Prehistoric Circular Earthworks of Cambodia 9781841714196, 9781407324272

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF MAPS
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2. REGIONAL PREHISTORY AND CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS
CHAPTER 3. THE MODERN ENVIRONMENT OF THE CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS
CHAPTER 4. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER 5. SITE ARCHITECTURAL STUDY
CHAPTER 6. EARTHWORK CHRONOLOGY
CHAPTER 7. EARTHWORK LITHIC ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 8. EARTHWORK CERAMICS
CHAPTER 9. THE SETTLEMENT DISTRIBUTION OF CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS
CHAPTER 10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
APPENDIX 1. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SOIL ANALYSIS RESULTS
APPENDIX II. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK PLANVIEW MAPS AND SITE PHOTOGRAPHS
APPENDIX III. RIM SHERD ATTRIBUTES AND FREQUENCY
APPENDIX IV. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK LITHIC CLASSIFICATION
APPENDIX V. LITHIC FREQUENCY TABLES
APPENDIX VI. LITHIC TOOL ILLUSTRATIONS
APPENDIX VII. CERAMIC FREQUENCIES
APPENDIX VIII. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK CERAMIC CLASSIFICATION
APPENDIX IX. DECORATED, SLIPPED, AND DECORATIVE DESIGN ATTRIBUTES VERSUS SAMPLED VESSEL PART
APPENDIX X. RIM ILLUSTRATIONS
REFERENCES

Citation preview

BAR S1041 2002  DEGA  PREHISTORIC CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS OF CAMBODIA

Prehistoric Circular Earthworks of Cambodia Michael F. Dega

BAR International Series 1041 B A R

2002

Prehistoric Circular Earthworks of Cambodia

Michael F. Dega

BAR International Series 1041 2002

Published in 2016 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR International Series 1041 Prehistoric Circular Earthworks of Cambodia

© M F Dega and the Publisher 2002 Typesetting and layout: Darko Jerko The author's moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.

ISBN 9781841714196 paperback ISBN 9781407324272 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841714196 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Archaeopress in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd/ Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 2002. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2016.

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To Joyce Lin Lim Dega and

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This manuscript is the complete version of my doctoral dissertation submitted in 200 l to the University of Hawai 'i in Honolulu. Outlined goals of these investigations and methods utilized in this study, extensively enumerated throughout the dissertation, have remained unaltered in this document so the reader can trace the logic of the presented arguments and the methods by which data were acquired to address the questions. This work represents the most up-to-date information on the circular sites as part of the Royal University of Fine Arts-University ofHawai 'i project. The project, after several seasons of field and laboratory research, continues and will be the focus of long-term study. As such, and is the nature of archaeology, several of the statements and hypotheses proposed in this manuscript await additional verification and/or modification. There are many people who have contributed greatly to this research project. Foremost among them are the many villagers ofKrek, Chi Peang, Chong, Peam, and Memot. This research would not have been possible without the aid of colleagues from the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh: Chan Chamroeun, Kou Vet, Tea Van, Bong Sovath, Lath Poch, Un Moninita, Pheng Samoeun, and students of the 1999 graduating class. This research was conducted with much guidance from Chuch Phoeum, and through support from Hor Lat, Pich Keo, and Khun Samen. The Honorable Nouth Narang and Princess Bopha Devi have stewarded all University ofHawai'i research in Cambodia since 1995. Tuey Kune of the Ministry of Culture has worked tirelessly on sustaining this research in Kampong Cham from 1995. Field work for this research was conducted coterminously with a project run by the late Dr. Yasushi Kojo. Dr. Kojo will be remembered in the positive influence he had upon so many students, myself included. Other professors I had the good fortune to work with in Cambodia included Drs. Gerd and Barbara Albrecht and Dr. Miriam Haidle. I owe all three very much for their contributions to this research. They have also greatly advanced the development of Cambodian archaeology. The opportunity to conduct archaeological research in Cambodia was initiated through an anthropology exchange program led by Drs. Bion Griffin and Judy Ledgerwood .. During my early forays in Cambodia, I collectively acknowledge Bion Griffin, Judy Ledgerwood, Nancy Dowling, Jeff Fox, Carol Mortland, and Miriam Stark. Their support from initial work in the country to the completion of this phase of research has been tremendous. My gratitude to the College of Arts and Sciences at the University ofHawai'i, the Henry Luce Foundation, and SCS Archaeology for supporting my fieldwork in Cambodia. I am profoundly indebted to my dissertation committee, Drs. P. Bion Griffin, Miriam Stark, J. Stephan Athens, David Welch, Michael Graves, and Michael Aung-Thwin, one informal member, Dr. Bertell Davis, and a former professor, Dr. Kathleen Morrison, for their exceptional contributions to this research and to my development in the discipline. In Hawaii and elsewhere numerous people have aided in advancing this research. I thank Dr. Robert Spear, David Chaffee, SCS employees, Mr. Joseph Kennedy, Dr. D. Kyle Latinis, and the Lim family for their support. Ms. Amy Buffum and Joyce Dega digitized and produced most of the figures and maps in this manuscript.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... i LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................

vi

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................

vii

LIST OF MAPS .................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................

1

Background to Research: Southeast Asia and Archaeological Paradigms ..................... 5 Problem Domains and Hypotheses .................................................................................

6

Data Treatment ................................................................................................................

7

Data Acquisition ...............................................................................................................

7

Sampling ..........................................................................................................................

7

Site Reconnaissance and Settlement Location ............................................................... 7 Surface Survey and Site Recording ................................................................................. Excavations ......................................................................................................................

8 9

Laboratory Work.............................................................................................................

10

Discussion and Summary ..............................................................................................

10

Manuscript Organization ................................................................................................

10

Chapter 2. REGIONAL PREHISTORY AND CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS ........................... 11 Prehistoric Studies in Southeast Asia ............................................................................

13

Studies of Circular Sites In Mainland Southeast Asia .................................................... 14 Thailand ....................................................................................................................

14

Vietnam .....................................................................................................................

15

Cambodia .................................................................................................................

16

The Development of the Present Circular Earthwork Investigations ............................. 16 Previous Interpretations of Circular Earthworks in CambodiaNietnam ......................... 17 Chapter 3. THE MODERN ENVIRONMENT OF THE CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS ........... 20 The Climate and Environment of Cambodia .................................................................. 20 Geomorphology ..............................................................................................................

21

Soils ................................................................................................................................

21

Labansiek Soil ..........................................................................................................

21

Kompong Siem Soil ..................................................................................................

22

Relationship Between Subsistence Ecosystem and Soil Type ...................................... 22 Rice ..........................................................................................................................

22

Diversified Subsistence ............................................................................................

23

iii

Modern Subsistence Adaptations .................................................................................. 23 Modern Circular Sites in Cambodia ............................................................................... 24 Subsistence ..............................................................................................................

24

Village Morphology ................................................................................................... 25 Fortified Villages ....................................................................................................... 26 Discussion ......................................................................................................................

26

Chapter 4. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK ENVIRONMENT ..................................................... 27 Geology of the of Earthwork Region .............................................................................. 27 The Earthwork Geological Setting and Archaeological Implications ............................. 28 Lithics .......................................................................................................................

28

Ceramics ..................................................................................................................

28

Late rite ......................................................................................................................

28

Archaeological Description of Earthwork Soils .............................................................. 29 Adaptation and Earthwork Soil Regimes ....................................................................... 31 Earthwork Soil Origins and Characteristics .................................................................... 31 Occupation and Place .................................................................................................... 32 Soil Summary ................................................................................................................. 32 Flora and Fauna ............................................................................................................. 32 Flora .........................................................................................................................

32

Fauna .......................................................................................................................

33

Site Formation Processes .............................................................................................. 33 Natural Formation Processes ................................................................................... 33 Cultural Formation Processes .................................................................................. 34 Elevation, Topography, and Hydrology ................................................................................ 36 Discussion ............................................................................................................................

36

Chapter 5. SITE ARCHITECTURAL STUDY ....................................................................... 38 The Circular Earthworks ................................................................................................. 38 Outer Wall Area .............................................................................................................. 38 Outer Wall Shape and Composition ............................................................................... 40 The Contemporaneity of Outer Wall with Site Occupation ............................................. 40 Outer Wall Measurements and Comparisons with Site Features .................................. 40 Outer Wall Length and Enclosed Space ........................................................................ 41 Interior Depression ......................................................................................................... 42 Interior Platform .............................................................................................................. 42 Site Passageways .......................................................................................................... 43 Discussion ......................................................................................................................

44

Chapter 6. EARTHWORK CHRONOLOGY ......................................................................... 48 Dating Southeast Asian Prehistory ................................................................................ 48 Previous Interpretations of Circular Earthwork Age ....................................................... 48 Radiocarbon Dating Methodology .................................................................................. 49 Datable Materials ...................................................................................................... 49 Dating Earthwork Ceramics ...................................................................................... 49 Earthwork Radiocarbon Dates ....................................................................................... 50 Preliminary Patterns ................................................................................................. 50 Cross-Dating: Occurrence Seriation .............................................................................. 50 Surface Treatment and Rim Orientation ........................................................................ 51 The Vertical Distribution of Ceramic Decoration Attributes ............................................ 54 Rim Seriation .................................................................................................................. 55 Occupation Duration and Artifact Distribution ................................................................ 56 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... iv

59

Chapter 7. EARTHWORK LITHIC ANALYSIS ..................................................................... 62 Lithic Studies in Mainland Southeast Asia: General Overview ...................................... 62 Cambodian Lithic Studies .............................................................................................. 63 Circular Earthwork Lithic Studies ................................................................................... 63 Lithic Classification ......................................................................................................... 64 Descriptive Analysis of Earthwork Lithics ...................................................................... 64 Raw Materials ........................................................................................................... 64 Manufacturing ........................................................................................................... 66 Description of Earthwork Tool Classes .......................................................................... 66 Adzes and Chisels .................................................................................................... 66 Flakes .......................................................................................................................

70

Preforms, Cores, and Grinding or Polishing Stones ................................................ 71 Scrapers/Abraders, Blades, and Points ................................................................... 71 Ornamental Objects .................................................................................................. 72 Intra-Site Lithic Distribution Patterns .............................................................................. 73 Inter-Site Lithic Distribution Patterns .............................................................................. 74 Inter-Site Lithic Tool Classes: Diversity and Chronology ............................................... 76 Discussion ......................................................................................................................

76

Chapter 8. EARTHWORK CERAMICS ................................................................................ 79 Cambodian Studies ........................................................................................................ 79 Ceramic Studies of Earthwork Assemblages ................................................................. 80 Methods for Ceramic Assemblage Analysis .................................................................. 80 Ceramic Classification .................................................................................................... 80 Descriptive Analysis of Earthwork Ceramic Assemblage .............................................. 81 Vessel Parts .............................................................................................................. 81 Decorated Wares ...................................................................................................... 81 Vessel Part Size and Characterizations ................................................................... 82 Rim Characterization ................................................................................................ 83 Tempering Agents ..................................................................................................... 85 Coloration .................................................................................................................

86

Intra-Site Ceramic Distributions ..................................................................................... 87 Inter-Site Ceramic Distribution Comparisons ................................................................. 89 Discussion ......................................................................................................................

90

Chapter 9. THE SETTLEMENT DISTRIBUTION OF CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS ............. 93 Identified Circular Earthworks ........................................................................................ 93 General Location and Distribution of Earthwork Sites ................................................... 93 Elevation and Landform ................................................................................................. 95 Hydrological Pattern ....................................................................................................... 96 Soil Association .............................................................................................................. 97 Local Resources and Subsistence Practices ................................................................. 97 Discussion ......................................................................................................................

97

Chapter 10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................... 101 Prehistoric Group Adaptation ....................................................................................... 102 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 103 Future Research .......................................................................................................... 103 Appendix I. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SOIL ANALYSIS RES ULTS ............................. 104 Appendix II. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK PLANVIEW MAPS AND SITE PHOTOGRAPHS .......................................................................... 110 Appendix Ill. RIM SHERD ATTRIBUTES AND FREQUENCY ............................................ 115 Appendix IV. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK LITHIC CLASSIFICATION ................................. 118 V

Appendix V. LITHIC FREQUENCY TABLES ......................................................................

120

Appendix VI. LITHIC TOOL ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................... 124 Appendix VII. CERAMIC FREQUENCIES .........................................................................

130

Appendix VIII. CIRCULAR EARTHWORK CERAMIC CLASSIFICATION ......................... 131 Appendix IX. DECORATED, SLIPPED, AND DECORATIVE DESIGN ATTRIBUTES VERSUS SAMPLED VESSEL PART ........................................................... 134 AppendixX. RIM ILLUSTRATIONS ...................................................................................

135

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................

140

LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Tested Earthwork Sites (1998, 1999; see Map 3) .................................................... 9 Table 2. Studies of Prehistoric Sites in Cambodia ............................................................... 12 Table 3. Site Size and Total Area (Sample Sites Listed from East to West) ........................ 40 Table 4. Comparative Outer Wall Height (in meters ............................................................ 41 Table 5. Outer Wall Lengths and Enclosed Space .............................................................. 42 Table 6. Site Platform Diameter and Percentage of Total Site Area (only systematically mapped sites) .......................................................................................................

42

Table 7. Platform Morphology of Cambodian Earthworks ................................................... 43 Table 8. Site, Passageway Orientation, Physiographic Orientation, Entry Morphology ..................................................................................................

44

Table 9. Previous Earthwork Dates ......................................................................................

49

Table 10. Earthwork Radiocarbon Dates ............................................................................. 50 Table 11. Occurrence Seriation of Decorated Ceramics ...................................................... 52 Table 12. Percentages of Decorated Sherd Attributes (Frequency Seriation) ..................... 52 Table 13. Decorated Sherds versus Depth: Banteay Meas and Chi Peang ........................ 53 Table 14. Decorated Sherd Attributes by Depth .................................................................. 54 Table 15. Rim Trait Occurrences: All Sites .......................................................................... 55 Table 16. Rim Characterizations by Depth at Chi Peang .................................................... 56 Table 17. Site Assemblage Counts by Stratigraphic Depth ................................................. 57 Table 18. Overall Assemblage Counts by Stratigraphic Depth (Five Excavated Sites) ..........................................................................................

59

Table 19. Earthwork Lithic Assemblage: Tool Type versus Parent Material ........................ 65 Table 20. Average and Standard Deviation of Adzes Length, Width, and Thickness ......................................................................................................

68

Table 21. Average and Standard Deviation of Chisels Length, Width, and Thickness ......................................................................................................

68

Table 22. Adzes Cross-Section, Plan of Working Edge, and Parent Derivative .................. 68 Table 23. Chisel Cross-Section, Plan of Working Edge, and Parent Derivative .................. 69 Table 24. Adzes and Chisels Tool Function ......................................................................... 69 Table 25. Adzes and Chisels: Major Types of Fragment and Use-Wear Damage .............. 69 Table 26. Flake Shapes .......................................................................................................

71

Table 27. Average and Standard Deviation of Flakes Length, Width, Thickness, and Weight .........................................................................................

71

Table 28. Horizontal Distribution of Lithics at Krek #14 ....................................................... 73 Table 29. Vertical Distribution of Lithics at Krek #14 ........................................................... 73 Table 30. Horizontal Distribution of Lithics at Chi Peang ..................................................... 74 Table 31. Vertical Distribution of Lithics at Chi Peang ......................................................... 75 Table 32. Lithic Database versus Stratigraphic Level .......................................................... 75 Table 33. Site Occupation Duration and Diversity of Lithic Tool Classes ............................ 76 Table 34. Lithic Tool Distribution and Diversity over Time ................................................... 77 Table 35. Ceramic Vessel Parts in Total Sampled Assemblage .......................................... 81 \/i

Table 36. Absolute Count of Plain versus Decorative Sherds by Excavated Site ............... 81 Table 37. Slipped Vessel Parts ............................................................................................

