their classification under the label network of polities…”
(1991, 47). Therefore,
‘Oc Eo’. How much of this large collection is really from Oc Eo before we reject firmly the
the 3rd century AD, and why do we have only such a small number of interpretation that
finds with Chinese origin? bronze drums are
Very likely, Oc Eo was never situated directly at the coast of the normal ‘trade-goods’
as this does not match
bay of Rach Gia, and it remains to be seen if there was at any time a
with the records (see
port by which the Chinese envoys could enter the Funan polity. It is chapter 7.2).
also curious that there are no records mentioning a port in the bay 304 M. Vickery 2004,
of Rach Gia, during or after Funan. Therefore, the distance of 500 131.
li or 200 km from the sea to the capital of Funan, as estimated by 305 “Since the lenght
of a li varied with time,
Chinese envoys, recorded in the 6th century, and compiled in the 7th estimating the distance
century304, cannot be seen from Oc Eo site. In view of such inconsis- is not easy but the
tencies we also have to challenge the interpretation of Angkor Borei actual capital was prob-
as the first capital of the Funan polity. ably the site of Angkor
Borei” (C. Higham
So far the puzzle of the early Funan polity as composed from
2001, 25).
archaeological data does not match the Chinese records. These dis- 306 After A. Schinz
crepancies are not new. Charles W. Higham is correct in stating that 1996, 421: between
the ‘Chinese mile’, the li, changed over time. He is careful with his 369-532 meters.
interpretation of Angkor Borei, noting that in that era the distance of 307 Even if we would
accept that a ‘major
the li varied more than before305. However, even if we use the li with port’ was located near
the shortest of all distances found in the historical records from the Oc Eo, it seems very
time in question, then we have a minimum distance of 184 km from normal that a large
the port to the capital306. This does not correspond with the 83 km polity like Funan had
more than one trade
from Oc Eo to Angkor Borei307.
center near the coast.
P. Pelliot suggested the
In conclusion mouth of the Mekong
The distance is only one example of how problematic the popular as a gateway for the
Chinese envoys (1903,
archaeological interpretation about Oc Eo and Angkor Borei actu-
262-263). From here, as
ally is, as it does not convincingly match the historical context. But well as from the mouth
this whole bundle of problems is another exciting story that goes far of the Vam Co Tay
beyond our intention in this book about Prohear. For that, historical River or from a port
records and archaeological artifacts must undergo a broad re-exam- in Vung Tau bay near
the site with the gold
ination. masks, the travelers
In spite of the wealth found in the burials at Prohear we are care- have direct access to
ful with superlatives for this site in view of so many new archaeo- water routes, that did
logical discoveries happening every year in Cambodia and southern

Vietnam. It is our hope that similar sites will join the cemetery from
Prohear in the next few years, despite problems with looting.
We also know that some of our interpretations urgently need
more solid evidence, but “without speculation there is no good and
not require the digging
of a canal which would
original observation”308. Should we succeed in drawing archaeologi-
link them to Ba Phom cal attention to the under-investigated area of Prey Veng province, as
over a distance of well as developing alternatives to the present discussion on the early
exactly 200 km. history of Funan, then our speculation is justified. At present, the
308 Charles R.
burial site of Prohear and its artifacts seem amazing, but how ‘spe-
Darwin in his letter to
A.R. Wallace from 22nd cial’ Prohear really was in the past, that only additional field research
Decembre 1857. and excavations in this region will prove.
123 Prey Veng
in the golden luster
of the evening sun
173
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Vũ Quốc Hiền / Trương Đắc Chiến / Lê Văn 15:3, 281-322.
Chiến
2008b Di tích Giồng Lớn (Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu) Yang, Bin
qua hai lần khai quật (Giồng Lớn site, Bà Rịa– 2009 Between Winds and Clouds: The Making
Vũng Tàu province after two excavations): Khảo of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth
cổ học (Journal of Archaeology) 2008:6, 32-46 Century CE). New York.
(in Vietnamese).
Yashuda, Yoshinori (ed.)
Wang Gungwu 2008 Final Report on Excavation in Phum
1998 The Nanhai Trade. The Early History of Snay in 2007. Phnom Penh (in Khmer).
Chinese Trade in the South Chinese Sea. Singa-
pore. Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics
and Archaeology / Yuxi City Administration
Watson, Burton Office of Cultural Relics / Jiangchuan County
1968 Records of the Grand Historian of China. Bureau of Cultural Affairs
Translated from the Shih chi of Ssu-Ma Ch’ien. 2007 Lijiashan at Jiangchuan – The Second
Vol. II: The Age of Emperor Wu 140 to circa 100 Report on Excavation. Beijing (in Chinese).
B.C. New York – London.
Zhongguo guojia bowuguan / Guangxi Zhuangzu
Wenshan Zizhiqu bowuguan (eds.)
2004 Wenshan Bronze Drums, ed. by Wen- 2006 Antiquities from Ouluo (ancient
shan Zhuangzu Miaozu zizhizhou wenhua ju. Guangxi). A collection of selected cultural relics
Kunming (in Chinese). from the Hundred Yueh in Guangxi. Catalogue
of an exhibition held at the Chinese National
Wicks, Robert S. Museum in Beijing, 15 March – 9 June 2006.
1992 Money, Markets, and Trade in Early Beijing (in Chinese).
Southeast Asia: The Development of Indigenous
Monetary Systems to AD 1400. Ithaca. Zhou Daguan
1297/2007 A Record of Cambodia. The
Xiang Zhonghua Land and Its People. Translated with an intro-
2006 The Story of Gold. Beijing. duction and notes by Peter Harris. Chiang Mai.
189
Index
Bold numbers denote figures
Afghanistan 86 Ban Non Wat, Nakhon Ratchasima province,

