Phum Snay

Out of the sample discovered at Phum Snay, 23.4% of the individuals showed signs of traumatic lesions, a number that is much higher than any other site in Southeast Asia.[7] Both BFT and SFT were present within the skeletal remains, but there was a much higher rate of healed lesions than perimortem lesions.[7] Some individuals had more than one lesion present upon the cranium. Within a sample of fifteen individuals, seventeen BFT lesions could be seen. These BFT lesions were rounded in shape, ranging in diameter from roughly 4 to 22 mm.[7] Estimations suggest that injuries acquired by the individuals at the site were much higher than the remains can represent because a majority of assaults probably caused soft-tissue injuries, which would not be preserved in the archaeological record.[7]

Within the Phum Snay site, two types of burials were found. These include bodies that were stretched out lying flat and pits where remains were simply in piles.[8] The burials contained a variety of grave goods, including ceramic vessels, bronze ornaments (bangles, rings, and bells), and a large quantity of animal bones.[9][10] The proportion of left forelimbs of hooved animals suggest a very particular sacrificial practice of animals within the burials. Researchers found that the manner of the burials and the goods contained within were closest in relation to the Óc Eo culture of the Mekong Delta.[8]

Another major find within Phum Snay was the high percentage of burials containing weapons. The graves contained swords, daggers, spearheads, and projectile points.[7] Due to the context of burials with high rates of traumatic lesions, the presence of these weapons indicates possible military formation, and certainly an increased level of violence than is seen in other sites within Southeast Asia. The weapons and tools found within the site were made of iron with bronze adornments.[8] This solidified the site's place within the Iron Age because iron weapons and tools had many advantages over bronze, such as the high abundance of iron within the Earth, which made the spread of iron very rapid.[11] Also present in the burials of a number of young adult males were ornamental shoulder decorations, which further support the idea of a violence-oriented society.[7] The lack of blunt objects within the burials is slightly puzzling due to the higher rate of BFT lesions than SFT lesions, but this could be explained if the individuals at Phum Snay wore helmets for protection.[7]

The health of the people living at Phum Snay was also determined from the burials. Rates of attrition, caries, and abscesses in the teeth of the human remains gave an idea of their dietary habits. The main result from the dentition was the presence of a social structure regarding male and female roles within the community. Rates of dental caries in females were higher than the males, which may be attributed to a sexual division of labor.[12] If the men are out hunting, they are receiving a higher level of protein in the food they are consuming, while the females may be eating more cariogenic foods if they are back tending the fields and surrounded by starches and carbohydrates.

Measurements were taken on the cranial and dental morphologies of the individuals found within Phum Snay to compare them with those of modern Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.[13] The morphological similarities were found from Q-mode correlation coefficients of cranial and dental metrics.[13] The findings indicated that the morphology of individuals at Phum Snay were significantly different than any of the other groups being compared. Overall, the modern groups have less robusticity than is found in the Phum Snay morphologies.[13][14]