82

Table 38. Measurements Per Vessel Part (sampled assemblage) ...................................... 83 Table 39. Body She rd Averages ..........................................................................................

83

Table 40. Body Thickness ....................................................................................................

83

Table 41. Rim Diameter .......................................................................................................

85

Table 42. Tempering Agent Percentages by Site (100% per site) ....................................... 86 Table 43. She rd Coloration Percentages by Site .................................................................

87

Table 44. Horizontal Distribution of Ceramics at Krek #14 ..................................................

87

Table 45. Vertical Distribution of Ceramics at Krek #14 ......................................................

88

Table 46. Horizontal Distribution of Ceramics at Chi Peang ................................................

88

Table 47. Vertical Distribution of Ceramics at Chi Peang ....................................................

89

Table 48. Ceramic Database versus Stratigraphic Level .....................................................

89

Table 49. Circular Earthworks In Eastern Cambodia, Kampong Cham Province, Krek and Me mot Districts .....................................................................

94

Table 50. Circular Earthworks in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (from Mr. Nguyen Trung Do 1999-2000 and Malleret 1959) ................................. 95 Table 51. Circular Earthworks and Distances to Perennial Water Sources ......................... 96

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Photograph of B.P. Groslier and Excavation Units at Memot Site (Banteay Meas) (Groslier 1966a:Plate 10) .............................................................

2

Figure 2: Representative Planview Map of Circular Earthwork (Chi Peang Site) .................. 3 Figure 3: Timeline of Cambodian Prehistory as defined by Mourer (1994:Table 4) ............ 13 Figure 4: Planview of Circular Village (Brou Village) in Ratanakiri Province, Northeastern Cambodia (Kojo 1999) ....................................................................

25

Figure 5: Schematic Geomorphology of Lowlands, Terraces, and Uplands in Cambodia .....................................................................................

30

Figure 6: Photograph of Stratigraphic Profile, Excavation Unit 3, Chi Peang ..................... 30 Figure 7: Photographic Overview of Chi Peang, Excavation Unit 9 .................................... 31 Figure 8: Photograph of rounded Outer Wall and Interior Depression, Phoum Trameng ... 34 Figure 9: Planview Map of Krek #14 Earthwork ...................................................................

39

Figure 10: Photograph of Krek #14 Outer Wall (left), Interior Depression (center), and Platform (right) .............................................................................................

39

Figure 11: Illustration of Earthwork Cross-Section Comparisons ........................................ 41 Figure 12: Earthwork Radiocarbon Dates ............................................................................

51

Figure 13: Decorative Ceramic Attributes ............................................................................

52

Figure 14: Decorative Ceramic Attribute Frequency Seriation ............................................

53

Figure 15: Photograph of Lithic Artifacts from B.P. Groslier Collection in National Museum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia ...................................................

64

Figure 16: Shouldered Adzes from Chi Peang, Phoum Chong, and Phoum Ruung ........... 67 Figure 17: Stone Chisels from Krek#13, Chi Peang, Phoum Trameng, and Phoum Ruung ..............................................................................................

67

Figure 18: Illustration of Flake Shapes ................................................................................

71

Figure 19: Whetstone Fragments from Chi Peang and Phoum Ruung ............................... 72 Figure 20: Blades and Points from Krek#14, Chi Peang, and Banteay Meas ..................... 72 Figure 21: Stone Bangle Fragments from Chi Peang and Phoum Chong .......................... 73 Figure 22: Decorative Ceramic Samples from Banteay Meas ............................................. 82 Figure 23: Graph Depicting Total Ceramic Rim Percentage ...............................................

84

Figure 24: Graph Depicting Ceramic Lip Shape Frequency ................................................

84

Figure 25: Graph Depicting Total Rim Thickness ................................................................

84

vii

Figure 26: Graph Depicting Total Rim Thickness Between 0.00-0.80 cm ........................... 84 Figure 27: Graph Depicting Aperture Diameter Divisions ...................................................

85

Figure 28: Graph Depicting Aperture Diameter divisions from 0-20 cm ..............................

85

Figure 29: Graph Depicting Ceramic Tempering Agent Frequencies .................................. 86

LIST OF MAPS Map 1: Cambodia and General Location of Prehistoric Circular Earthworks ........................ 4 Map 2: Collective Location of Prehistoric Earthwork Grouping: Eastern Cambodia and Southwestern Vietnam (Adopted from Do 1999) .................................................

5

Map 3: Distribution of Circular Earthworks in Eastern Cambodia and Southwestern Vietnam (Adopted from Malleret 1959:Plate 28 and Do 1999) .................................. 8 Map 4: Map of Prehistoric Sites in Cambodia (Mourer 1994: 145) .......................................

12

Map 5: UNDP 1992-1993 Land Cover Map, Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia ......... 147 Map 6: Distribution of Modern Circular Villages and Red, Basaltic Soils (Kojo 1999) ......... 24 Map 7: Distribution of Geological Resources in Cambodia ...............................................

148

Map 8: Distribution of Soil Series and Geological Resources in the Circular Earthwork Region ............................................................................

149

Map 9: Location of Dated Circular Earthworks (Adopted from Malleret 1959:Plate 28) ...... 51 Map 10: Distribution of Circular Earthworks: Regional Geology and Landform ................ 150

viii

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION The late French historian, Bernard Phillipe Groslier referred to one circular mounded and internally moated archaeological site located east of the Mekong River and southwest of the central Vietnamese Highlands as "one of the most important prehistoric sites in South-East Asia" (Groslier 1966a:195; Figure 1). Based on site size, shape, and cultural deposits, Groslier (1966a: 195-196) determined that the circular site was a Neolithic "fort" that defined a "Mimotian" culture existing from some 3,000 years before present. However, published evidence as to basic site descriptions and why the site(s) was so important remained enigmatic. Still, Groslier did set the stage for serious inquiry into the origins and nature of the sites. This manuscript not only seeks to explain the function and timing of the Cambodian earthwork sites but utilizes the circular earthworks as a case study in understanding the nature of adaptation and temporal affiliation of Neolithic open-air settlements across Mainland Southeast Asia. In one sense, descriptions of the environment containing the sites, analysis of site architectural features, classification and examination of site material culture, and a resolution of site dating are offered to support the argument that there is a positive correlation between the presence of circular earthworks and specific environmental variables. These descriptions are aided by explaining the nature of site occupation across a fairly dynamic region. The research also will show that the sites represent a distinctive Neolithic grouping or community. From its inception, the research has emphasized understanding both synchronic and diachronic processes. Analytically, several scales of analysis are investigated too more fully understand the operation of the earthwork cultural system. The age, nature, and articulation of the Cambodian earthworks are examined to advance initial interpretations as to the degree of site community and the extent of group cohesion. Insofar as the current data allow, it is shown that the circular earthwork sites represent a community of settlements within

a small, discrete environmental zone of Southeast Asia. The term "community" is utilized throughout this document to mean that the earthwork sites form a larger, singular and cohesive entity or tradition. The research investigates a uniform grouping of prehistoric sites on the fundamental premise that these sites may represent the archaeological manifestation of reciprocal cultural processes promoting group cohesion and identity, which in tum confers adaptive success (e.g., Athens 1992). The present work also seeks to understand the circular sites of Cambodia in the broader regional context of Southeast Asian prehistory. The earthwork sites, which also extend into what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, appear to represent a distinctive subset within a larger domain of sites having a circular morphology. Other circular archaeological sites have been documented to the north and west of the Cambodian sites into northeast and central Thailand. The Cambodian earthwork sites are distinctive by their size and by encircling walls and depressions which do not channel water into and around the sites, these being doughnut-shaped structures with an encircling earthen wall and contain a parallel depression and platform inside the earthen wall (Figure 2). The sites in question have so far been identified only in a small intersection of eastern Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam in an area called the "terres rouges" (terra rossa) or "red earth" region (Maps 1 and 2). Between the westernmost Cambodian earthwork at Krek to the easternmost earthwork near Phoum Ruung, direct geographical distance measures approximately 55 kilometers east-west. The largest separation of earthwork sites on a north-south axis is approximately 22 kilometers. When incorporating the earthwork sites in Vietnam, the east-west axis extends to 85 km while the northsouth axis is extended to approximately 35 kilometers. The total known area of the earthwork domain is thus roughly 2,975 square kilometers. Establishing when the sites were constructed, occupied, and abandoned is a necessary step toward addressing transitional Neolithic/Proto-Neolithic group-type adaptations in Mainland Southeast Asia between

Figure 1: Photograph of B.P. Groslier and Excavation Units at Memot Site (Banteay Meas) (Groslier 1966a:Plate 10)

c. 2300-300 B.C. Building a temporal and geographic baseline, from which to begin modeling the nature and function of the sites on intra-site and inter-site levels, is paramount for this research. Groslier's publication on the Memot site in the mid-1960s came at a time when archaeological scholars typically provided detailed culture history explanations of archaeological phenomena. During this same time, Americanist and European archaeology was in the midst of a paradigmatic shift, of which this research is partially a product. The most enduring outcome of the paradigmatic shift was the call for archaeologists to consider their data more in terms of dynamic cultural processes rather than reflections of static points in time. One of the most distinctive features in the emergence of the processual paradigm lies in the methodology for constructing models of cultural change. Both culture history and processual models attempted to address culture change. The culture history paradigm, might be said to

emphasize the descriptive element over the explanatory, that hypotheses (read "models") derive from the discovery of new data. The processual approach, however, emphasizes model building (read "testable hypotheses") in advance of data recovery. The truth of the matter, however, is that these are but two sides of the same coin. Neither is, nor ever can be, truly separated from the other. This is readily apparent in the changing archaeological scene over the past forty years since Groslier's work at Memot, forty years during which Southeast Asian prehistory has been described through many lenses, from diffusion and migration models (Bellwood 1985, Solheim 1964, 1970, 1972, Higham 1989; see also Blust 1985) to competition-based models (Bronson 1977, Junker 1990, 1993), trade/exchange models (Gunn 1997, Junker 1994), or through adaptation models involving environmental variability and adaptational strategies to variable natural conditions (Hutterer 1976, 1977; Hutterer and Macdonald 1982; Welch 1984). Diffusion models firmly

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Plantation Road Continues

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Figure 2: Representative Planview Map of Circular Earthwork (Chi Peang Site)

place the cause of cultural change on external influences while competition models place cultural formation and change under the rubric of elite competition. Culture history models often interpret change along a continuum wherein the process and mechanisms of social change are inevitable outcomes. Despite these inadequacies, culture history models remain reasonable in the sense that during prehistory, population movements did occur. Whether movements occurred on several levels such as between uplands and lowlands, across diverse environmental regions, or continents remains debated. Second, competition, caused by social and environmental parameters, was apparently a very real occurrence. Culture history models, however, often lead to assumptions that cultural change is intentionally driven (by elites), often disregarding factors that cannot be controlled by individuals (e.g., climatic fluctuations and the presence/absence of resources across the landscape) (see Gunn 1997:2-3).

Yet, while the natural environment itself cannot be controlled per se (e.g., climatic change, resource regions), human adaptation to the environment can be regulated by the social environment. Cultural change in response to certain environmental characteristics such as low or high soil productivity, floods, site catchment productivity, resource distribution, and agriculture potential could take the form of progressive responses over time. While process may also be considered intentional and goal-driven, inferences about the processes leading to the formation of the archaeological record may be linked with adaptive mechanisms. These adaptations can be archaeologically confirmed through multiple scales of analysis. In this document, analysis of the natural environment containing the circular earthworks is given much consideration as the relationship between the natural and suggested social environment appears symbiotic, almost deterministic. Explaining whether earthwork settlement across the region is random or non-random may be partially 3

Cambodia N

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Sour:h China Sea

Map 1: Cambodia and General Location of Prehistoric Circular Earthworks

explained by characteristics of the natural environment and partially by cultural behaviors (read adaptation). On a smaller scale, the adaptive mechanisms to cultural development in and between the earthwork sites are discernable through intrasite and inter-site comparisons of site formation, artifact distributions, and site chronology.

environment. The ultimate goal is to discern the organization of adaptation in space (intra-site and inter-site) and differences (or not) in the character of adaptations achieved between separate earthwork sites. Cultural organization itself ensures that the cultural system is subject to conditioning interactions with its environment. There is selection for and against certain culturally organized means of articulating with the natural and social environment (Binford 1983:222). To understand such relationships in the cultural system, archaeological methods are utilized to examine how the cultural system internally functions and how the normal workings of the system generate patterned material by-products. Contiguously, variables amenable to identification of the dynamic conditions responsible for material by-products at the sites may be elucidated. For the present earthwork study, variability within and between sites may be seen in regional terms where the character of the adaptation may be similar or different. Analyzing such adaptations on a site by site basis allows for examining

In this manuscript, adaptionist models are not applied wholesale but are tacitly understood theoretical conventions utilized to understand the formation of the earthworks. In this vein, localized phenomena are compared across a regional scale. Binford (1983:334) suggests that adaptation is a local solution to basically local conditions. Utilizing a Cambodian landscape area of more than 55-square kilometers (km) (the 85-square kilometer area includes Vietnam earthworks as well), each recorded earthwork site is described in terms of its articulation with its local environment. Understanding the dynamic natural and social processes generating archaeological data allows for realizing the means by which site occupants interacted with their natural and social 4

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

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Map 2: Collective Location of Prehistoric Earthwork Grouping: Eastern Cambodia and Southwestern Vietnam (Adopted from Do 1999)

regional differences or similarities which reflect the quality and degree of the adaptations achieved.

Background to Research: Southeast Asia and Archaeological Paradigms

Following Binford ( 1983:337), human systems of adaptation are assumed to be internally differentiated, or organized arrangements of formally differentiated elements. Thus, at each earthwork site, any internal differentiation could be expected to characterize different actions and behaviors performed at the site. In other terms, if the sites are not equal in regards to intra-site activity areas, location on the landscape, or site architectural features, the variances could be relational to the organizational role of each site in the cultural system. If variances are proven to be minimal within and between sites, the notion that group-type adaptations have occurred on a similar scale in regards to both the natural and social environment are distinct possibilities. The mechanism for such an adaptation could be related to group community concerns, a distinctive cultural system operating across within a small environmental niche. Cultural change is not

Prehistoric sites in Southeast Asia are known from coastal reaches to middle and upper terrain. The transition in prehistory from hunter-gathering through sedentary societies has been an important concern for archaeological research across a broad area of the continent and remains at the forefront of much research. In addition, the time period between c. 3,000-500 B.C., encompassing the Neolithic, as well as Bronze Age and incipient Iron Age, remains somewhat less enigmatic in terms of particular adaptations to distinctive environments. Many assumptions are built into knowledge of these periods, particularly the Neolithic. Sedentism, the practice of rice agriculture, and the manufacture of pottery and complete lithic toolkits are but several traits typically equating a site with a Neolithic designation. Permanently occupied, open-air settlements of the time period c. 3,000500 B.C. have been documented with some frequency across Southeast Asia (see Higham 1989 for an overview), including Cambodia. Yet, the prehistory of the general region is often defined along a slim basement of radiocarbon dates and relative dating of artifact type occurrences. This is particularly

unilineal but processual through time. Changing adaptive strategies are developed and shared, with an apparent attempt to focus strategies on groups rather than individuals. 5

true in respect to Cambodia. In some cases, there is a sizable radiocarbon dating set, yet interpretations of the dates remain controversial (see White 1997, 1998).

between earthwork sites. A majority of the earthworks were constructed, occupied, and abandoned coterminously (meaning some overlap in site occupation sequences). The regional earthwork settlement system comprises sites with similar settlement location, site morphology and function, and artifact assemblages that represent a contemporaneous, autochthonous evolution or similar adaptation to a specific environment.

