| Abstract: |
Ban Non Wat is one of many moated sites in the Mun Valley of Northeast Thailand. It lies within the study area of a research project designed to trace the course of prehistoric cultural complexity that led to the transition, in the early centuries AD, to early states. Excavations over the past three seasons have revealed a prehistoric sequence that began in the Neolithic, and developed through several phases of the Bronze Age. The last prehistoric occupation took place during the Iron Age. Already during the Neolithic occupation, mortuary remains reveal a sophisticated mortuary tradition that incorporated the placement of fine decorated ceramic vessels, and imported marine shell jewellery, with the dead. During the Bronze Age, some graves were so large, and so richly endowed with grave goods, that some form of social hierarchy is envisaged. This contrasts with the relatively egalitarian nature of other Bronze Age burial assemblages and calls for a fundamental re-assessment of this vital period of prehistory in Southeast Asia.
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