agate bead see beads, agate northeastern Thailand 46, 62, 68
agate deposit see deposit Banqui deposit, Guizhou province, southern
animals / animal remains 102, 106, 124, 125- China 115
126 Ba Phnom, Prey Veng province, southeastern
boar 28 Cambodia 170-172
buffalo 28, 38, 57, 89-90, 125-126, 168 Bastian, Adolf (1826-1905) 157
chicken 126 Ba Thuoc district, Thanh Hoa province, north-
crocodile 126 ern Vietnam 167
elephant 28, 156 Batavia 157
fish 48, 126 beads 21, 26, 41, 92, 116-124, 141, 146, 152,
horse see horse and horseman 158-165
kingfisher 156 agate 21, 26, 41, 54, 78, 116, 117, 119, 121,
pig 48, 58-59, 73, 124, 125, 126, 168 139, 159, 161-163
rhinoceros 28, 156 carnelian 21, 26, 41, 78, 93, 116, 117, 119,
tiger 28, 87, 109, 168 121, 139, 150, 152, 159-163
tortoise 126 clay 152
Angkor Borei / Vat Komnou, Takeo province, garnet 21, 42, 55, 58, 59, 93, 97, 116, 117,
southern Cambodia 12, 41, 43-44, 51, 122, 119, 123, 139, 152, 161-163
126, 140, 144-145, 146-147, 152, 165-166, glass 26, 41, 54, 61, 64, 75, 76, 78, 85, 93,
170-171 97, 100, 116, 117-119, 120-123, 139, 152,
Angkor Wat 12, 140 159
An Son, Long An province, southern Viet- gold 88, 89, 152
nam 62 nephrite 160, 161-162
Bac Ly, Bac Giang province, northern Viet- rock crystal 116, 119, 139, 152, 159, 161-
nam 81 162
Bactria 170 bell see bronze, bell
Ban Chiang, Udon Thani province, northeastern Bien Ho, Gia Lai province, central Vietnam 160
Thailand 13 bio-anthropological data 102, 103, 104-105,
Ban Don Ta Phet, Kanchanaburi province, west- 106, 107, 108, 109
ern central Thailand 13, 121, 143, 159 genetically variant ‘foramina molaris’ 105
Ban Lum Khao, Nakhon Ratchasima province, intentional ante-mortem loss of anterior
northeastern Thailand 48-49, 52, 63, 90, dentition 107, 109
144 strontium / oxygen isotopes analysis 55-56
teeth 104-107, 108, 109
190 Index
Bit Meas, Prey Veng province, southeastern inhumation 45, 50, 58, 59, 95, 139-140, 139-
Cambodia 19, 20-21, 24, 149, 152-153, 155, 147, 152, 165
169-170 jar burial 39, 43, 49-50, 59, 95, 101, 109, 124,
name of the village 19 125, 139-140, 150, 152, 160
blacksmith 63-65, 166 mat wrapping 45-46, 47, 140, 165
boar see animal wooden coffin 45-46
Bong Mieu, Quang Nam province, central Viet- burial head orientation 140-147, 165
nam 114 Ban Lum Khao 144
bronze object 127, 129, 139, 141, 146-147, 165 Dong Son 40
bell 41-42, 51, 53, 75, 95, 96, 109, 149, 165- Go O Chua 140, 144, 146
166 Go Thap 147
bracelet 43, 51-52, 54, 58, 67, 76, 78, 101, Koh Ta Meas 140
124, 125, 141, 148, 166 Village 10.8 144-146
bowl 26, 41-42, 53, 68, 75, 88, 92, 93, 94-95, Phnom Borei 146
97, 100, 109, 142, 143, 147-148, 165-166 Phum Snay 147
buffalo bracelet 41, 51, 55, 63, 75, 77-78, 86, Prey Khmeng 147
89, 90-91, 146, 148, 166-167 Prohear 39-40, 42, 45, 54-55, 59, 101, 109,
disc 42, 51, 53, 94, 95, 97, 109, 142, 143, 144, 144-147
147-148, 165, 167 Vat Komnou 146
drum 24, 38, 41-42, 45-46, 47, 54, 56, 59, 67, Cai Lang, Dong Nai province, southern Viet-
75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82-83, 84, 94, 100, 109, nam 69
147-150, 155-156, 158, 165-168, 170 Cai Van, Dong Nai province, southern Viet-
earring 75, 166 nam 69
finger ring 90, 91, 148 carnelian
helmet 13, 90 bead see beads, carnelian
jewelry 75 deposit see deposit
lance 26 bracelet 152
rattle 92 earring 160
situla 94 raw material 159
weapon 54 ceramic 44, 74
bronze smelting / casting 67-72, 83-84 anvil 66