Explanations of how and why certain site types are present in a particular region offers an intriguing avenue of research. Much previous research has been focused on how and why certain artifact types are present in particular regions. In what manner site occupants articulated with the natural and cultural environment remains elusive in some instances, as does basic information on site function and chronology. For instance, Groslier (1966a) noted that the Neolithic earthwork forts of Cambodia comprised a distinctive cultural grouping ("Mimotian"), but a baseline of empirical evidence and established site contemporaneity has yet to be established for such.

2) When settlement location, site morphology, or artifact change is recognized in one settlement over time, it is expected that the other settlements in the region will undergo similar adaptive conversions at the same time. 3) On both local and regional levels, there are positive correlations between the presence of circular earthworks and specific environmental attributes. The earthwork grouping is tethered to a specific environmental area.

Following publication of aerial surveys of the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam and Cambodia (Malleret 1959) and Groslier's (1966a) excavation at one site near Memot, Kampong Cham, eastern Cambodia, possibilities for a research program seeking to place the circular sites in the overall development of Mainland Southeast Asian prehistory were opened. This work revealed that the earlier and largely unknown horticultural beginnings in this monsoon- forested region could provide a potential transitional link between incipient sedentism and social complexity with the foundation and later rise of the Angkorian Kingdom, one of the premier civilizations of Southeast Asia. Yet many questions have remained unanswered as the Cambodian earthwork sites and their surrounding environment occur across a narrow, 55kilometer swath of the eastern Cambodian landscape, with circular sites in Vietnam extending the swath to an 85kilometer area. This area has been in the hearth of political tunnoil over much of the intervening decades since Groslier 's excavation. Only recently have conditions permitted resumption of field investigations in the region.

4) Earthwork site aggregation has resulted from the mutual attraction to certain landscape features. The earthwork community constructed sites at similar points on the landscape to take advantage of certain, diverse natural features. The alternate hypothesis is that the trend away from aggregation (and equal spacing of sites) may be the result of intragroup competition for necessary resources (which should be most pronounced in zones of most crucial resources). 5) Similarity in settlement location, site morphology, and artifact assemblages reveals that each circular site was not the result of independent invention. Rather, the sites and manufactured artifact assemblages were the result of a discrete cultural system employing similar adaptative mechanisms. Developing a regional model of human adaptation and articulation with the Mainland Southeast Asian environment as expressed by Cambodian circular earthworks required several levels of analysis. These included:

Problem Domains and Hypotheses

Five intermittent seasons of fieldwork and resulting analyses at the circular sites have been completed. Problem domains relating to this research have been defined, and include investigating prehistoric adaptations, determining earthwork site function and classifying site location patterns and siteenvironmental relationships, classifying earthwork artifact assemblages, inferring site chronology, and suggesting earthwork community parameters, have been defined. In addition, several hypotheses were posed prior to the latest, most intensive field work portion of investigations. The hypotheses were structured to explore if and why the earthwork sites could be considered as a distinctive set of sites and formed a distinct community, whether the sites were tethered to a particular environment, and whether the sites were contemporaneous. Together, these form a baseline for understanding earthwork cultural adaptations during Neolithic times.

1) obtaining archaeological and ethnographic/historic data to interpret settlement location (i.e., site selection) and distribution in relation to regional environmental characteristics; 2) obtaining and explaining site architectural characteristics and function, primarily through site structure study and distributional analysis of artifact classes believed to reflect discrete, but nonetheless systematically integrated activity areas; 3) acquiring samples to interpret temporal variation within sites and to interpret potential temporal affiliation between sites; The definition of"site" and the identification of sites across the landscape has been immensely important to analyzing settlement location patterns, site morphology, and associated cultural materials. "Site" has been the analytical unit observed, measured, and classified in this research program.

1) There is homogeneity in settlement location pattern, site

morphology and function, and material culture within and 6

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Within Southeast Asia, "site" has been utilized as the preferred analytical unit (see Higham 1989 and Butterer 1976, 1982 for a review; see also Vallibhotama 1984, Bayard 1992), while in settlement archaeology regional patterning of sites or artifact distributions across space comprise different analytical units. The scale of"site" is utilized here for several reasons. First, settlement pattern analysis cannot be performed here as only one class of site across the landscape was investigated. Second, "site" has been empirically established as the persistent place of human activity. Third, the unit ("site") provides a culture history of immediate cultural loci. Fourth, the unit represents a more fine-grained analysis than afforded solely from regional survey (on a chronological and distribution level). Without a basic culture history of an area, it is difficult to measure interactions and site contemporaneity across a broader spatial plane (see Butterer 1976:224) such as trade/ exchange, the hierarchical nature of settlements as related to chronology, and local site formation processes. To understand "site" is fundamental to understanding both wider and more restricted domains.

analytically combined with highly localized settlement data to successfully provide prehistoric occupation patterns for settlements over time and space (see Mudar 1995, Welch 1984, White 1995).

Data Acquisition Field methods were designed in a way to minimize destructiveness to the archaeological record while systematically acquiring data sets needed to address the research problems. In eastern Cambodia, access to the data has been variable, this simply due to the political climate of the area in which research was accomplished. Yet, through reconnaissance and the aid of local informants, many additional earthwork sites have been studied over the past several years (Dega 1999, Albrecht et al. 1999). That many of these sites occur within rubber plantations and along major thoroughfares is fortuitous. Earthwork sites removed from extant villages and roads are presumably under represented in sampling generated by such survey.

Second, intra-site and inter-site comparisons are facilitated by analyzing artifact classes and artifact frequency densities of remains within earthwork sites. This was accomplished to establish a similarity or dissimilarity between sites in terms of spatial utilization through time. Both horizontal and vertical frequency distributions of earthwork artifact classes are measured at each site.

Sampling To date, no systematic archaeological survey of east-central Cambodia has been accomplished, as remains true for the remainder of the country besides the Angkor area. The identification of earthwork sites in eastern Cambodia was accomplished solely through site reconnaissance and informant interviews.

Third, the location and spacing of the sites are explained in terms of earthwork environment and social character. Information as to whether settlement location was random or non-random is offered.

Site Reconnaissance and Settlement Location

Finally, another goal of the research was to obtain radiocarbon dates from sampled sites. Site chronology is important for inferring group-type adaptations over time. This would include analyzing the nature of activities occurring at the sites during Neolithic times. Artifact distribution concentrations are analyzed in terms of site occupation duration and intensity. Occurrence Seriation is utilized on suggested diagnostic assemblage ceramics to provide relative dates to earthwork occupation.

Earthwork settlement location is utilized here to understand the spacing of the known sites, to analyze how the sites articulate with specific environmental regimes, and to provide explanations accounting for patterning of the sites across the landscape. Data on site altitudes, associated soil regimes, regional geology and geomorphology, proximity to perennial water resources, and areas subject to flooding are examined. Settlement location data included mapping circular earthwork sites across the region, analyzing site and site catchment location and productivity, mapping local and regional soil regimes, identifying perennial water resources in the region, analyzing landforms in relation to site location, and examining elevation versus site location. An accounting of these variables on a regional scale allows for partially addressing which factors generated circular site pattern and how occupants of the circular earthworks articulated with their environment. To address overarching questions of empirically establishing that an earthwork community existed in a particular region of Cambodia, data was obtained from the furthest known eastwest extension of circular sites (Cambodia only), and from the furthest known north-south sites, and in medial areas (Map 3).

Data Treatment To address the problems posed here, the research design required local and regional scales of analyses. Circular site settlement location across the landscape, architectural features composing the settlements themselves, and artifacts sampled from the settlements allow for inferences about settlement connectedness in time and space. Also crucial to the research was acquiring samples for dating the occupation of the earthworks. The point of the exercise was to describe if, how, and why the settlements and assemblages could be considered as subsets of a single population with a unique, definable structure (e.g., Rhode 1988:209). This formulation of research is not without precedent in Southeast Asia. Several studies focusing on a regional perspective have been

This research technique provided the initial impetus for investigation of the circular earthworks and involved the non systematic identification of earthwork sites within the 7

0

10

20

30

~

40km

TN

I

0

CircularEarlhwork. (MallerctNo; )

Im

Confinncd Sitesof Malleret

@

Newly DiscoveredEarthworks

•

PresentStudyEarthworks

Map 3: Distribution of Circular Earthworks in Eastern Cambodia and Southwestern Vietnam (Adopted from Malleret 1959:Plate 28 and Do 1999)

central and eastern portions of Kampong Cham Province. This phase of research was utilized as a discovery technique to note the presence of other earthwork sites in the area and to re-identify those sites described by Malleret (1959; n=6) and Groslier (1966a; n= 1). Over portions of a five-year period, the team utilized site reconnaissance to identify as many circular earthworks in the bas plateau area as possible, minus time for appropriately documenting a representative sample of the sites. That only 40 sites have now been identified over the past five years does reveal the difficulty in traversing the east-central Cambodian landscape. It is presumed that many more earthworks will be identified in the future.

systematic surface artifact collection at an additional site (Phoum Ruung). Surface survey, accomplished at eight sites that varied in geographical distance from 1 kilometer (km) apart to 55 km apart, involved formalized surface collection sampling procedures. At sites subject to excavation, a grid was placed over the entire site area and the field crew walked the grid, collected artifacts from the surface, and recorded the artifacts on a grid map. The frequency and types of finds for each unit were counted and classified. Entire sites were surveyed as they were relatively small. Only modest concentrations of artifacts were observed across most site surfaces. A tabulation of each collection unit, aggregated into larger units, was summarily accomplished and compared to demonstrate surface artifact distributions. Surface survey and collection was also conducted from the exterior (outer wall) of sites to a distance of 100 m from the exterior of the outer wall.

Surface Survey and Site Recording The "site" is the empirical entity reflecting the perennial place of human activity. The earthwork site includes an outer wall, an interior depression, a central platform, and passageways leading into and out of the sites. Again, the emphasis of research is not focused on one circular site but on multiple circular sites across the landscape. Site architectural characteristics are compared on an inter-site scale. Intra-site features are compared within and between the range of circular sites.

This phase of fieldwork further involved mapping and recording of site components. All sites subject to excavation (n=6) plus several additional sites (n=2) were mapped and recorded. Topographical site plan view maps and site profile maps (based on topography and artifact distribution counts) were constructed to provide comparisons between site architectural length, depth, site topography, and artifact distributions. GPS readings were obtained from the center of each identified site. An effort was made during this fieldwork phase to identify as many circular sites as possible in the region (to the Vietnamese border).

This aspect of research involved site recording and surface artifact collection at seven of the earthwork sites and 8

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Excavations

address basic questions regarding the settlements: the depth and type of cultural materials present in vertical columns (artifact type, style, chronology), site macro- and microstratigraphy revealing occupation strata and/or subsurface features or occupational layers associated with occupation (hearths, living floors, postmolds, activity loci), site age and occupational episode(s), the composition and depth of the wall, depression, platform features, and the presence and extent of habitation and discard areas. Sampled material culture distributions are compared on an intra- and intersite basis. Intra-site comparisons measure the vertical and horizontal distributions of artifacts across a site and variability in artifact type and density across the site. Inter-site comparisons measure the same attributes but on a comparative site basis across the larger settlement area. Basic research questions included addressing the type and nature of artifacts recovered from the sites, artifact distributions within and between the sites, and changes in artifact types through time and across space. Another important question included investigating the relationship between depositional episodes and occupational episodes. To address larger questions of settlement adaptation on a regional scale, assemblages which had similar combinations of occupations are functionally grouped.

The third set of methods involved excavations at six sites: Krek No. 13, Krek No. 14, Chi Peang, Phoum Chong, Banteay Meas (Groslier's site), and Phoum Trameng. All but one of the excavation units were dug manually, one trench having been mechanically excavated from the inner depression to the platform at Krek No. 13. Due to the nature of the soils (clay), none of the excavation units were screened, although one liter soil samples were obtained from each stratum of each unit and sieved in the laboratory. Collectively, the trenches were variable in size, ranging from 1 m (long) x 1 m (wide) to 1 m x 5 m and were typically excavated to a depth of at least 0.15 m below basal occupational layers (average being 1.25 mbs). During fieldwork in 1998 and 1999, 32 trenches were excavated in various portions of six earthworks. Table 1 depicts excavated sites and the intensity of excavation at each site. Excavation units were placed in locations to analyze the function of site features and in areas thought to contain the greatest frequency of habitation debris. One site, Chi Peang (in Krek), was subject to the most intensive and extensive excavations ( 16 units or 50% of the total excavations) wherein test trenches were distributed throughout each architectural feature composing the site. Excavations at the site were implemented to utilize this site as a "case study" wherein comparatively, a large portion of one site was sampled. To obtain distributional information, such as at another site (Krek # 14), excavation units strictly followed a transect that bisected the whole of the site, through the outer wall and even beyond the exterior of the site. In other sites, minimal testing was accomplished for comparative purposes. The problematic nature of comparing the excavated materials from differentially-sized trenches and frequency of trenches per site is acknowledged (boot-strapping was not accomplished). Thus, artifact frequency counts derived from a 1 x 1 m unit are not directly compared with those derived from a l x 4 m unit, the differences in sample size being readily apparent.

Representative portions of investigated sites were subject to excavation yet portions of all site architectural features were excavated in varying quantity. Material culture samples were obtained from six earthworks representing the greatest separated geographical distance. Data gathered from the six excavated sites are generally thought to be reflective of real earthwork material culture distributions. Most forms of analysis and interpretation in this manuscript, to be meaningful, depended upon fairly precise chronological control of earthwork settlements. To pursue the research problems posed here, it was necessary to construct a solid chronological foundation. Baseline questions related to earthwork chronology include the duration and intensity of site occupation, the relationship between earthwork material culture and temporal change, and intersite relationships between earthwork occupations through time. Earthwork artifact assemblages are compared on an inter-site basis as well as with other known assemblages of a similar time period

The goals of excavation were multifold and occurred along a range from discerning site activity areas to acquiring samples amenable to dating. Essential on-site investigations involved providing systematic coverage of subsurface deposits to

Table 1. Tested Earthwork Sites (1998, 1999; see Map 3) Number of Units

Location of Units

#m2

#m3

Krek No. 13

2

platform edge

12.00

32.60

Krek No. 14

6

*all features

6.00

7.20

Chi Peang

17

*all features

50.50

60.35

Phoum Chong

2

platform edge

8.00

9.80

Banteay Meas (Groslier Site)

3

platform, platform edge

8.00

11.68

Phoum Trameng

2

platform edge

2.00

2.30

Totals

32

various features

86.50

123.93

Earthwork Site

*all site features=exterior site, outer wall, interior depression, edge platform, platform, passageway; #=excavation in meters squared and meters cubed; 9

to establish a relative occupational sequence. Samples amenable to radiocarbon dating were acquired from each location and each strata of all excavated sites. To establish site chronology across a wide geographical area, basal samples were run for four sites while one sample dated a terminal occupation layer. Suggested diagnostic ceramic sherds were subject to occurrence seriation to compare intersite contemporaneity and allow for comparisons with other diagnostic sherds from other dated sites in Mainland Southeast Asia.

site location patterning, site catchment analysis, site morphology and function, site material, and site chronology. The present research led to intensive investigation at seven earthwork sites out of a total 24 known Cambodia circular earthworks. Results and interpretations of the seven sites presented here are extrapolated to the earthwork community as a whole, both in Cambodia and Vietnam. Future research at other known earthwork sites should provide a basis for evaluating and elaborating on the models posed in this presentation.

