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Bioarchaeological evidence for conflict in Iron Age north-west Cambodia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

K.M. Domett ,
D.J.W. O'Reilly  and
H.R. Buckley
K.M. Domett
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Pathology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia (Email: [email protected])
D.J.W. O'Reilly
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, SOPHI, University of Sydney, Camperdown 2006, NSW, Australia
H.R. Buckley
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Examination of skeletal material from graves at Phum Snay in north-west Cambodia revealed an exceptionally high number of injuries, especially to the head, likely to have been caused by interpersonal violence. The graves also contain a quantity of swords and other offensive weapons used in conflict. The authors propose a context for these warriors in the struggle between emergent polities in the Iron Age before the domination of Angkor.

Keywords

CambodiaAngkorPhum SnayIron Ageconflictcemeteries
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 328 , June 2011 , pp. 441 - 458
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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