mold 67-68, 69, 83 bead see beads, clay
buffalo see animal basin-shaped pot with wide-opened
buffalo bracelet see bronze / iron mouth 54, 74
Bung Bac, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, southern circular cord-marked pot 48, 54, 73
Vietnam 69 epaulette 13, 90, 92, 147
burial custom 139-147 goblet 46, 73-74, 86
cremation 74, 140, 147 high pedestalled bowl 26, 39, 43, 44, 74
‘ghost hole’ 74, 75, 78 high pot with funnel-shaped rim 39, 43, 44,
74
Index 191
large jars with a globular body and narrow Dian (Lake Dian), Yunnan province, southern
mouth 54 China 167
molds see bronze smelting / casting Dian culture 13, 149, 155, 167-168, 169, 170
round chipped sherd 67 Doc Chua, Binh Duong province, southern
shallow bowls with a low foot 46, 54, 73 Vietnam 62, 69
small bottle with a globular body 42-43, 44, Dongguolin deposit, Yunnan province, southern
54, 73 China 115
spindle whorl 51-52, 54, 61, 62, 63, 78, 94, Dong Hoa, Thanh Hoa province, northern Viet-
100 nam 81
storage jar 74 Dong Son, Thanh Hoa province, northern Viet-
ceramic production 66-67 nam 40, 94, 148
ceramic ware 73 Dong Son culture 13, 46, 75, 149, 167
burnished earthenware 43 Dong Xa, Hung Yen province, northern Viet-
fine orangeware 12, 41, 74, 75, 78 nam 46
Champa 157 Do Son, Hai Phong province, northern Viet-
chicken see animal nam 92
Cochinchina 157 drum see bronze drum
Coedès, George (1886-1969) 170 earring see bronze, gold and silver or glass
coins (Wuzhu) 153 electrum deposit see deposit
Con Dai, Thua Thien-Hue province, central elephant see animal
Vietnam 161, 163 epaulette see ceramic
Con Rang, Thua Thien-Hue province, central ethnic minorities
Vietnam 161, 163 Jarai (Giaraïe) 66
copper-tin deposit see deposit Kuy 66
crocodile see animal Sedang (Cédan) 66
Daping deposit, Yunnan province, southern Stieng (Stiên) 27, 57, 66
China 115 fish see animal
dating 145 Funan and Funan culture 13, 150-151, 156, 168,
see also Prohear, dating 170-171
Dau Giay, Dong Nai province, southern Viet- Gandhara, Pakistan 163
nam 71 Gaolong deposit, Guangxi province, southern
deposit China 115
agate 163 garnet bead see beads, garnet
carnelian 163 garnet deposit see deposit
copper 68, 156 Georgia 98, 158
electrum 113, 155, 166 Getang deposit, Guizhou province, southern
garnet 162 China 115
gold / silver 113-114, 115, 154-158, 166 Giao Chi 169
iron 65-66 Giong Ca Vo, Ho Chi Minh City area, southern
tin 68, 156 Vietnam 71, 121, 123, 152, 160, 163
192 Index
Giong Lon, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, southern Go Mun, Quang Nam province, central Viet-
Vietnam 13, 116, 152, 153, 154-155, 160, nam 89, 112
163, 170 Go O Chua, Long An province, southern Viet-
Giong Noi, Ben Tre province, southern Viet- nam 13, 39-40, 42-43, 44, 48-50, 59, 63, 64-
nam 71 65, 66, 67, 69, 70-71, 73, 75, 89, 107-109, 117,
Giong Phet, Ho Chi Minh City area, southern 125, 126, 140, 141, 144, 145, 146-147, 152,
Vietnam 71 162-163, 165
glass making 119-123 Go Thap, Dong Thap province, southern Viet-
local handicraft 123-124 nam 61, 65, 124, 140, 147, 151
substitute for fakes 123 Hang Gon, Dong Nai province, southern Viet-
glass object nam 71
bead see beads, glass Heger, Franz (1853-1931) 79
bracelet 118, 122 Hepu, Guangxi province, southern China 163
earring 54, 58, 59, 75, 118, 123-124 Hoa Diem, Khanh Hoa province, central Viet-
Go Cam, Quang Nam province, central Viet- nam 163
nam 124 horse and horseman 87, 168, 169