Laboratory Work

Manuscript Organization

Laboratory work involved six phases of work: (I) generating site plan view maps, site profile maps, and detailed stratigraphic profiles that were drafted and digitized in laboratories at the University of Hawaii and RUFA in Phnom Penh; (2) OPS site location plotting of identified sites being overlaid on 1972 U.S.G.S. maps of Cambodia; (3) soil and sedimentological analyses, including basic soil descriptions and the formation of sedimentation characterizations, chemical analyses (e.g., pH and calcium carbonate tests), and sifting of sediment samples to identify smaller sediment fractions and macro botanical materials; (4) all artifacts, cleaned and sorted by site, unit, layer, and level in Cambodia, were subject to classification and analysis; (5) samples suitable for radiocarbon dating (carbonized wood, rice/rice chaff, or other organics occurring in ceramic pieces) were prepared and submitted for dating; and (6), evaluation of the data sets utilizing multiple descriptive statistics and empirical frequency distributions.

This manuscript is organized along different levels of analysis, these leading to an understanding of the articulation of the earthwork sites and occupants to diverse natural and social factors during a period of prehistory. Chapter 1 has organized the research and defined the problems to be addressed. The data from each succeeding chapter are utilized to build arguments about the nature and chronology of the earthwork sites. Chapter 2 provides background information on prehistoric studies in Cambodia and those studies in other portions of Southeast Asia relevant to the present research. Chapter 3 provides information on the contemporary environment of the earthwork region through descriptions of soil regimes, land use and subsistence practices, and analysis of modern circular sites in Cambodia through historical and ethnographic studies. Chapter 4 discusses the natural environment of the study area. This chapter includes information on local and regional geology, soils regimes, site formation processes, hydrological patterns, regional landforms, and site elevation data. These help elucidate site-environmental relationships and promote understanding the geographical distribution of earthwork sites in the region. Chapter 5 addresses research questions pertaining to site morphology, site function, and site architectural attributes. Once classified, Cambodian earthworks are compared to other circular sites in Mainland Southeast Asia. Chapter 6 considers the temporal nature of earthwork occupation and abandonment, the intensity of site occupation and duration, and site contemporaneity across the investigation area. Chapter 7 provides analysis of lithic artifact remains recovered from earthwork sites. Both intra-site and inter-site lithic distributional patterns are explained in terms of on-site activities and activity areas. The functional attributes of the lithic assemblage are presented. Chapter 8 provides analysis of site ceramic assemblages. Both intra-site and inter-site distribution patterns are also utilized to infer activities and activity areas. Intersite comparisons are utilized to establish site occupation duration. Chapter 9 considers the overall settlement location pattern of the circular earthworks and leads to a discussion ofhow and why the sites articulate across this discrete niche of Southeast Asia. The patterning is utilized to address broader, more regional concerns of prehistoric adaptations in Mainland Southeast Asia. Finally, in Chapter 10, the significance of the earthwork sites to Southeast Asian prehistory is established and summarized. Implications for future research are discussed.

The above methodology section provides a brief overview of field and laboratory methods utilized during the present study. More in-depth analysis of methods utilized during research has been presented previously (see Dega 1998, 1999) and is also reproduced in respective chapters of this manuscript.

Discussion and Summary

In this chapter, baseline research questions about the earthworks were introduced and relevant analytical procedures to address the research questions were discussed. The goals of the research have been outlined in terms of formulating processual-based interpretations to explain the importance of the Cambodian earthworks in regards to Neolithic adaptations within Southeast Asia. Explanation is achieved through isolating causes contributing to the formation, occupation, and possible expansion of the earthwork sphere through time. A model relating site location patterns, occupation duration, and the environment is presented, as is a model concerning the archaeological manifestations of site-types forming a prehistoric community. The present research also seeks to understand when the circular earthworks of east-central Cambodia were occupied as well as the nature of such occupation. The research is predicated upon the notion that the sites are best understood when analysis proceeds along several parameters, including

10

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Chapter 2. REGIONAL PREHISTORY AND CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS Pre-Angkorian Cambodia remains largely unknown in modem archaeology. Prehistoric sites are known mostly from French research that predates the Indochina war and the Khmer Rouge holocaust (see Mourer 1994). This earlier prehistoric research reflects French colonial archaeology of that era, and while important in its day, remains largely preliminary. These earlier data sets are primarily important for their heuristic value, providing a source of ideas and empirical observations about settlements possibly contemporaneous with the circular earthworks that may have existed in Cambodia well before the birth of the Buddha. Most knowledge concerning the prehistory of Cambodia is derived from particular investigations by French archaeologists and geologists who crafted a relative timeline for what would come to be termed the Cambodian Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and incipient state formation (Funan) (see Mourer 1994). However, the timeline was based upon the thinking of the times (early 1900s through mid-20 th century) and, thus, "etched" into a classic European framework of Stone and Metal ages, followed by the inevitable cultural transformation to incipient states. The research, however descriptive and forthright in assignment to these frameworks, nonetheless provided a foundation for presentday research. Further, prehistoric studies in Cambodia have always been viewed as secondary to investigations about the Angkorian kingdom. This is true in the eyes of many Cambodians and foreigners alike. The "glory of Angkor" remains a national symbol and rallying point for the country in modem times. Prehistoric and early historic studies are, however, gaining some momentum after a lapse in research of more than three decades. Prehistoric studies in Cambodia, interestingly enough, have the longest time depth of any country within present-day Southeast Asia. The first recording of a prehistoric site in Southeast Asia may be credited to a Dr. Corre in 1879, who described a large mound, known as Somrong Sen, which was

covered in potsherds and shells (Corre 1879; Worman 1949; Saurin 1969; see also Higham 1989:20). As a result of Dr. Corre's investigation, the site gained some notoriety, and by 1902, was the scene of the "earliest excavation with any pretensions to scientific inquiry" (Higham 1989:210). Henri Mansuy (1902) recovered a large amount of pottery, shellfish, shell and stone jewellery items, stone adzes, and several bronze artifacts from the Samrong Sen mound site. Mansuy thus established the actuality for a Bronze Age in Southeast Asia. Further prehistoric studies in Cambodia leading up to, and being contemporary with, the work of Malleret (1959) and Groslier ( 1966a) at the circular earthworks in Kampong Cham Province, included the following published studies (Table 2; Map 4). With the exception of Levy's ( 1943) work in Mlu Prei wherein he discusses Neolithic and Bronze Age finds at three openair settlements, archaeological and historical investigations remained concentrated in the Angkorian region until the late l 950s-early 1960s. Exceptional studies included the completion of two investigations of Cambodian earthworks (Malleret 1959; Groslier 1966a) and investigations ofLaang Spean cave site in Battambang Province (Mourer and Mourer 1970). Little archaeological work was conducted in Cambodia between the early 1970s and the early 1990s. Mourer (1994: 179) summarized prehistoric investigations in the country and created a time line of Cambodian prehistory (Figure 3). The timeline depicts Lower Paleolithic occupation by a pebble-tool culture of the Mekong terrace region (Kratie Province). Upper Paleolithic sites have been identified within lower strata of Laang Spean rockshelter and in two southern cave sites (Kbal Romeas, Phnom Loang). Neolithic sites occur throughout the country, from the Angkor region to Samrong Sen, Mlu Prei, and Memot. There is some overlap between upper Paleolithic and early Neolithic sites in Cambodia. During the late Neolithic through Bronze Age, terminal occupation is suggested at sites such as Phnom Loang,

Table 2. Studies of Prehistoric Sites in Cambodia Investigator( s)

Year

Site

Site Type/Time Period

Corre

1879

Samrong Sen

Neolithic-Bronze Age Open-Air Settlement

Mansuy

1902

Samrong Sen

Neolithic-Bronze Age Open-Air Settlement

Levy

1943

Miu Prei (0 Pie Can, 0 Yak)

Neolithic-Bronze Age Open-Air Settlements

Saurin

1963

Stung Treng, Snoul

Paleolithic Rockshelters

Mourer & Mourer

1970

Laang Spean

Paleolithic/Neolithic Rockshelter

Carbonnel & Guth

1968

Phnom Loang, Kampot Kbal Romeas, Kampot

Paleolithic Rockshelters

Carbonnel & Delibrias

1968

Various Cave & Open-air Settlements

Paleolithic, Neolithic Rockshelters, Settlements

Carbonnel

1972

Kampong Cham

Neolithic/Iron Age Open-Air Settlements

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"'-l'0.015 mm in width). Although there is no direct evidence, it cannot be ruled out that sandstones could have been utilized as molds for socketed metal implements. Less frequently occurring artifacts such as arrow points and bangle fragments were made of siltstone, basalt, and sandstone, with no one parent material dominating these types. Granite, igneous rock (in general), rhyolite, and one amorphous piece of chert occurred in limited quantities at most sites in the form of flakes.

As shown in Table 19 above, the overall sampled earthwork lithic assemblage is dominated by lithic flakes and shatter debris composed of siltstone. These represent both utilized flakes and waste products. This pattern held true for each excavated site (see Appendix V). The recovery of chisels, composing almost 10% of the total sample (ranking third in ubiquity behind flake forms) suggests that finer wood working and/or the manufacturing ofbone and wooden ornaments may have been accomplished on-site. Following in frequency are amorphous rock fragments composed of all six parent materials. The remainder of the assemblage, while between 0.27%-4.32% in ranked percentile says much about the diverse nature of the assemblage and the multifarious use of certain tools at the sites. One caveat must be entertained however: the number of tools in most categories are so small (i.e., less than 100 pieces) that comparisons between lithic assemblages at different sites may show differences in tool type and occurrence frequency simply as a matter of small sample size.

Due to the nature of the dominant raw material type composing the tools (siltstone) as well as the highly acidic nature of 65

Overall, the earthwork lithic toolkits appear complete in the sense that many classes of tools were recovered (on-site) that could perform a variety of functions. Tool function ranges from small implements that could function as picks or drills (awls) for drilling ornamental objects (wood or stone materials) to large cores and grinding stones that directly contributed to the production and manufacture of certain tools. The toolkit is reminiscent of a "Neolithic" tradition in Southeast Asia in that it represents a great proportion of the known Neolithic artifact range from Southeast Asia (see Bellwood 1985: 174). Overall, the earthwork lithic assemblages suggest an economy oriented toward agricultural or horticultural pursuits.

the total earthwork assemblage of adzes, axes, and chisels, 91.58% had between O and 25% cortex. This implies that many recovered tools were finished to almost finished specimens. Most tools have slight amounts of cortex. This reflects the presence of either unfinished tools or those tools composed of less than perfect raw material cores or flakes. Only 4% of the total adze and chisel assemblage contained 25-50% cortex while 3.5% had 50%+ remaining cortex on the utilized tool. On tools with cortex, either the form of the utilized raw material was somewhat imperfect (unremovable ridges, bulbs) or the tools were not finished prior to utilization. The recovery of a fair amount of sandstone and granite polishing stones at the sites suggests that tool polishing was one component of on-site activities. Within the entire lithic assemblage,just over half the specimens (51 %) have 0-25% polish. However, a majority of the adzes and chisels contained at least some polish (over 1% ). Over 10% of the assemblage contained 25-50% polish, 2.7% had 50-75% polish, and 31 % of the tools contained 75-100% polish. Thus, a fairly large percentage of the assemblage contained highly polished tools, particularly in the classes of adzes, chisels, and blades.

Manufacturing The variety of tool classes in site assemblages suggests an assortment of manufacturing activities occurring both on-site and off-site. With on-site adze assemblages (quadrangular and shouldered adzes) and other polished tools (blades), it could be expected that grinding stones would be found on-site. Such was the case. A total of 28 polishing stones or whetstones were recovered in site cultural strata. These tool associations are indicative of permanent habitation loci or secondarily, small, on-site work camps. As discussed in Chapter 5, the sites are permanently occupied settlements. The presence of waste flakes in the assemblages does not necessarily imply that lithic reduction occurred on-site. Possibly, the waste flakes represent either finishing of the tools on-site or recycling/reworking of the tools. Due to the small assemblage counts in the present dataset, it appears unlikely that manufacturing and reduction sequences can be reconstructed. It would seem, however, that tool reduction was most probably accomplished at an off-site locale such as a quarry site or chipping/work/ reduction station to reduce bulk transport weight (see below). This is most plausible considering that most lithic quarries/resources in the area were located, at the least, several kilometers from the sites. As such, transporting raw materials to the sites may have been more laborious than manufacturing tools at quarries and transporting them in more finished form back to the sites for use.

Polish location descriptions may show the preference for which portion of a tool was selected for initial polishing. Within the subset of tools containing polished elements, 48.3% contained no specific polish location (e.g., polished on parts of both sides of tool and frontal, medial, and distal areas; flakes having polish on portions of both sides). On 30.30% of all polished tools the entire specimen was polished. Some 11% of polished tools were polished fully on one side only and 6% were partially polished on both sides. The amount of negative scars on lithic tools may allow one to infer the manufacturing stage of the tool (beginning, intermediate, close to finished) as well as the stage at which tools may have been utilized (finished or unfinished state). Within the entire assemblage of adzes and chisels, there were, on average, 2.168 negative scars noted per tool. This figure again implies that most of the adze-related tools were close to a finished stage or were finished. As stated above however, non-finished tools were utilized more often than tools at other stages of manufacture. This idea is supported by the average negative scar amount per tool (n=2.151).

An interesting pattern of tool manufacture is suggested by the presence of broken tools at the sites. Only 31 % of all adzes recovered from the sites were complete, the remainder having been fractured, presumably during utilization. Fractured and/or discarded tools could be thought to have been left in areas in which they were broken, unless recycled. This suggests several possibilities: 1) the tools were utilized and fractured on-site (e.g., wood working, hoeing/excavating) and simply abandoned; 2) the tools were fractured on-site and reworked into other tools (e.g., chisels, drills); or 3) the tools were utilized off-site and they were brought back to the site if they could still be reworked. They may have then been reworked into other tools such as smaller adzes, chisels, or another type of tool. However, such recycling would most likely occur in areas where the lithic resources (raw materials) were less available or more laborious to obtain. At this juncture, each of these three possibilities is valid.

Description of Earthwork Tool Classes Adzes and Chisels Adzes (quadrangular, triangular, shouldered) and chisels were fairly common occurrences at each excavated site (see Table 19 above). Over 15% of the total lithic assemblage was composed of these artifact types typically associated with primary and/or secondary forest clearance, wood working activities, and hoeing/digging (Figures 16 and 17; Appendix VI). Adzes and axes are typically equated with a late Southeast Asian "Neolithic period occurring from c. 1000 B.C. (see Mourer and Mourer 1970; see also Bellwood 1979:174). These are thought to primarily have functioned for chopping and cutting wood products. Most adzes and axes in the present

The presence and location of cortex on an unfinished adze or chisel can provide details on the raw material form used to manufacture the adzes and chisels (see Lass 1994:36). Within 66

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Figure 16: Shouldered Adzes from Chi Peang, Phoum Chong, and Phoum Ruung

Figure 17: Stone Chisels from Krek#13, Chi Peang, Phoum Trameng, and Phoum Ruung

67

collection are ground, an attribute suggested to pre-date the appearance of bronze (White and Pigott 1996: 160). Many specimens are finished and complete specimens. Average measurements of earthwork adzes are depicted in Table 20. Chisel dimensions are offered in Table 21.

Small adzes and chisels are close in length, width, and weight. The difference between chisels and small adzes may essentially come down to hafting angles: chisels are hafted on a straight line (on-line haft) whereas adzes are normally hafted by the line of force being perpendicular to the axis of the handle. In other words, both tool type and hafting angles would have determined the appropriate function of the tool (Table 24).

The adzes and chisels in the collection are not exceptionally large, but many did have axe-like cutting edges and bevels and rounded edges (hoeing function). Functionally, the tools were likely not primarily used for chopping down large trees or chiseling large objects. More likely, the specimens of the present assemblage were utilized for clearing secondary forest and brush clearance, woodworking, and manufacturing other tools, house posts, wooden bowls, and hoeing or digging associated with agriculture/horticulture. This assessment is also based upon adze cross-section, plan of working edge, and parent derivative as is shown in Table 22.

