ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Newton, Jennifer Sarah (2014) Health, diet and migration prior to the establishment of the pre-Angkorian civilisation of Southeast Asia. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/34721/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/34721/ Health, diet and migration prior to the establishment of the Pre-Angkorian civilisation of Southeast Asia Thesis submitted by Jennifer Sarah Newton MSc Forensic and Biological Anthropology, UK January 2014 For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Medicine and Dentistry James Cook University Statement of Access I, the undersigned, the author of this thesis, understand that James Cook University will make this thesis available for use within the University Library and allow access to users in other approved libraries. January 17, 2014. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Jennifer Newton _____________________________ Name ii Statement on Sources Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. January 17, 2014. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Jennifer Newton _____________________________ Name Note: Every reasonable effort has been made to gain permission and acknowledge the owners of copyright material. I would be pleased to hear from any copyright owner who has been omitted or incorrectly acknowledged. iii Electronic Copy I, the undersigned, author of this work, declare that the electronic copy of this thesis provided to James Cook University Library is an accurate copy of the print thesis submitted, within the limits of technology available. January 17, 2014. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Jennifer Newton _____________________________ Name iv Statement on the Contribution of Others Nature of Assistance Contribution Supervision Names,Dr Kate TitlesDomett, and Dr Affiliations Nigel Chang, of Co A/Prof.-Contributors Sean Ulm Dr Research Collaboration Dr Dougald O’Reilly, Dr Louise Shewan, Charlotte King, Dr Christopher Wurster Fees School of Medicine and Dentistry Fee Waiver 2011 – 2012 Graduate Research School Fee Waiver 2013 – 2014 Stipend School of Medicine and Dentistry Stipend 2013 - 2014 Financial support James Cook University School of Medicine and Dentistry grants and support funds Dr Domett’s research funding Thesis Formatting & Editing Kathy Fowler v Declaration on Ethics The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted within the guidelines for research ethics outlined in the National Statement on Ethics Conduct in Research Involving Humans (2007), the Joint NHMRC/AVCC Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2007), and the James Cook University Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2009). The proposed research methodology received clearance from the James Cook University Human Research Ethics Committee. Warning This thesis contains images of human remains which may be offensive to some readers. January 17, 2014. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Jennifer Newton _____________________________ Name vi Acknowledgements So many people have given their support throughout my journey and for this I would like to acknowledge them below. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor Kate Domett. I am not sure if words can express the amount of gratitude I have for everything you have done for me throughout the years. Thank you for initially allowing me to assist you in 2009 at Ban Non Wat, which eventually resulted in this research project. Thank you for the numerous opportunities to further my future career in academia, whether it was teaching, collaborative projects, or travelling to Southeast Asia. Throughout the entire process you were there for me offering your guidance, time and support and for this I am truly grateful. I also want to thank the additional members of my supervisory committee, Nigel Chang and Sean Ulm. Thank you to Nigel for the numerous opportunities to assist with the excavations at Ban Non Wat and your valuable archaeological input throughout the entire research process. Thank you to Sean for your contributions to the final drafts of the thesis and constant encouragement through that final push. Thanks must also go to James Cook University for their financial support, in particular the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Additional thanks go to the staff of the School, including the Office of the Dean and especially the research coordinator Emma Anderson for her tireless efforts. This research would not have been possible without the skeletal collection from the Southeast Asian communities of Ban Non Wat, Phum Snay and Phum Sophy. Thank you to the current and past villagers of these sites, the Thai Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, Earthwatch and Australia Research Council who all made this research possible. I also want to thank Dougald O’Reilly and Louise Shewan for allowing me to assist with archaeological projects in Cambodia. Thank you to my amazing friends around the world who were there to have a chat, a drink, or to travel, to help take my mind off the trials and tribulations of a PhD. Thank you for the phone calls, emails and snail mail. I also appreciate everyone I met have throughout the years on my incredible journey. Each one of you have impacted my life in some way and shaped me into the person I am today. Thanks to Melanie and Tanya for editing portions of the thesis. Extra special thanks to all of vii my friends who have supported me throughout the entire process. It was always nice knowing that you were all just a phone (or Skype) call away. No matter where I was in the world I was able to keep in touch, which has made all the difference for me. I appreciate all of you for continuing our friendships - even though I was constantly flying from country to country over the last several years! It always helped knowing that the solid friendships I made would always be there waiting for me upon my return. And I know these friendships will last a lifetime. And of course, thank you to my family for the emotional and financial support throughout all of my years of education. Thanks to my mom, dad, brothers (Ryan and Kyle) and poppa. I want to especially thank my dad for supporting his ‘little butterfly’ and her travels around the world to further her education. Thank you for expressing an interest in my studies by constantly asking what I am up to, or asking me to email updates and looking through my textbooks asking ‘what happened to that little boy?’ You have always been there for me for which I have and always will appreciate that. I could not have done this without you. viii Abstract This project examines the health, diet and migratory patterns of prehistoric people of Southeast Asia prior to the establishment of the Angkorian Empire in the early 9th century during the state development known as Funan and Chenla. Until now, evidence suggests Southeast Asia did not follow the trend towards declining health experienced by the rest of the world during the rise of complex civilizations. The research sample included human skeletal remains from three prehistoric Southeast Asian sites. The remains selected from Ban Non Wat in northeastern Thailand spans the Neolithic to early Iron Age (~2500 – 500 BC) and includes new samples as well as previously published work. Also included is new data from two late Iron Age sites in northwestern Cambodia, Phum Snay (~500 BC – 500AD), and Phum Sophy (~AD 100 – 600). Previously published bioarchaeological work from other prehistoric sites encompassing the Neolithic to late Iron Age is used to identify general trends for Southeast Asia. This project hypothesized that the Neolithic to early Iron Age’s stable environment and minimal sociocultural changes would not have negatively impacted the health of communities through these time periods. In contrast, the environmental and social changes throughout the Iron Age would impact diet and migratory patterns, causing a general decline of health into the late Iron Age. Health was examined at all sites through the analyses of childhood stressors including cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia, and stature, along with adult dental health. Through carbon isotope (13C) analysis of the dental enamel this study was able to identify childhood diet at Ban Non Wat. Unfortunately, isotope analyses were not available for Phum Snay and Phum Sophy, therefore only dental health was used to identify aspects of diet at these sites. Migration was studied using strontium isotopes from dental enamel for Ban Non Wat. Phum Snay and Phum Sophy migratory patterns were determined from biological markers, such as dental modification. Through the examination of these three lines of evidence, the data for each site was examined independently to explain health, diet and migration, then combined with previously published work to identify general trends through Southeast Asian prehistory. The evidence from the examination of health suggests the people of Ban Non Wat were generally healthy. The results across Southeast Asia demonstrate improvement of health into the early Iron Age, supporting previously published work. However, when compared to the broader context of the Iron Age in prehistoric Southeast Asia, both Phum Snay and Phum Sophy suggest a trend of declining dental health during the late Iron Age. In particular, it appears female health may have ix been more negatively impacted throughout the Iron Age, evident from increased stress and poorer dental health.