Go De, Long An province, southern Viet- immigration 40, 107, 139, 145, 165
nam 114, 116 imported object / product 59, 73, 75, 101, 142,
gold / silver object 78, 84, 85, 118, 127, 129, 139, 151, 156-159, 163, 165-166
141, 150-152, 155, 165 India 158-161, 163-164, 167-168, 170
beads see beads, gold Indonesia 84, 113, 157-158, 170
bracelet 51-52, 56, 75, 78, 84, 86, 152, 156 iron deposit see deposit
coin 152, 157 iron object 25, 54, 58, 78, 127, 130, 131, 139,
earcoil 152 142, 146, 153
earring 21, 78, 84, 85, 86, 101, 113, 146, arrowhead 109
152-155, 158, 166 bracelet 25, 51, 54, 64, 75, 76, 92, 130
finger ring 21, 49, 51-52, 75, 78, 84, 85, 87- buffalo bracelet 41, 63, 66, 89, 148
88, 94, 151-152, 156, 168 dagger 52, 64
foil 150, 152 ingot 65, 166
foil tube 86, 87-89, 92, 101 knife 64
hair ornament 78, 84, 85 slag 61, 63, 64
ingot 151 socketed axe 52, 64, 67, 130
leaf 152 sword 52, 76, 86, 95, 153
mask 13, 152, 153, 170-171 weapon 52, 75-76, 153
plaque 151, 152 iron ore 65-66
tube ring 153 iron smelting 65, 124
gold / silver analysis 109-111, 112, 113, 114- iron smithing 63-65, 71, 123-124
115, 157 iron smithing hearth 64-65
gold / silver deposit see deposit jade and nephrite 57, 123, 152, 160
goldsmith 85-86, 111, 150-151, 157-158 Janse, Olov R.T. (1895-1985) 40, 94
Index 193
Jaque, Christoval de (~1540-~1610) 157 Malleret, Louis (1901-1970) 92, 113-114, 150-
Jarai (Giaraïe) see ethnic miniorities 154, 158
Java 113, 153-154, 158, 163 Manila 157
Jinchang deposit, Yunnan province, southern Mouhot, Henri (1826-1861) 27-28, 57
China 115 My Nghia, Tien Giang province, southern Viet-
Jinfeng (Lannigou) deposit, Guizhou province, nam 71
southern China 115 Nanyue 167, 169
Jinsha, Sichuan province, China 155 nephrite see jade
Jinya deposit, Guangxi province, southern Noen U-Loke, Nakhon Ratchasima province in
China 115 northeastern Thailand 48-49, 52, 65, 66, 90,
Kele, Guizhou province, southern China 46-47, 152, 159, 162
144, 148, 156, 166-167 Non Muang Kao, Nakhon Ratchasima province
Khao Sam Kaeo, Chumphon province, Thai- in northeastern Thailand 159, 162
Malay Peninsula, Thailand 63, 122, 159 Oc Eo, An Giang province, southern Viet-
Khao Wong Prachan Valley, central Thai- nam 13, 16, 114, 122, 140, 150, 170-171
land 68 O Pie Can, Preah Vihear province, northern
Khlong Thom see Khuan Luk Pad Cambodia 68
Khuan Luk Pad, Krabi province, Thai-Malay Pakistan 158, 163
Peninsula, Thailand 122, 159 Persia 158
Koh Ta Meas, Siem Reap province, northwestern Phnom Borei, Takeo province, southern Cam-
Cambodia 46, 107, 125-126, 139-140, 145 bodia 61, 121, 145, 146-147
Krek 10.8 see Village 10.8, Kampong Cham prov- Phnom Deck, Preah Vihear province, northern
ince, southeastern Cambodia Cambodia 66
Kuy see ethnic miniorities Phu Chanh, Binh Duong province, southern
Lai Nghi, Quang Nam province, central Viet- Vietnam 81, 149, 169
nam 89, 94, 117, 119, 152-153, 154, 155, Phu Hoa, Dong Nai province, southern Viet-
160-161, 162 nam 71, 163
Laowangzhai deposit, Yunnan province, south- Phu Kham deposit, Xieng Khoang province,
ern China 115 Laos 114
Lien Lau, Bac Ninh province, north Viet- Phu Lon, Nong Khai province, northeastern
nam 83 Thailand 68
Lijiashan, Yunnan province, southern Phu Luu, Quang Binh province, central Viet-
China 155-156 nam 79
Liujiagou see Kele, Guizhou province, southern Phum Krasang Thmei, Banteay Meancheay
China province, northwestern Cambodia 126, 145,