In the end, these hafting angles would allow the worker to perform more functions with a smaller toolkit. In the adze collection itself, the difference between quadrangular and shouldered adzes could also be prominent: the shoulder of the adze (tanged) could have facilitated hafting or at least enabled different types of hafting. The shoulder of the shouldered adze could have been an aid to more readily gripping the axe haft (see also Duff 1970). Thus, while quadrangular and shouldered adzes (as well as chisels) themselves may be grouped together for the sake of increasing the sample sizes of the assemblage, they likely performed slightly different functions as they were manufactured in different shapes and had varying potential for hafting.

Based upon size, cross-section, bevel and bevel angle (modified tool edge from the removal of flakes to produce certain edge angles; Andrefsky 1998:xxi), the chisels were presumably utilized for smaller-scale, utilitarian wood working (bowls and such) and small-scale vegetation clearing (Table 23).

On a relative scale, the lengths, widths, and thickness' of the adzes and chisels are not exceptionally large nor industriallooking. There appears to be much intra-site uniformity in adze and chisel length, width, and thickness (see Tables 20 and 21 ). There also appears to be a preference for adze crosssection (lenticular), plan of the working edge (fractured and crescent-shaped), as well as parent derivative (flakes, blanks,

Chisels may have been used in manufacturing ornamental objects fashioned from wood and possibly, other organic materials such as bamboo. As discussed in Chapter 4, the acidic nature of earthwork soils has precluded the recovery of such organic remains.

Table 20. Average and Standard Deviation of Adzes Length, Width, and Thickness Adze Length (mm)=48.56

Median Length=45.00

Standard Deviation=18.00

Adze Width (mm)=31.36

Median Width=30.00

Standard Deviation=9.03

Adze Thickness (mm)=9.50

Median Thickness=9.00

Standard Deviation=5.20

Table 21. Average and Standard Deviation of Chisels Length, Width, and Thickness Chisel Length (mm)=37.49

Median Length=35.50

Standard Deviation=13.64

Chisel Width (mm)=18.38

Median Width=18.00

Standard Deviation=6.75

Chisel Thickness (mm)=6.65

Median Thickness=5.00

Standard Deviation=4.71

Table 22. Adzes Cross-Section, Plan of Working Edge, and Parent Derivative Cross Section %

Plan of Working Edge %

Derivative %

Lenticular-40.51

None (fractured)=31.04

Flake=35.34

Rectangular=21.56

Rectangular=21.55

Unknown=34.48

Plano-Convex=18.96

Crescent=21.55

Blank=20.69

Mod. Plano-Convex=11.20

Other=15.51

Core=?.76

Other=2.59

Triangular=6.90

Re-Worked tool=1.73

Ang, Mod Plano-Conv=1.73

Trapezoidal=2.59

-----

None=1.73

Flanged=0.86

-----

Crescent=0.86

---------

---------

100%

100%

100%

Square=0.86

68

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Table 23. Chisel Cross-Section, Plan of Working Edge, and Parent Derivative Cross Section %

Plan of Working Edge %

Derivative %

Lenticular=52.08

Other=38.19

Flake=84.03

Plano-Convex= 15.98

Rectangular=22.91

Unknown=10.42

Rectangular=11.11

Crescent=20.86

Core=3.46

Other=?.63

Triangular=6.94

Blank=2.09

Mod. Plano-Convex=5.56

None=6.25

Crescent=2.09

Trapezoidal=2. 77

-----

Ang, Mod Plano-Convex=2.08

Pointed=1.39

-----

Square=1.39

Flanged=0.69

-----

---------

Triangular=0.69

-----

-----

100%

100%

100%

None=1.39

Table 24. Adzes and Chisels Tool Function Function

fact that these fractured tools occurred within the sites means either that the tools were used and fractured on-site (wood working) or were fractured off-site and transported back to the sites, perhaps to be recycled (though recycling did not occur on some recovered specimens for some reason). Approximately 11% of the adzes and chisels existed in a preform stage, this implying that some adze and chisel manufacturing occurred onsite. Finally, the recovered assemblage consisted of many fractured adzes and chisels. This again suggests employment of the tools for certain on-site functions. A majority of these fragments were proximal fragments, with end shock likely being the cause of tool breakage (transverse fracture due to the stone exceeding its elastic limits). Striations and fissures were common on complete, non-fractured tools as well, this denoting radii originating at the margins of detached pieces on the ventral surface and directed toward the point of applied force (front). These actions likely denote chopping motions for small tree felling, wood cutting, or clearing activities.

Percentage

Scraping/Chopping/Hoeing

48.26

Cutting, Chopping

36.68

Unknown

6.95

Cutting, Chopping, Scraping

2.32

Scraping, Filing

1.54

-----

and cores) (see Table 22). As was shown in Table 23, the chisel assemblage is predominantly lenticular in cross-section as well. When combining adze and chisel assemblages into an aggregate assemblage, adzes and chisels appear to have similarity in cross-section, working edge plan, and parent material derivative. There is a certain inter-site homogeneity in adze and chisel form as well as function.

Use-wear damage within the adze and chisel assemblage, as exhibited in Table 25 above, was dominated by edge bluntingrounding and battering demarcations. All recovered tools were utilized to some degree. There were no complete adzes or Over 31% of the combined assemblage was represented by chisels without use-wear markings. Rounding of the tools' complete tools. The next largest percentage was proximal working edges was common. This could be a function of fragments of unfinished adzes and chisels (24.23%), which parent raw materials or could be because rounding, the gradual suggests that the tools were fractured during utilization. The reduction of angularity of a tool edge resulting Table 25. Adzes and Chisels: Major Types of Fragment and Use-Wear in dulling effect (see Andrefsky 1998), could Damage have rendered the tool ineffective unless sharpened, a function the numerous grinding Tool Condition (%) Use-Wear Damage (%) stones at the sites could have succeeded in Complete=31 . 15 Edge blunting=48.85 completing. A fair number of adzes and chisel Proximal Frag, unfinished tool=24.23 Battering, flaking=36.54 edges were rounded. This may imply that not all adzes were used for wood working but hoes Preform=11.15 None=6.92 used for gardening. Digging could account for proximal frag=9.23 Chipping, blunting=2.30 the edge rounding. This is certainly possible distal frag, complete tool=6.92 Shattered=1.54 considering that a portion of the earthwork ----distal frag=4.23 subsistence base was directed toward agriculture-horticulture. ----frag of complete tool=3.46

As illustrated in Table 25, the condition of the adze and chisel tools, upon recovery, was variable.

proximal frag, unfinished tool=2.69

-----

100%

100%

A large percentage of use-wear damage on adzes and chisels was due to battering and 69

flaking. Overall, it appears as though many of these adzes and chisels were utilized on-site, an interpretation that complements the habitation function of the site as these tools could have been used to construct site habitation structures, among other purposes. Micro-wear analysis (and noted in Table 24 above) revealed that chopping, cutting, scraping, and digging activities dominated tool function (85%). These are activities that could have allowed for both large scale (constructing dwellings within the earthworks to clearing fields for agricultural endeavors) and small scale (wood working, manufacturing decorative items) projects.

the present adze assemblage. Several other commonalities exist between the present adze assemblage and Duff's/Bellwood's classification oflate Neolithic tools: most have lenticular crosssection and the adzes are generally flaked to shape from a large core and then ground and polished. Geographically, this form of shouldered adze is fairly diagnostic in terms of temporal occurrence in the archeological record of the region. This type of adze is characteristic oflndo-China yet has been documented as occurring as far as Assam, Yunnan, and into northeast India (Bellwood 1979: 171-176). While shouldered adzes are thought to have been "the result of a late Neolithic, local elaboration within Southeast Asia" (ibid.), the type was vastly spread over much of Asia (spatially non-diagnostic).

Duff(l970:72) argues that the Neolithic ofMainland Southeast Asia is represented by a well-developed quadrangular complex which appears suddenly to have overwhelmed Mesolithic or Proto-Neolithic forerunner cultures. Duff(l970:73, 75) further states that within lndo-China, locally developed adze forms appear through time, particularly shouldered adzes, and that this latter type was evenly distributed throughout Neolithic Thailand. Common varieties of early Neolithic adzes in Thailand and Malaysia were based upon right-angled lateral reduction of the butt of a rectangular-sectioned adze with a unilateral bevel. These are considered the earliest forms of adzes in Southeast Asia (Duff 1970). These tools have a thick butt to which shouldered reduction was applied, and in the range of the shoulder, a silhouette from sawn right-angle through an arrowhead shape, and even to an open curve. Duff (1970:75) suggests that these adze types were the result of independent invention, as a direct response to the influence of cast or forged metal prototypes in the area.

Flakes Industrial waste and utilized flakes in the form of siltstone and basalt flake fragments were common in the overall lithic assemblage (see Table 19) yet are not thought to represent large quantities indicative of full-scale, on-site lithic workshops. Simply based on the number of recovered flakes, one would expect that small lithic chipping stations or workshops could have been present at the sites, not butchering stations or multiprocessing residential sites (c.f. Latinis 1996:35). One could also expect that core reduction would have occurred in other locations, unless site occupants brought the raw materials to the site for manufacturing, an unlikely premise considering that most quarries (and work stations) were some distance from the sites (5-15 km; see Chapter 4 ). It is suspected that reduction sequences occurred elsewhere (off-site, near raw material resource loci) while finishing and/or re-shaping/recycling of tools occurred on-site. The on-site recovery of a fair amount of polishing stones/whetstones further supports this notion. However, the significant presence of edge-altered flakes, those artificially modified for cutting vegetable or animal materials, suggests residential activities occurring near suggested housing locations (platform periphery; see below). The correlation between tool types, tool condition, and ubiquity of waste flakes, at this juncture, only implies on-site finishing and/or small scale recycling stages, not full-scale workshops. The expected frequency of flakes throughout site strata would be much greater if all stages of reduction and manufacture occurred at the sites.

Comparing the present adze assemblage with Duff's typology, the earthwork's shouldered adzes correspond most with Duff's Type 8, Variety D and E. These are based upon Duff's adze "Type 2" consisting of an adze with simple rectangular shoulders (Duff 1970:83). The shouldered angles were achieved by flaking followed by grinding. Variety E, the most common in the present assemblage, consists of a shouldered adze with an axe-rounded cutting edge and simple, rectangular shoulders. The rectangular and sawn shouldered butt was applied to a centered-edged adze of rounded rectangular section. These shouldered adzes were acquired from RachGia and Ha Tien Province of Vietnam. Another example, citing Duff's (1970) typology again, is in comparing adzes from Samrong Sen, Cambodia. Briefly, the adzes conform to Duff's "Type 2" (rectangular and lenticular cross-section) as well as Type 8, discussed above. In the present assemblage, the Type 8 shouldered adze could "fit" the most similar type of adze in Duff's typology. In fact, earthwork shouldered adzes are almost identical in shape, length, width, and thickness. These adzes are suggested to be late Neolithic tools from c. 1000 B.C. (Duff 1970; Bellwood 1979, 1985).

Of the total 1,268 flakes analyzed during the present study, 34% were divergent flakes and 36% were irregular flakes (Figure 18). The former were utilized flakes (butchering, cutting plants) while the latter represent waste flakes or debitage. Table 26 lists the total number of flakes recovered from excavated earthwork sites and flake shapes. The divergent flakes exhibited use-wear on their cutting edges while none existed on the irregular flakes. It appears probable that the utilized, divergent flakes composed of siltstone could have been profitably utilized for cutting grass stalks (rice related?) and the like as these flakes would have been durable and easier to sharpen than basalt flakes. Basalt flakes quickly become useless with such endeavors and are much more time consuming to re-sharpen.

Duff's typology was based primarily upon cross-section, tool function, and the presence or absence of a hafting device on the butt of the tool (Bellwood 1979: 171-176). Bellwood (ibid.) agrees with Duff in that a significant change in Mainland Southeast Asian toolkits was the adoption of the Type 8 shouldered adze with a rectangular section and markedly shouldered butt. Further, most of these typed tools are unibeveled adzes, as opposed to bi-beveled axes, a pattern seen in

As shown in Table 27 below, there appears to be a some heterogeneity in flake length, width, and weight. This

70

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Parallel

Subparallel

Divergent

Convergent

Irregular

Figure 18: Illustration of Flake Shapes Table 26. Flake Shapes

Parallel

Divergent

Irregular

Sub-Parallel

Convergent

Other

Total

33

609

549

53

19

5

1268

2.60

48.03

43.30

4.18

1.50

0.39

100%

heterogeneity may simply be a function of the flake parent material or could be due to use-wear. Utilized flakes (called "edge-altered flakes") may have been used for reaping plants, meat cutting, or wood processing. This is evidenced by the presence of many micro-flakes and chips on the cutting edges of the flakes not attributable to waste flaking. However, meat processing and reaping flakes (agriculture) should have higher gloss with striations running parallel to the cutting edge or at a 45-degree angle or more, this due to the constant cutting motions involved in such tasks (D. Kyle Latinis, personal communication). In the present flake assemblage, variances between high and low glosses and micro-striations were difficult to discern. This may be because so many flakes were composed of siltstone and were smoothed or eroded through weathering activities. However, based on the shape and edges of utilized flakes, it appears likely that cutting use motions to perform meat processing and reaping tasks were predominant in the assemblage. Waste flakes represent small scale, on-site manufacturing or recycling of other tools such as adzes, chisels, or drills. Preforms, Cores, and Grinding or Polishing Stones

The presence of preforms, cores, and grinding stones within the sites themselves (3% of total assemblage; see Appendix VI) implies that some phase of tool manufacturing was occurring on-site. The grinding stones do not have the size nor use-wear indicative of food processing tools. That some tool manufacturing occurred at the sites is further supported by the presence of waste flakes occurring in association with these tools. The preforms (blanks that have been further

worked so that they more clearly represent unfinished tools of an intended type; Bradley 1975:5-6) were shaped in the form of adzes while cores, the nucleus of a rock showing signs of detached piece removal (Andrefsky 1998:xxii), occurred in limited frequency. The cores were probably used in producing flakes that were large enough to be manufactured into small adzes, chisels, and drills. Grinding/polishing whetstones were mostly composed of sandstone, a material having a high tolerance for polishing and sharpening or resharpening of siltstone tools (Figure 19). The polishing stones were multi-faceted tools: the flanks of the stones were very smoothed (due to polishing other tools) while ventral surfaces contained small grooves indicative of sharpening blades, flakes, and other cutting or lacerating tools. The polishing stones themselves were highly regular in terms of their shape (trapezoidal) and most had distinctive edges. Scrapers/Abraders, Blades, and Points

There is a minimal presence of scrapers/abraders (a flake tool that has a retouched edge angle of c. 60-90 degrees) and blades (detached pieces with parallel or subparallel lateral margins) at each excavated site (see Appendix VI). These tools are primarily grinding and cutting tools. The scrapers characteristically contained use-wear on one flank while the blades were mostly polished and contained micro-chip fractures along the cutting edge (Figure 20). There was also a minimal presence of arrow points from the sites (see Appendix VI). These points, primarily fashioned from siltstone, suggest a hunting component to what otherwise appears to be an agricultural or horticultural tool assemblage. Rice and chaff in pottery matrices provides secondary evidence for tool use

Table 27. Average and Standard Deviation of Flakes Length, Width, Thickness, and Weight Flake Length (mm)=29.44

Median Length=29.00

Standard Dev.=10.63

Flake Width (mm)=20.24

Median Width=19.50

Standard Dev.=8.45

Flake Thickness (mm)=3.87

Median Thickness=3.00

Standard Dev.=3.16

Flake Weight (g)=5.52

Median Weight=3.10

Standard Dev.=7.68

WhettedSurfaces

Whetstones From:ChiPeangand PhoumRuung

Figure 19: Whetstone Fragments from Chi Peang and Phoum Ruung

in agricultural-horticultural contexts. Without surviving faunal remains within earthwork sites, it is difficult to tell what type of animals may have been hunted with the points. The ethnographic record of the region lists tigers, elephants, pythons, deer, buffalo, rhinoceros, panthers, bears, gibbons, foxes, wildfowl, and wild boars as animals that may have been hunted and consumed. Arrow points have also been recovered from other earthwork sites in the region (see Do 1999, Albrecht et al. 1999) and may not have been utilized simply for hunting. They may have been used for feuding and warfare.

