Implications of phytolith and diatom assemblages in the cultural layers of prehistoric archaeological sites of Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand

Kanthilatha, Nelum; Boyd, William E; Parr, J. F.; Chang, Nigel

doi:10.1179/1749631415y.0000000026

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Elsewhere in this study area, there are micro-scale channels associated with cultivation, the modification and use of natural river channels, and the presence and use of river/floodplain shoreline structures. These features have a great potential to provide rich evidence of connection between the daily social life of the occupants and the channel features, throughout a long period of prehistory in this region [1,27]. These observations reinforce the findings of the sedimentological studies presented here, especially in drawing a close association between the natural sediments of the floodplain and the anthropogenic sediments of the archaeological layers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Given the nature of the sediments filling and in the area of the channel, it seems likely that the hard floors were constructed or plastered using channel sediments. Diatom analysis has previously resulted in a similar conclusion [1]. A geochemical analysis of the same sediments also clearly clustered (PCA analysis) the hard floor sediments with the presence of phosphorus, calcium, potassium and ferrous in higher concentrations than to the general spit sediments [16].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…Grain size analysis provides a potentially valuable approach of understanding the process of transportation of channel sediments from the surrounding floodplain to the site, and their subsequent reworking by the prehistoric occupants of the sites. The close similarities between the sediment characteristics of what are understood to be hard floors and the channel sediments closely associated with the sites would suggest, for example, the plastering of hard floors by using channel clays [1]. Such results are consistent with the results of fatty acids, multi-elements, phytolith and diatom analyses of the site [1,2].…”

Section: Sediment History Of the Sitesupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The close similarities between the sediment characteristics of what are understood to be hard floors and the channel sediments closely associated with the sites would suggest, for example, the plastering of hard floors by using channel clays [1]. Such results are consistent with the results of fatty acids, multi-elements, phytolith and diatom analyses of the site [1,2]. Analysis of this nature has great potential to provide a rich evidence of connection to the daily social life of man throughout a long period of prehistory in this region.…”

Section: Sediment History Of the Sitementioning

confidence: 96%

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Sedimentary Landscape of Mun Valley Prehistoric Site: Construction History of Moated Site of Ban Non Wat, Northeast Thailand

2020

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This research examines the sedimentological evidence of human occupation on different cultural layers at the prehistoric archaeological sites in northeast Thailand. This study focuses on the sedimentological characters of stratigraphic layers identified at the prehistoric occupation sites of Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet, to demonstrate the capacity of such analyses to elucidate the modification of sediments by past anthropogenic activity, and eventually to contribute to an enhanced understanding of the behaviour of ancient people. The primary intention of this paper is, therefore, to point out potential uses of particle analysis in identifying human–landscape interventions, testing whether meaningful differentiation is possible, and if not, whether this may nevertheless be used to understand the sedimentological relationships between different features. The study finds that although there is relatively little differentiation between sediments across the archaeological site, some insight is possible in identifying relationships between the natural sediments of the floodplain, the channels associated with the archaeological sites, and the archaeological sediments themselves. It is, for example, now possible to raise new questions regarding the construction history of the sites, the history of human behaviour at these sites, socio-spatial relationships between paleo-social activity and natural resources, and fine-scale landscape associations between sites.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Sediment History Of the Sitesupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Sediment History Of the Sitementioning

confidence: 96%

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Sedimentary Landscape of Mun Valley Prehistoric Site: Construction History of Moated Site of Ban Non Wat, Northeast Thailand

2020

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“…Abundant phytoliths from monocotyledonous taxa – grasses and sedges – are identified as economically useful taxa in this context. The significant occurrence of freshwater and brackish–marine diatom species throughout is not surprising in habitation deposits (Hunt et al ., ) and is consistent with a number of human activities in wetlands and the carrying of material encrusted with diatoms into the rock‐shelter (Kanthilatha et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Earliest Musa banana from the late Quaternary sequence at Fahien Rock Shelter in Sri Lanka

Premathilake

Hunt

2018

J Quaternary Science

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The domestication and time of arrival of bananas in South Asia and Africa are unresolved issues. We provide banana seed and leaf phytolith evidence from the archaeological sequence at Fahien Rock Shelter, south-west Sri Lanka, to help understand the geographical configuration of hybridization, dispersal, cultural association and chronology of banana domestication. Phytolith evidence indicates that Musa accuminata subspecies and M. balbisiana existed in the south-western lowland rainforest of Sri Lanka from 44952-47854 to 3845-3985 cal a BP. Rock Shelter occupants exploited those taxa for starchy food. Edible diploid bananas may have been introduced from Indonesia or Papua New Guinea before 5994-6194 cal a BP. From this time onwards, phytoliths morphologically identical to those from triploid banana cultivars appeared in the lowland rainforest of Sri Lanka. This precocity appears unique to Sri Lanka. Dispersal of these triploids to the east coast of Africa may have followed maritime trade networks in the Indian Ocean from the first half of the sixth millennium BP. Northward dispersal, e.g. to urban Harappan sites, occurred in the middle of the fifth millennium BP. This discovery shows the interconnection of prehistoric cultures and their engagement with the management of starchy staples in the lowland rainforests of Sri Lanka.

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Building from the Ground Up: The Archaeology of Residential Spaces and Communities in Southeast Asia

Carter

2022

J Archaeol Res

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Despite the ethnographic importance of the Southeast Asian house and household, an explicitly Southeast Asian "household archaeology" is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, archaeologists in Southeast Asia have undertaken excavations within habitation areas and residential spaces, identifying domestic debris, the partial remains of house structures, and activity areas. As a result, archaeologists of Southeast Asia have addressed many topics of relevance to those who use a household archaeology approach, including the identification and description of houses and household activities; the domestic economy; domestic ritual; diversity and variability both within houses as related to questions of identity, specifically gender and age, and between houses, especially as related to status; and identification of supra-household communities. In this review, I consider how archaeologists have addressed these themes using examples from a diverse set of geographic locations and time periods in mainland and island Southeast Asia. I conclude with suggestions for future research directions to continue building an archaeology of residential spaces and communities in Southeast Asia.

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Implications of phytolith and diatom assemblages in the cultural layers of prehistoric archaeological sites of Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand

Cited by 6 publications

References 53 publications

Sedimentary Landscape of Mun Valley Prehistoric Site: Construction History of Moated Site of Ban Non Wat, Northeast Thailand

Sedimentary Landscape of Mun Valley Prehistoric Site: Construction History of Moated Site of Ban Non Wat, Northeast Thailand

Earliest Musa banana from the late Quaternary sequence at Fahien Rock Shelter in Sri Lanka

Building from the Ground Up: The Archaeology of Residential Spaces and Communities in Southeast Asia

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