Loc Ninh, Binh Phuoc province, southern Viet- 146, 166
nam 163 Phum Snay, Banteay Meanchey province, north-
looting 13-14, 19-21, 23-24, 25, 29-30, 33, 35, western Cambodia 13, 45, 51-52, 63, 68, 75,
38, 54, 116, 133 90, 91, 94, 107, 113, 121, 126, 139, 145, 146-
148, 166-167
194 Index
pig see animal burial 24 75, 76, 110, 112, 118, 119
Pires, Tomé (~1465– ~1524 / 1540) 156 burial 25 85, 112
Pre-Funan culture 49, 76, 159-160, 167 burial 26 61, 108, 112, 125
Prek Puoy, Kampong Cham province, south- burial 27 52, 61, 110, 112
eastern Cambodia 81, 83, 149-150 burial 28 61
Prey Khmeng, Siem Reap province, northwest- burial 29 -
ern Cambodia 45, 107, 126, 145, 146-147, burial 30 61, 75
166 burial 31 61, 75
Prohear, Prey Veng province, southeastern Cam- burial 32 125
bodia 23, 27, 28-34 burial 33 42, 48, 52, 59, 61, 68, 75-76, 85, 87,
burial, distribution map 32 88, 92, 93, 94-95, 99-101, 108, 109, 118-
burial 1 33 119, 123, 147
burial 2 42, 51, 54, 59, 79, 85, 89, 105, 108, burial 34 52, 61, 75-76, 112, 118-119
112 burial 35 61, 75-76, 112, 119, 123
burial 3 42, 46, 54, 59, 85, 86, 99-100, 110, burial 36 61, 75, 99-101
112, 114, 118, burial 37 33
burial 4 39, 41-42, 45-46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 55, burial 38 61, 75
59, 74, 75, 76, 77-78, 79, 80, 83-84, 85, burial 39 61, 75, 119
86, 87, 89, 90-91, 94, 99-100, 104, 109- burial 40 52, 56, 59, 61, 75-76, 86, 99, 118
110, 112, 114, 119, 125-126, 147 burial 41 59, 61
burial 5 39, 43, 125 burial 42 119
burial 6 33 burial 43 61, 112, 119
burial 7 39, 99, 101, 105 burial 44 41-42, 74-76, 105, 112
burial 8 99, 112, 119 burial 45 75, 112
burial 9 40, 75-76, 99, 125 burial 46 42, 59, 75-76, 85, 86, 88, 89, 99-
burial 10 42, 54, 59, 75, 79, 85, 87, 112 101, 118, 118, 153, 158
burial 11 51, 75-76, 119 burial 47 42, 43, 51-52, 53, 59, 61, 75, 94,
burial 12 40, 46, 52, 59, 73, 75, 86, 87, 110, 95, 96-97, 98, 99, 101, 109, 119, 142, 147-
112 148
burial 13 104, 125 burial 48 43, 75
burial 14 75, 85, 86, 119, 150 burial 49 39, 43, 48, 54, 59
burial 15 48, 54, 58, 59, 99, 104, 118 burial 50 51, 75, 85, 87
burial 16 40, 48, 99 burial 51 39, 59, 61
burial 17 33 burial 52 33
burial 18 75, 85, 87, 125 dating 39-41, 99-102, 145
burial 19 39, 48, 59, 99, 106, 105 demographical data 48-52, 59-60
burial 20 41, 42, 61, 75-76 excavation 32-36
burial 21 41, 42, 48, 59, 21 food remains 47-48
burial 22 41, 49, 75-76, 112 handicrafts 61-72
burial 23 41, 75, 119 jar burial 39, 43, 49, 59, 101, 124, 125
Index 195
jewelry 14, 45, 51-53, 54, 75 smithing hearth see iron smithing hearth
landscape 28 South Asia 120-121, 143, 158-160, 163
map 19, 27, 32 spindle whorl see ceramics
mortuary period 39-44 spinning and weaving see textile production
name of the village 30 Sri Lanka 159
settlement 61 Stieng (Stiên) see ethnic minorities
site 28-34 stone objects 22,
skeletal remains 45, 47-48, 102-105, 106, earring 75, 123
107, 108, 109, 124 phallic-shaped stone pestle 50, 51, 54, 165
weapon 51-52, 54, 75-76 sugar boiling 22
Rach Gia Bay, Kien Giang province, southern Sulawesi 153
Vietnam 171 Sumatra 163
Rach Nui, Long An province, southern Viet- Suoi Chon, Dong Nai province, southern Viet-
nam 71 nam 71
restoration work 35, 73, 127, 128, 129, 130-131, Taxila, Pakistan 86, 163
132, 136-137 Temu, first capital of Funan 13, 170
rhinoceros see animal textile production 51-52, 62-63,
rock crystal Tien Lanh, Quang Nam province, central Viet-