Ornamental Objects Stone bangles fashioned from basalt, siltstone, and granitic pluton were recovered from several earthwork sites (Figure 21; see also Appendix VI). These artifacts compose less than 1% of the total lithic assemblage. Stone bangles have also been recovered from other circular sites in the region, also in only limited quantities (Do 1999, Albrecht et al. 1999). The bangles themselves are fairly small when reconstructed, averaging c. 7 cm in diameter. No complete bangles have

Bladesand Points From:Krek#14,ChiPeangand BanteayMeas

Figure 20: Blades and Points from Krek#14, Chi Peang, and Banteay Meas

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Yet, even this small sample produced several patterns that were similar to those identified for the much more excavated site of Chi Peang. First, like overall lithic frequency, flakes are the most ubiquitous class (see Appendix V). Second, no lithics were recovered from the exterior of the sites or within interior depressions. Most of the lithics were recovered from the perimeter of the interior platform (21 lithics per m2). If this distribution pattern is valid, then small-scale lithic utilization and/or manufacturing could have occurred near platform periphery areas. Finally, a very diverse lithic toolkit is evident in the small sample. In TU26 (n=21) seven tool classes are present. In TU25 (n= 10), four classes are present.

BangleFragments From:ChiPeangandPhoumChong

Figure 21: Stone Bangle Fragments from Chi Peang and Phoum Chong

been recovered from any earthwork site, yet large fragments showed the pieces to have been well-crafted: the bangles were precisely square or rounded.

As is shown through analyzing the vertical distribution of these lithics (Table 29), there is a slight difference in lithic tool frequency through time. This sample is small though and should not be stressed too much.

Intra-Site Lithic Distribution Patterns

The 0.60-0. 70 m level contains the most lithic artifacts. Based upon this small sample, again, this pattern is not considered very significant unless compared on an inter-site basis (see below). Both utilized and waste flakes occur in each strata and five other tool classes occur together within a 0.20 m occupation (0.60-0.80 mbs).

Horizontal and vertical lithic distributions from excavated sites were utilized to discern activity areas in the sites (horizontal) as well as to evaluate whether lithic forms changed through time (vertical). In this sampling program, only two sites have sufficient data for horizontal distribution analysis: Krek #14 and Chi Peang. A transect was placed at the former site for comparing intra-site activity areas, while at the latter site sixteen units were excavated within a portion of each site architectural feature. At other excavated sites, only one or two units were placed within sites, which is insufficient to infer distribution patterns.

Sixteen trenches were excavated at the Chi Peang site. The horizontal distribution of lithics at the site, as is shown in Table 30, shows variable counts between units. Total lithic counts reveal that units with highest lithic retrieval were located along the periphery of the platform. In descending frequency per m2, platform periphery units typically contained more lithics than the center of the site, intermediate areas, and site depressions. In general, center site units yielded the second highest amounts oflithics. Areas

The horizontal distribution oflithics at Krek # 14 (Table 28) shows that within the six 1 x 1 m units excavated, a very modest sample oflithics was recovered (n=3 l ). Table 28. Horizontal Distribution of Lithics at Krek #14 Unit#

Location

Total Count

Lithics/m 2

Lithic Classes

% of Total

23

center site

0

0

0

0

24

inter platform

0

0

0

0

25

inter platform

10

10

4

32.26

26

plat periphery

21

21

7

67.74

27

inter depress

0

0

0

0

28

site exterior

0

0

0

0

Total

5 locations

31

31

7

100

Table 29. Vertical Distribution of Lithics at Krek #14 Unit

50-60

60-70

70-80

80-90

90-100

Total#

Total%

25

2

3

0

5

0

10

32.26

26

4

15

2

0

0

21

67.74

Total#

6

18

2

5

0

31

-----

Total%

19

58

7

16

0

-----

100

73

between platform periphery and center site yielded minimal artifact counts while site depression areas contained the least amount of artifacts. Utilized flakes and debitage were the most ubiquitous class of lithics recovered from within each test unit, a general trend occurring at all excavated sites (see Appendix V). There is no co-variance between unit location and lithic tool type. Another trend was that units containing the most artifacts also had the most tool types (e.g., ST-9 had 506 tools representing 13 lithic types). Yet, even in units not yielding many artifacts, several tool types were recovered (e.g., TU-2 had six artifacts representing four tool typesutilized flakes and debitage, chisel, and shouldered adze fragment). Finally, no raw material was worked in one area of the site exclusive of other areas. In total, no specific areas of any site could be suggested as lithic processing areas, butchering areas, workstation locales exclusive to all site areas except habitation loci along peripheral platform reaches.

occurred more frequently in one cultural strata versus another. As is discussed further below, it appears as though earthwork occupants had already crafted a complete toolkit prior to construction and occupation of the sites.

Inter-Site Lithic Distribution Patterns

Horizontal lithic distributions may only be systematically compared at two sites (Chi Peang, Krek #14). Yet between these sites, as noted above, several patterns are evident. First, most artifacts were recovered from units located at or near the platform periphery of the sites. Second, there was no appreciable pattern of lithic type or parent material versus site location. Third, many classes of stone tools were recovered from within each unit containing tools. Finally, utilized flakes and debitage dominated site artifact counts. The remaining tools showed an equal distribution to the overall lithic assemblage pattern. These preliminary observations aid in determining intra-site activity areas.

Table 31 shows that the vertical distribution ( occupation intensity) of lithics within Chi Peang units showed varying concentrations.

All excavated earthwork sites were compared to analyze trends in the lithic database through time Table 32 shows lithic occurrences by stratigraphic level.

Within a 0.60 m range, there is a noticeable concentration of lithics. In most cases, the vertical distributions appear unimodal: absence of tools, steady increase in tools to greatest ubiquity, then a decrease in tools down the profile to basal strata. Only Unit #4 contained appreciable lithic concentrations in lower strata, this likely due to this area being the highest point measured on the platform and requiring greater depth to reach cultural material. Another pattern is that tool types were co-variant throughout profiles: no one tool type dominated a certain stratigraphic level. In other terms, one set of tools did not replace another through time (see Table 34 below). Finally, no one parent material type

Several inter-site patterns are evident when comparing the vertical distribution of lithics (see also Chapter 6). First, distribution patterns appear to be related to site occupational intensity, lithic manufacture/use through time, and site occupation duration. The greatest frequency oflithics occurs in levels that have the greatest overall artifact occurrence. Based on lithic distributions, Chi Peang has the longest site occupation while Krek # 14 has the shortest. This is discussed more below. Second, each site distribution contains a bell-

Table 30. Horizontal Distribution of Lithics at Chi Peang Unit

Location

Total Count

1

plat periphery

91

2

int depress

6

Lithics/m 2

Lithic Classes

% of Total

91

8

6.05

6

4

0.40

3

plat periphery

93

18

11

6.20

4

plat periphery

141

35

10

9.38

5

plat periphery

126

42

6

8.39

6

center site

47

47

4

3.13

7

center site

0

0

0

0.00

8

entryway

81

81

9

5.40

9

plat periphery

506

101

13

33.69

10

inter plat

15

15

5

1.00

11

int depress

0

0

0

0.00

0

0

0

0.00

12

entryway

13

plat periphery

14

255

85

9

16.97

inter plat

0

0

0

0.00

15

plat periphery

62

12

11

4.13

16

center site

79

19

10

5.26

Total#

5

1502

552

13

100

74

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Table 31. Vertical Distribution of Lithics at Chi Peang Unit

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

9

10

13

15

16

0-10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10-20

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

20-30

0

0

0

0

18

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

30-40

1

0

1

0

59

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

40-50

0

0

1

2

26

0

24

7

1

40

0

8

50-60

0

0

10

0

4

0

20

31

0

43

9

6

60-70

30

0

46

2

6

2

25

87

5

36

0

5

70-80

43

0

16

5

0

0

5

215

3

42

6

22

80-90

9

2

10

3

4

2

4

96

5

11

17

19

90-100

8

3

9

38

4

0

0

65

0

4

0

8

100-110

0

1

0

50

4

0

3

0

0

0

29

11

110-120

0

0

0

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

120-130

0

0

0

16

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

130-140

0

0

0

15

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total Count

91

6

93

141

126

4

81

501

15

176

63

79

Total%

6.62

0.44

6.76

10.25

9.16

0.28

5.88

36.41

1.09

12.79

4.58

5.74

*Units 7, 11, 12, and 14 contained no lithic artifacts;

Table 32. Lithic Database versus Stratigraphic Level Level (cmbs)

Phoum Trameng

Phoum Chong

Krek #13

Krek #14

Banteay Meas

Chi Peang

Phoum Ruung

Total Count

Total %

Surface

(14 )*

6

0

0

0

0

46

66

3.65

0-10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10-20

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

0.05

20-30

0

0

0

0

0

21

0

21

1.20

30-40

0

0

0

0

0

64

0

64

3.54

40-50

1

0

0

0

0

108

0

108

5.98

50-60

3

23

0

4

9

132

0

171

9.48

60-70

16

5

1

15

1

265

0

303

16.78

70-80

1

16

4

7

5

371

0

404

22.38

80-90

12

9

0

5

34

198

0

258

14.29

90-100

0

28

10

0

37

144

0

219

12.13

100-110

0

19

20

0

18

63

0

120

6.64

110-120

0

0

7

0

2

27

0

36

1.99

120-130

0

0

1

0

0

17

0

18

1.00

130-140

0

0

0

0

0

16

0

16

0.89

Total Count

47

106

43

31

106

1427

46

1806

-----

Total%

2.60

5.87

2.38

1.71

5.87

79.01

2.56

-----

100%

*recovered in 1996=5 adzes, 2 shouldered adzes, 6 flakes, 1 point

curved structure where lithics are absent, appear and increase in quantity to a peak, then decrease to basal reaches. At all sites except Phoum Trameng, Phoum Chong, and Phoum Ruung, surface finds were non-existent. This may be a function of modem land use (grading on rubber plantations, garden cultivation) or site preservation. At Phoum Chong, where lithic frequency does not acquire a uni-modal curve,

differential occupational intensity is possible. Third, at almost all sites (located across a 55-kilometer area), lithics begin to appear well below surface (c. 0.40 mbs). This pattern suggests a fairly consistent rate of site sedimentation or similar effect of site formation processes across the region. The hiatus in upper strata cultural material is attributed to either the natural accumulation of sediment following site abandonment or

upper level disturbance (modern grading on rubber plantations). More salient patterns are elucidated in the following discussion.

of classes. In this sense, lithic diversity has increased through time. Following, the site with the longest occupation (Chi Peang) has the most diverse lithic toolkit. As Chi Peang was the site subject to the most intensive excavations, these patterns could be due to sampling issues. Second, no one lithic tool type has become absent in a site's archaeological record at the expense of another tool type. No one lithic has replaced another through time at any site. Adzes, for instance, are quite common throughout the occupational sequences of each site. Third, the greatest number of lithic tool classes occurs within a small stratigraphic range. Typically, there is a correlation between greatest artifact counts and greatest diversity in lithic tool type. Highest lithic frequency and tool classes usually occur in a 0.40-0.60 m portion of the occupational stratum, the same depths containing the highest artifact counts. Finally, while not all tool types are equally distributed between sites, there is some repetition in that wood-working and hoeing tools (e.g., adzes, chisels, drills) are common within each site. This uniformity supports the notion that the circular settlements were engaging in similar activities through time.

Inter-Site Lithic Tool Classes: Diversity and Chronology

One assumption tested here read: the longer a site is occupied, the more diversity in tool type would be evident. In addition to testing this idea, analysis was done to illustrate whether older or younger site had a more diverse lithic toolkit and also, whether certain tools types were replaced over time at any sites. Several patterns were evident when comparing site occupation duration versus lithic toolkit diversity. These patterns are illustrated in Table 33. First, the youngest site (Chi Peang), which was also occupied the longest (see Chapter 6), has the most diverse tool kit. By comparison, the oldest site (Phoum Trameng) has the least diverse lithic toolkit. Banteay Meas and Phoum Chong, sites occupied between the oldest and youngest ranges, have an equal number of tool classes that rest between the fewest number and greatest number. Banteay Meas and Phoum Chong occur within 2 km of each other and are inferred to be contemporaneous. Krek #13 and Krek #14, also occurring close together, also have the same number of tool classes. The two neighboring groups of sites with similar numbers of tool classes suggests site contemporaneity and/or community affiliation. A second pattern is that the number of artifact classes appears to correlate with highest artifact densities such that the most intensively occupied strata of a site have the most lithic diversity. This pattern repetitive at each site.

Discussion

Occupants of the permanently occupied circular settlements utilized a lithic toolkit that was primarily utilitarian in nature. A fairly complete lithic toolkit was recovered from each site, "complete" meaning that a variety of similar functional tasks could have been performed with the tools by earthwork occupants. Lithic types included adzes, shouldered axes, chisels, adze preforms, picks/drills, cores, whetstones/ polishing stones, abraders, knives/blades, utilized flakes, waste flakes/debitage, punch/bits, chisel and pick tools, points, amorphous rock fragments, and bangles. These classes suggest that some stages of lithic manufacture occurred on-site. Evidence for on-site tool manufacturing and/or recycling in the form of waste flakes and preforms was present at all sites. While some tools were finished at the sites themselves, as seen through the presence of whetstones or polishing stones at each site, it is more likely that much reduction was done at off-site workshops or quarries. Various types oflithic source materials were available to earthwork occupants, yet these occurred several kilometers from each site (see Map 7). Significant geographic distances between earthwork settlements and quarries likely dictated that earthwork lithic workers manufactured tools at the quarries and finished the

Table 34 provides a more complete compilation of lithic tool classes by site per depth below surface. This analysis was primarily done to analyze whether lithic tool types were replaced over time and based on tool type with depth, to provide another line of evidence determining whether sites were contemporaneous. Several meaningful patterns are illustrated in the above table. First, the youngest site (Chi Peang) has the most tool classes while the oldest site (Phoum Trameng) has the least amount

Table 33. Site Occupation Duration and Diversity of Lithic Tool Classes Site

Site Occupation Duration

Lithic Tool Classes

Chronology

Chi Peang

130 cm

16

1040 BC-840 BC to 410 BC-360 BC/ 290 BC-250 BC

Krek #13

70 cm

8

-----

Krek #14

50cm

8

-----

Phoum Chong

60cm

12

1620 BC-1260 BC-?

Banteay Meas

70cm

12

1930 BC-1730 BC/ 1720 BC-1690 BC-?

Phoum Trameng

70cm

7

2290 BC-2030 BC-?

76

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Table 34. Lithic Tool Distribution and Diversity over Time Site

Chi Peang

0-20

*flakes (postdeposit)

20-40

40-60

60-80

80-100

adze adze adze adze shldr adze shldr adze shldr adze shldr adze preform drill preform drill drill chisel preform drill chisel chisel whetstoneflakes chisel whetstoneflakes whetstoneflakes blade bangle whetstoneflakes (410-250 BC) blade scraper arrowpt punch blade scraper arrowpt chsl-pick bangle

100-140

Total Classes

adze shldr adze preform drill chisel whetstoneflakes blade scraper (1040-840 BC)

13/16 or 81%

Krek 13

n/a

n/a

n/a

adze chisel flakes

adze shldr adze chisel flakes

adze shldr adze drill chisel flakes blade arrowpt

8/16 or 50%

Krek 14

n/a

n/a

chisel flakes

adze shldr adze preform drill chisel flakes blade

drill flakes blade

n/a

8/16 or 50%

Chong

na/

n/a

flakes

adze shldr adze drill chisel flakes

shldr adze drill chisel flakes chsl-pick

ceramics only (1620-1260 BC)

12/16 or 75%

B. Meas

n/a

n/a

adze drill chisel whetstoneflakes

adze chisel flakes blade

adze shldr adze preform drill chisel whetstoneflakes blade chsl-pick

adze shldr adze preform drill chisel whetstoneflakes blade scraper (1930-1690 BC)

12/16 or 75%

Trameng

n/a

n/a

flakes

adze shldr adze drill chisel flakes

shldr adze drill chisel flakes chsl-pick (2290-2030 BC)

n/a

7/16or 43%

*"flakes" includes both edge-altered flakes (diagnostic) and debitage

products on-site. This could have considerably decreased transport expenditures.

interpretation for the points however, and this is that they may have been utilized in feuds or warfare against humans.