beads see beads, rock crystal nam 95
bracelet 152 tiger see animal
earring 160 Tillya Tepe, Afghanistan 86
Sa Huynh, Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam tortoise see animal
see Sa Huynh culture Toul Prasat Kro Houm, Svay Rieng province,
Sa Huynh culture 13, 44, 50, 71, 75, 95, 112, 124, southeastern Cambodia 22
139, 153, 159-160, 167, 169 Tra Dong, Thanh Hoa province, northern Viet-
salt making 13, 70-71 nam 83
Sampeou Loon deposit, Kampong Cham prov- Transbassac area 113, 150-153, 158
ince, southeastern Cambodia 113-114, 115 Troja, Türkei 84
Samrong Sen, Kampong Chhnang province, Trung sisters (~12-43 AD) 77, 169
central Cambodia 68 Truong Giang, Thanh Hoa province, northern
San Antonio, Gabriel Quiroga de (~1560- Vietnam 79
1608) 156 Ukraine 86
Sanxingdui, Sichuan province, China 155 Vat Komnou see Angkor Borei, Takeo province
Sedang (Cédan) see ethnic minorities Village 10.8, Kampong Cham province, south-
Shizhaishan, Yunnan province, southern eastern Cambodia 75, 95, 121, 140-141,
China 57, 167 142-143, 145, 146, 148-149, 152, 166-167
silk 155, 164 Vincent, Frank (1848-1916) 157
silk route by sea 16, 155 Vinh Phuc, Binh Dinh province, central Viet-
silk route by land 167, 170 nam 81
silver see gold
196 Index
Vung Tau and Vung Tau Bay, southern Viet- Yimencun near Bạoi city, Shaanxi province 57
nam 13, 139, 149, 155, 160, 166, 170 Yue 82, 170
wealth scale 56-59, 117-118 Zhao Rugua (1170-1228) 156
Yata deposit, Guizhou province, southern Zhou Daguan (~1270-1350) 45, 84, 89, 156-
China 115 157
Yelang culture 148, 167, 169-170 Zimudang deposit, Guizhou province, southern
Yen Bac, Ha Nam province, northern Viet- China 115
nam 46
197
198 Index
Index 199
200 Index
Index 201
202 Index
Index 203
204 Index
Index 205
206 Index
Index 207
208 Index
Index 209
210 Index
Index 211
212
Index 213
214 Index
Index 215
216 Index
Index 217
218 Index
Index 219
220 Index
Index 221
222 Index
Index 223
224 Index
Index 225
The Prohear Archaeological Team
Andreas Reinecke (Bonn) is affiliated with the Commission for Archaeology of Non-Euro-
pean Cultures (KAAK) of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Bonn, Germany. He
has studied prehistoric archaeology and Vietnamese language in Berlin. In the last decade,
he has focused on the Metal Age periods in Southeast Asia and managed excavations on
both sides of the southern Vietnamese-Cambodian border.
Vin Laychour (Phnom Penh) is General Director of Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of
Culture and Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He studied prehistoric archaeology at the
Faculty of Archaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts (Phnom Penh) and at the Eberhard
Karls University of Tübingen (Germany). Since 2003 he has taught archaeology at the Royal
University of Fine Arts. He is also a member of the Memot Centre staff and has carried out
excavations at numerous sites in southeast Cambodia.
Seng Sonetra (Phnom Penh) is conservator in the Metal Restoration Laboratory of the
Memot Centre for Archaeology. She studied archaeology at the Royal University of Fine
Arts, and was educated in metal restoration at the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum
(RGZM) in Mainz, Germany. She teaches metal conservation at the Faculty of Archaeology,
Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, and has worked on several excavations at sites
in southeast Cambodia.