The lithic assemblage appears typical for what would be expected for an agricultural or horticultural society. The nature and type of tools present at each site suggests a heavy emphasis on woodworking and/or clearing tools, tools used as hoes, and cutting tools ( animals and plants). Due to poor on-site preservation, it is not known what animals, if any, site occupants could have been raising and butchering. If pigs and cows were present for example, butchering tools (blades, utilized flakes) would be expected. As such, there would not be a heavy emphasis on hunting tools such as projectile points. The character of the archaeological assemblage and ethnographic data support such an interpretation as butchering tools far outnumber points. Other than hunting, there is another plausible

Bayard ( 1992:21) provides some basis for prehistoric conflict in Mainland Southeast Asia as evidenced by the presence of bronze arrow and spear points and cemeteries at Non Nok Tha that hint at sporadic raiding. Yet, did site occupants require lithics for hunting or use as weapons? In Island Southeast Asia (Irian Jaya and Maluku) and New Guinea, locals use bows in hunting and combative forays yet the points are made of hard woods rather than lithics or metal, a practice continuing through present times (D. Kyle Latinis, personal communication). The most ubiquitous raw material for lithic tool manufacture at each site was siltstone, a source material available within

77

several kilometers of most earthworks (see Chapter 4). In terms of tool type versus raw material, few salient patterns were identified. One recognized pattern, however, was the correlation between whetstones/polishing stones and sandstone. The presence of sandstone in and near the earthwork region alludes to economic benefits of the resources, as was discussed in Chapter 4. White and Pigott (1996:155) note that a likely factor in the differential distribution of evidence for casting bivalve socketed implements may be the availability of sandstone, the raw material used in most molds for socketed implements such as occurred at the c, 2000-1000 B.C. Phu Wiang copper production site in northeast Thailand. While sandstone artifacts used in lithic manufacture have been recovered from all the circular sites, there remains no evidence for metallurgy at the sites.

Bellwood (1979: 175) suggests that "Neolithic" sites of Indochina reveal a high degree of uniformity. Using the site of Samrong Sen as a case study, Bellwood (ibid.) notes that its Neolithic assemblage appears to be homogenous and is rich. On a very basic level, the earthwork lithic assemblage is fairly homogenous when comparing tool type, parent raw materials, tool function,horizontaland vertical distributionsand, excluding the Chi Peang site, in the number of tool types represented throughout site assemblages. Compared with other lithic studies in Southeast Asia (see Bellwood 1979 and 1985 for a summary), the earthwork lithic assemblage, with various adzes and diversity in tool type (and no metals) could be assessed as "Neolithic". Shouldered adzes, recovered from almost every strata at each site, are thought to have been the result of late Neolithic (c. 1,000 B.C.) local elaboration (ibid.; Duff 1970). Further, the earthwork toolkit contains much variety and represents a great proportion of the known Neolithic artifact range from Southeast Asia (see Bellwood 1985:174).

On both intra-site and inter-site levels, the earthwork toolkits are fairly uniform, particularly in the types of tools manufactured, the parent materials from which the tools were manufactured, and the functional uses of the tools. Intra-site horizontal distributions revealed few differences in lithic frequency per site feature. The location of highest lithic recovery at each site were along the platform periphery. No tools were recovered on the exterior of the sites. Vertical distributional analysis showed that most lithics occurred within a narrow stratigraphic range of c. 0.40-0.60 m, at varying depths below surface. The longest and youngest occupied site contained the highest degree of lithic toolkit variability and greatest number of tool types while the oldest site had the least variability and the smallest number of tool types. A complete and co-variant toolkit occurred throughout each site's occupation, with no one lithic form replacing another over time. That the toolkit was fairly complete throughout most of a site's occupational sequence could be explained in terms of adaptation and technology; earthwork occupants could manufacture a wide variety of tools prior to and through site occupation. The toolkits were mostly homogenous at each site through time because site occupants needed to perform the same kinds of tasks.

Such Neolithic homogeneity in stone tools has been primarily explained as a function of temporal and spatial evolution in that ideas for tool form evolve and then spread through cultural diffusion. For instance, in the case of adzes alone, some researchers have noted regional standardization in stone-axe forms (e.g., Duff's 1970 typology of Southeast Asian adzes). While cultural diffusion of ideas is one possibility, there are other possible explanations for the apparent standardization of tool types in Neolithic Southeast Asia. In terms of the earthwork toolkit, for example, stylistic norms, functional requirements of the toolkit (permanent settlement), and characteristics of the raw material available in the area used to manufacture the tools may be important causes leading to homogeneity. In any case, the relative uniformity of the Cambodian earthwork lithic assemblage across the region supports the idea of a shared, regional cultural adaptation (and perhaps ethnic identity) among the people inhabiting the earthwork sites. This appears to be more strongly supported by the fact that earthwork lithic toolkits were similar in form, function, and distribution between a group of circular sites that were not all occupied on a completely contemporaneous basis.

78

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Chapter 8. EARTHWORK CERAMICS (combed and angular incisions) were utilized on the same vessel part. Sherds with incised, stamped (dentate ), and impressed decorations configured in geometric fashions dominated the assemblage. No plainware sherds are depicted in Mansuy's report. From Mansuy's analysis, it is clear that surface decorations were quite complex in terms of incised markings. One pot, for example, contained S-shaped incisions on the body of the vessel (Mansuy 1902:Plate VIII), a type of decoration found on pottery sherds throughout Mainland Southeast Asia in the late 3rd -mid 2nd millennium B.C. (Rispoli 1997:67-68). From the pictured vases and bowls of the collection (Mansuy 1902:Plates Vlll-XII), the Samrong Sen vessels appear to be open bowls supported by pedestals measuring 11 to 15 cm high with everted flanged rims encircling apertures to 17 cm in diameter. Only unrestricted vessels, shown in Plates X, XI, and XII, appear to have an overall length greater than aperture diameter. The highly decorated pedestaled bowl and low bowls with elaborate stands could have been utilized for a multitude of purposes, including funerary.

The goal of this chapter is to describe the sample of the circular earthwork ceramic assemblage and to analyze patterns of intrasite and inter-site ceramic distributions. These distributions are used to infer on-site activity areas and to judge ceramic variability over time and through space. The analyses are complementary to assessing site chronology through ceramic decoration and rim classes that was presented in Chapter 6. The earthwork ceramic assemblage is also discussed in relation to other prehistoric ceramic datasets in the region. The ultimate goal of this chapter is to utilize ceramics for evaluating earthwork site connectedness and is another line of evidence to assess earthwork group identity.

Cambodian Studies

Prehistoric studies of Cambodia ceramics remain in an incipient stage. Analysis of prehistoric and protohistoric ceramic assemblages has become much more important in the past several years however (Albrecht et al. 1999; Dega 1999; Stark et al. 1999). Several studies on ceramics comparable to the present assemblage have been completed at Samrong Sen and Laang Spean. These sites, thought to have overlapping occupational sequences with several earthworks, provide the opportunity to compare ceramic assemblages within the same general region.

Mourer and Mourer (1970; see also Mourer 1977) carried out the most complete classification of a Cambodian prehistoric ceramic assemblage prior to the 1990s. The assemblage was recovered from Laang Spean, a large cave located in northwest Cambodia's Battambang Province. The project marked the first prehistoric cave investigation in Cambodia. The earliest dated potsherds in Cambodia came from this site and were radiocarbon dated to 4,290 B.C. (Mourer 1994). While "no pottery form has yet been able to be reconstructed entirely" (Mourer and Mourer 1970: 139), salient assemblage patterns were noted by the researchers. The sherds were tempered with minerals ("sand mixed with a clayey paste") and traces of carbon indicative of organic tempering agents (ibid. 139). While plainware sherds occurred in the assemblage, a majority of the sherds contained incised and applied exterior surface decoration. Incised decorations entailed parallel lines, oblique lines, parallel lines inside bands, grooved banding often found near the neck (stippling,

The works of Dr. Corre (1879) and Mansuy (1902) at Samrong Sen represent the first prehistoric studies of their kind within what was formerly Indo-China. While the stratigraphic integrity of the documented artifacts is tenuous, Mansuy's (1902: 13-17) description of the assemblage is reasonably clear. Earthenware ceramics recovered from Samrong Sen were quite intricate in terms of exterior surface treatment: both "simple" and "complex" geometric designs were incised and impressed on vases and footed bowls (Mansuy (1902: 1216). Decorative elements included parallel, oblique, horizontal, and "zigzag" incised lines occurring on vessel necks, body areas, and bases. Often, multiple incised patterns

79

punctate, dot-shaped impressions), and cord-marked and paddle-impressed decorations (parallel lines with wavy edges). Applied decorations included a stippled zone where a green-brown wash had been applied on the smooth bordering bands delimiting the pricked fields (ibid. 141). The Mourer's (1970: 141) noted that a "blackish carbonized zone" occurred on the interior of most sherds, this indicative of the low fired nature of the pottery and/or possible use of the vessel in relation to cooking activities. Most of the diagnostic sherds represented bowls while some pots had ring-footed bases. Further information on vessel manufacture and function is available from R. Mourer's (1996) study comparing the techniques of modem potters in Kampong Chhnang Province with suggested techniques of pottery manufacture at Laang Spean and for other assemblages in Cambodia.

at seven earthworks. Only sherds greater than 2 cm in diameter were analyzed. Non-diagnostic sherds with similar thickness, provenience, color, and temper were collapsed into units where only several representative sherds from the same group were described, not every sherd in the group (Appendix VII). After this was accomplished, a total 1,332 sherds or 22% of the recovered database remained to be explicitly classified. However, when comparing intra-site and inter-site ceramic concentration distributions, all 6,032 sherds were utilized in counts. All decorated sherds from each recovery site were analyzed. Variation in absolute number of ceramic fragments per site was dependent upon the amount of testing conducted at each site and should not be thought to reflect a pattern created by past occupants of the earthworks. For instance, the Chi Peang sample contains over 3,000 more ceramic sherds than does the Phoum Trameng site. However, 16 trenches of varying size were excavated at Chi Peang while only two 1 x 1 m units were excavated at Phoum Trameng. These differences in counts are mainly the result of the sampling strategy and do not necessarily reflect different artifact concentrations at different sites.

Ceramic Studies of Earthwork Assemblages

Through 1999, five archaeological investigations occurred at one or more Cambodian earthwork sites. Until recently, none of these studies provided in-depth analysis of the ceramics. Gros lier ( 1966a: 193), for instance, reported recovering some 20,000 ceramic sherds from the Memot site (Banteay Meas). No other information on the assemblage has been forthcoming. More recent investigations by Nop et al. (1996), Kojo and Pheng (1997, 1998), Dega et al. (1997a, 1997b), Dega (1998, 1999), and Albrecht et al. (1999) have shed more light on earthwork assemblages. The combined research to date, particularly that accomplished by Albrecht et al. (1999), has led to more accurate descriptions of the earthwork assemblages and contextualizing the finds.

Beyond providing descriptions of the assemblage, analysis was geared towards explaining variances in the distributional characteristics of the pottery. Horizontal distribution analysis of sherds was undertaken to investigate intra-site activity areas (space). Vertical distributional analysis was done to analyze change in the ceramic assemblage over time and to further evaluate the nature of site occupational duration and intensity. Earthwork assemblages are compared on intra-site, inter-site, and regional scales. Other analyses were performed, but remain peripheral to this study. 1 Finally, this preliminary work was accomplished to provide a baseline classification of empirical data for future reference when additional field studies can be undertaken.

To summarize, these studies showed that the sherds were recovered in primary context in greatest frequency along platform peripheral edges. In most cases, occupation of the sites was regarded as continuous (although see Nop et al. 1996). The low-fired assemblages were dominated by plain earthenware sherds, with exterior decorative elements manifesting a variety of markings: impressed (cord-marked and stippling), incised ( combed, parallel, and incised geometric patterning), and punctate (S-shaped markings). The pottery was manufactured by the paddle-and-anvil technique and contained much variability in vessel orifice and wall size. This variability was reflected in assemblage forms: small bowls, large pots with small bases and wide necks, high and short-footed bowls, long and short-necked pots, small jars, flared mouth pots with ring-foot bases, and flat plates. Other clay objects included clay beads, bangle fragments, and a spindle whorl dating to the first millennium B.C. (Albrecht et al. 1999:12-13). Tempering agents included rice/rice chaff and fibers, sand, and laterite. The assemblages, as a whole, were thought to have primarily fulfilled domestic/utilitarian uses.

Ceramic Classification

The ceramic classification was constructed in a manner flexible with respect to variation in the excavated assemblages and is primarily descriptive in content (Appendix VIII). The classification is amenable to addressing questions of both stylistic and functional attributes of the assemblages. It can be further used for comparisons of ceramic type and frequency within earthwork sites to discern activity areas. For this analysis, several modes within classification dimensions have been combined as sample sizes were too small to provide significant statistical descriptions (e.g., tempering agents where various types of sand were combined into the single mode of "sand) and the minute variations between some modes was not likely to prove significant at this level of Functional and descriptive analyses were utilized to understand the types of raw materials utilized as a source of clays and tempers within the assemblages, to understand the working methods of the potters (paddleand-anvil, hand-thrown, wheel thrown), to understand the form and use of the wares produced to infer functional uses of the pottery, to understand the motifs and means for creating decorated wares and the meaning of such pottery within the overall assemblage, to understand the nature of pottery manufacture, from selected clays and tempers through inferred firing temperatures.

Methods for Ceramic Assemblage Analysis

The dataset recovered during these investigations consisted of a total 6,032 diagnostic and non-diagnostic sherds that were recovered during excavation and limited surface collection 80

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

analysis. The classification also allowed for evaluating general patterns pertaining to pottery manufacture and function.