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Andreas Reinecke • Vin Laychour • Seng Sonetra

The First Golden Age of Cambodia:

Andreas Reinecke • Vin Laychour • Seng Sonetra

Printed with funding provided by the German Foreign Office

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Printed and bound in Germany

Copyright © Andreas Reinecke

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

Designed and typeset by Müller-Scheeßel, Frankfurt a. M.

On the front cover:

Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany

Glass as an ideal substitute to imitate stone ornaments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

You have in your hands the history of a 2000-year-old population

was presented that provided a better understanding of the ancient

3 View of the Royal Palace area in Phnom

4 His Excellency Chuch Phoeurn, State Secre-

5 Cambodian-German delegation visiting

years have been partnerships between Cambodian archaeologists

7 The English version

Chapter 1: A thrilling prelude

8 The Iron Age

survey area lies only 60 km south of Pro-

19 The looted burial

22 A rich harvest but difficult to sell: This

ing in disguise: unlike at Bit Meas the archaeological site in Prohear

Chapter 2: Last chance for Prohear

Prohear, home of some hundred families, cannot be found on tour-

25 The way to he travelled on to Angkor. Mouhot was surrounded by forests that

Upon our arrival in Prohear in February 2008 the mood of the

34 Directly below the

to the southwest. This misalignment of the north-south axis is mini-

structed. Thus, we must wait to see whether more of these ‘ancient

Which other burials besides 4 and 44 could belong to phase IIb?

Chapter 4: More than just burials – insights into an

47 The south part of

southern Chinese province of Guizhou. We will come back to this

(300 BC-AD 400) also in northeastern Thailand, the result shows 53

dren. By this separate practice for children, contemporary sites in

parison, the ‘neighbors’ from Go O Chua had a very well-balanced

whorls as indicators for yarn production for making textiles (see

Interestingly, there are also graves that seem to be correlated with

51 A ‘buffalo brace-

different individuals in the cemetery were given to Mike Schweissing

on the contrary, in which the range of offerings available were gifts

the most resistant of organic materials. These suggest that parts of

Chapter 5: Settlement and handicrafts at Prohear

made from round-scratched potsherds (14), which are lighter and

Blacksmith in every village

Iron ingots from the north?

mention iron ore deposits in northern Cambodia, at Phnom Deck,

57 Socketed iron axe

meters of the approximately 20,000 square meters are excavated. The

can trace back the tradition of whole foundry-villages for genera-

Chapter 6: What the burial offerings tell us

another broken orangeware pot in grave 44, have a purpose other

76 Burials 9, 11, 15.

Chapter 7: Some highlights amongst the offerings

78 K.W. Taylor 1983,

is comprised of about 50 items including over a dozen ceramic ves-

ring-shape bent wires soldered together and decreasing in diameter

69 Pair of gold foil

98 Burials 4, 2x10, 12,

70 Gold foil tube

4 Water buffalo bracelet