Descriptive Analysis of Earthwork Ceramic Assemblage A total 6,032 ceramic fragments were recovered from the seven investigated earthworks. No complete vessels were recovered from any site. The largest recovered sherd comprises only c. 25% of an entire vessel. The following sections provide general descriptions of the overall ceramic assemblage in terms of vessel part, size and characterization, rim attributes, and tempering agents. Ceramic distribution analysis follows. Vessel Parts

Table 35 illustrates the frequency of vessel parts in the sampled assemblage. Table 35. Ceramic Vessel Parts in Total Sampled Assemblage Total Count

% of Total Assemblage

Body

598

44.90

Rim

235

17.60

Rim and Shoulder

238

17.30

Rim and Body

124

9.30

Other

55

4.03

Clay Wasters

47

3.54

Base

21

1.58

Neck

10

0.75

Indeterminate

3

0.75

Bangle

1

0.25

1332

100

Vessel Part

Total

over-fired sherds and vessels of varying shapes and sizes that are often found in the vicinity offiring areas (Sinopoli 1991:33; see also Rice 1987:179-180; Rice 1984). Only a single ceramic bangle fragment was recovered from the total assemblage of 6,032 sherds. Notably absent from the assemblage were any sort of vessel handles, spouts, or lids. Vessel reconstruction was not possible as weathering rounded the pottery edges and blurred surface treatments and trampling and other disturbances made many of the sherds too small to reconstruct into whole vessels (see Albrecht et al. 1999 however). Decorated Wares

Decorated sherds comprised 6% of the entire assemblage (n=360). Table 36 characterizes the recovered ceramic assemblage and ratio of plain ware versus decorated sherds. Figure 22 illustrates the varieties of decorative elements that were recorded during the analysis (see also Figure 13). Incising constitutes the most common exterior surface decorative element: over 70% of the sampled ceramics were incised. Following in descending order of frequency were impressed (9.4%), ribbed (9.1%), punctate (5.5%), and cordmarked (5.2%) decorations (see also Chapter 6). As shown in Appendix IX, the most common correlation of vessel part with decorative element was the presence of incised markings on body sherds. More decorative elements were placed on the body of the vessel than other vessel parts. Of the total 360 decorated sherds, almost 70% were body sherds (n=252). This is not surprising considering that 85% of the entire database consisted of body sherds. The remaining 30% of decorated sherds was divided between rims, necks, and shoulders (n= 108). No bases contained decoration. Over 81% of the decorated wares contained marking on the exterior of the sherd. Some I 0% contained motifs occurring on both the interior and exterior of the sherd, and 8% contained various markings solely on the interior of the sherd (incised, impressed) and in various combinationson the rim surface. A more complete evaluation of decorated sherd types is presented in Chapter 6.

Only 8% of the sherds in the assemblage (n=486) were As shown in the table above, vessel parts in the overall earthwork slipped. Table 3 7 shows a breakdown of slipped ceramic ceramic assemblage are not evenly distributed. Body sherds vessel parts. dominate the entire assemblage, comprising some 45% of the Table 36. Absolute Count of Plain versus Decorative Sherds by Excavated Site sampled sherds and over 85% of the total assemblage. Following Site Total Assemblage Plainware % Decorated% in frequency are sherds --------Phoum Ruung (surface) 143 containing both a rim and Phoum Trameng 336 86 14 shoulder, rim sherds, and a Banteay Meas 451 73 27 combination of rim and body sherds (straight vessels, no Phoum Chong 829 96 4 shoulder). Thus, approximately Chi Peang 3391 97 3 88% of all sampled sherds were Krek #13 447 87 13 partly body and rim sherds. Only Krek #14 435 94 6 a small percentage of assemblage was composed ofbases. A small Total 6032 avg. 91% avg. 9% percentagewas also composed of (*Slip is not considered as a decorative element) "wasters". These are misfired or

impres.w:ti

impressed

btcised

Decorated Pottery Sherds

Prnm: Kruk #13

Figure 22: Decorative Ceramic Samples from Banteay Meas

Vessel Part Size and Characterizations

Table 37. Slipped Vessel Parts Vessel Part

% of Total (n=486)

Body Interior

18.70

Body, Int. and Exterior

15.20

Other

10.90

Rim Interior

10.30

Body Exterior

10.30

Neck

9.90

Rim and Neck

9.40

Rim Exterior

7.40

Indeterminate

7.40

Base

0.50

Ceramic sherds in the overall assemblage were quite small in terms of individual size characterizations (length, width, thickness, weight). Table 38 quantifies average metric measures for the various vessel parts (rims are discussed separately below). Body sherds dominate the assemblage, both in count and gross weight. Average lengths and widths of the sherds are small. As sherds were small at each investigated site, this suggests similar reasons for breakage in depositional (primary) and/or post-depositional (secondary) contexts at each site. Breakage could also be a function of the friable nature of the sherds. Average thicknesses of these vessel parts were small as well, this further contributing to the intensive breakage patterns of the vessels. Only bases, averaging 1.52 cm, and some rims were thicker. Wasters were also thick and occurred in a variety of shapes, from lenticular to rounded. Based upon interior and exterior surface treatment, it appears that the dominant method of finishing the vessels was by the paddle and anvil technique. Anvils have also recovered from several earthworks (Albrecht et al. 1999).

In the population of slipped sherds, as expected, body sherds were the most frequently slipped vessel parts (36%), with rim and shoulder sherds (27.6%), rim sherds (17.2%), and rim and body sherds (14.3%) following in frequency. Only one base (0.50%) contained evidence of slip. Over forty-nine slip color variations were represented, a majority being types of red, light red, or brown. The uncommonness of slipped sherds as related to the overall assemblage may be a function of sherd surface erosion over time. Further, in the entire assemblage (n=6,032), only two sherds were painted (0.033%), these being body sherds cloaked with red paint. Both sherds also contained impressed decoration.

Rice (1987:227) emphasizes that the vessel wall thickness is often related to the size of the container and its intended use. In general, large vessels require thicker walls for structural support. Table 39 illustrates average measurements for recovered body sherds. 82

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Table 38. Measurements Per Vessel Part (sampled assemblage) Avg. Length (cm)

Avg. Width (cm)

Avg. Thickness (cm)

Avg. Weight (g)

Total Weight (g)

Neck

3.07

4.15

0.43

2.80

25.20

Base

4.78

3.03

1.52

11.85

248.85

Body

3.17

2.56

0.42

3.93

3454.47

Shoulder

4.02

4.06

0.44

3.53

56.48

Wasters

1.39

1.16

1.22

3.09

145.23

Bangle

2.5

1.0

1.90

1.10

1.10

Total

-----

-----

-----

-----

3931.33

Vessel Part

Table 39. Body Sherd Averages Measurement

Rim Characterization

Mean (cm)

Standard Dev.

Minimum

Maximum

3.17

1.18

0.20

9.70

An emphasis in this classification has been on rim sherds (seven dimensions) for the sole reason that rim sherds Width 2.56 1.11 0.20 10.60 provide the most information for Thickness 0.24 0.29 0.20 3.00 assessing the size and shape of a vessel Weight 2.43 -0.45 0.20 6.40 if only fragmented sherds and not whole vessels are available (Rice 1987; Sinopoli 1991). Although only 17% of Earthwork vessel wall thickness' ranged from 0.2-3.0 cm, the sampled assemblage contained rim this suggesting differential vessel form and function. It is sherds, these represented a diversity in form as characterized believed that thick vessels may have served as storage vessels, by different orientations, profiles, rim diameters (representing another hallmark of permanent habitation. A majority of the variable orifice sizes), thicknesses, and shapes (Appendix X). vessel walls were quite thin and likely served as jars, bowls, Rim variation shows that many types of vessels were utilized and plates that were manufactured by paddle and anvil. Table at the sites, presumably for different functions. As discussed 40 illustrates body thickness' on a comparative inter-site basis below, the length of time that a site is occupied will also have (excavated sites only). an impact on the range of ceramic classes found there (Mills 1989; Sinopoli 1991 :87). Chapter 6 showed that attributes of Table 40 reveals some uniformity when comparing sherd rim classes were not temporally sensitive however. body thickness' between excavated sites (0.40-0.50 cm in thickness; 10 mm difference between most disparate mean). Reconstruction of rim orifice diameters were estimated as That there is a cluster in body sherd thickness at different only a small percentage of the rims themselves were sites during different times could suggest similar recovered. More than 70% of the measured sherds had 10% manufacturing techniques and/or a shared manufacturing or less of their original rims intact. Figure 23 illustrates total tradition in which paddle-and-anvil was the dominant rim percentages within the sampled assemblage. technique in vessel manufacture. Characteristics of the rim assemblage were fairly evenly Inter-site variability in sherd thicknesses, such as occur distributed. For example, 39% of analyzed rims were direct, between samples from Banteay Meas and Phoum Trameng, while a similar large proportion were inverted (32%) and could suggest different manufacturing techniques or even noneverted (29%), respectively (see also Chapter 6). These data contemporaneity in site occupation. These dissimilarities may reveal that a majority of the vessels were unrestricted. Most also be a function of sampling. Additional research on this of the restricted vessels were also the thickest in terms of topic may clear up the discrepancies. vessel wall thickness and largest in terms of overall vessel Length

Table 40. Body Thickness Mean

Median

Mode

Std. Dev.

Range

Minimum

Maximum

Krek #14

Site

0.42

0.40

0.30

0.23

1.70

0.10

1.80

Krek #13

0.50

0.40

0.50

0.31

2.20

0.10

2.30

Chi Peang

0.40

0.30

0.30

0.24

2.70

0.10

2.80

Phoum Chong

0.43

0.40

0.30

0.28

1.90

0.10

2.0

Banteay Meas

0.44

0.40

0.40

0.30

2.90

0.10

3.0

Phoum Trameng

0.40

0.30

0.30

0.21

1.10

0.20

1.30

83

Rim Thickness

Total Rim Percentage 450 -

400 350 300

-

250

-

200

-

150

-

100

-

50

-

-

.........................

..........................

.---,

0 0-5%

5-10%

10-15%

0-0.99

15-20% 20-25%

1.00-1.99

2.00+

Figure 25: Graph Depicting Total Rim Thickness

Figure 23: Graph Depicting Total Ceramic Rim Percentage

aperture diameter. In profile, over 48% of the rims were parallel while 37% were thinning and 15% were thickened. Parallel and thinning walls again suggest manufacture by the paddle-and-anvil technique. Lip shapes, denoting the edge of the vessel orifice, were less evenly spread in relation to morphology, this likely a reflection of preferred vessel type (Figure 24). Over 40% of the rims contained rounded lips while 39% were squared. The remainder were pointed (15%) or beveled (6%).

Rim Thickness II 100 ~---------------~

Rim thicknesses were also variable (Figures 25 and 26). Just over 67% of the rim assemblage measured 0-0.99 cm in thickness while 30% measured 1.00-1.99 in thickness and the remainder, greater than 2.00 cm (3%). Breaking down the largest quantity (0.-0.99 cm in thickness), a majority (23%)

90

+----------,-.....--------~

80

+--------~

70

+--------~

60

+--------lr-1f--~

50

+-----t,---

40

+---~

30

+-----t

_,---1------.a=------l

1·""""

..........

f--

1,.........

-

-

1,........

1,.........

f--

l----,;;;;a...----1

20 10 0

-+-=L....,-....L;;;....L;;;.....--J=C......,......L;;;;....L;;;;.,........t;;;;;;;;;J.---,-....L;;;;;;....L;;;;;;,_......L;;;;;;;;L--l

0-.20

Ceramic Lip Shape

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

in cm

300

Figure 26: Graph Depicting Total Rim Thickness Between 0.00-0.80 cm

250

,---

200

f--

150

f--

100

f--

50

f--

'

-

measured 0.50 cm in thickness. Rim thickness' tended to cluster between 0.30 cm and 0. 70 cm. As illustrated in Figure 27, a majority of the rim diameters fell within the 0-20 cm range, few vessels having inferred orifice diameters between 20-30 cm and 30+ cm. Within the 0-20 cm diameter range (Figure 28), vessel orifice diameters predominantly clustered in the 8-12 cm range, with a secondary cluster occurring between 12-16 cm. The smallest orifice diameter measured only 2 cm while the largest orifice diameter measured 44 cm.

'

-

n

0

Round

Squared

Pointed

Beveled

On an inter-site basis, fairly substantial differences were apparent when comparing rim sizes. Table 41 illustrates these differences (excavated sites only).

Figure 24: Graph Depicting Ceramic Lip Shape Frequency

84

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Table 41 shows that there is significant variation between sites in terms of vessel size and ranges. First, mean vessel sizes clustered in several groups: sites occurring furthest in the east exhibited the smallest mean orifice diameters, with sites in the middle of the earthwork zone and the west manifesting larger mean diameters. This pattern could show that through time, vessel orifice size increased as did diversity in vessels in the assemblages. Again these difference may be an artifact of time (contemporaneity or non-contemporaneity), space (east-west differences), or sampling. Second, while a majority of the ranges clustered in the 20 cm group, Krek #14, Phoum Trameng, and Phoum Ruung were outliers, the difference between ranges at Krek # 14 in the west and the latter two sites (east) being 30 cm and 32 cm, respectively. Again, this data suggests that later sites, those in the west, contained more diverse assemblages. However, that maximum orifice diameter from Phoum Trameng (16 cm) was so minimal in respect to that from Krek#l4 and the others may be more a reflection of sampling bias than reality. For instance, four times the number of sherds from Chi Peang were analyzed compared to Phoum Trameng.

Rim Size Di\.ision 400 350

~

................

•

300

f--

250

f--

200

f--

~

100

f--

~

50

f--

~

150

r7

0 0-10

11-20

21-30 in cm

40+

31-40

Figure 27: Graph Depicting Aperture Diameter Divisions

The various vessel attributes of the earthwork ceramic assemblage point to the predominantly utilitarian or functional nature of the assemblage. That only a very modest frequency of sherds were decorated and/or slipped further supports this assessment (see Discussion below).

Rim Size Di\.isions II 160

-

140

Tempering Agents

.......

,-

120

f--

100

f--

80

-

f--

.......

60

-

Most sherds contained a combination of non-plastic tempers. The highest percentages of tempering agents, as shown in Figure 29, were combinations of sand and rice/rice chaff (38.1 %) and the combination of sand, rice, and laterite (32.3%). Following infrequency was sand temper(calcareous and mineral sand; 15.3%) and laterite and sand (6.8%). Sand, present in alluvial areas near the sites, is present in over 92% of all earthwork sherds.

........

•

I

f--

-

f--

,-

40

f--

f--

-

f--

f--

20

f--

f--

-

f--

f--

,-

0

-

n 0-5

n 6

8

10

12 14 in cm

16

18

On a comparative level, several inter-site variations occur. For instance, Krek #13 and Krek #14, separated by only 1 km, exhibit much variation between tempering groups. While sand is the most common tempering agent in both sites' assemblages, the proportions and combinations of additive tempering agents is different: Krek #14 contains fairly equal proportions of sand, sand/shell/rice, sand/rice, sand/grog, sand/fibers, and laterite/sand. By comparison, no shell, grog, fibers, or laterite occur within Krek # 13 sherd matrices. These

20

Figure 28: Graph Depicting Aperture Diameter divisions from 0-20 cm

Table 41. Rim Diameter

Site

Mean

Median

Mode

Std. Dev.

Range

Minimum

Maximum

Krek #14

13.38

12.00

12.00

6.54

42.00

2.00

44.00

Krek #13

10.54

8.00

8.00

5.32

26.00

4.00

30.00

Chi Peang

10.56

10.00

10.00

3.74

22.00

2.00

24.00

Phoum Chong

10.36

10.00

8.00

3.20

16.00

6.00

22.00

Banteay Meas

13.34

14.00

10.00

4.32

20.00

6.00

26.00

Phoum Trameng

9.27

8.00

8.00

2.64

12.00

4.00

16.00

85

42). Yen (1982:62) notes that in Ban Chiang ceramics, the temper may be post-harvest rice residue. However, it is not known if this is also true for earthwork tempers. The paucity of other plant genera besides rice in earthwork ceramic matrices not only implies the deliberate nature of its inclusion, but a somewhat careful nature of grain harvesting (see Yen 1982 regarding Ban Chiang rice inclusions). Finally, grog (fragments of fired ceramics ground to small size and added to clays as temper; Sinopoli 1991 :228) occurs in limited quantities as a tempering agent (1.2%).

Ceramic Tempers 600 500 ~

I

400 300

Coloration

200 100

'

' ~

n

0 Sand Shell

-

-

Basic coloration of the ceramic assemblage was likely a function of a combination of the original clay source material color, firing practices, firing temperatures, ceramic usage, and post-depositional processes. In terms of exterior color, grey sherds dominated the overall assemblage (23%), these also being the lightest ceramic sherds (in density) and having the most finely treated surfaces (smoothed or burnished). The matte, non-glossy appearance of the grey sherds is attributed to the rubbing of a hard tool (stone or potsherd) against the surface of the pot to conceal irregularities on the vessel's surface and to alter the vessel's appearance (see Sinopoli 1991 :25). Typically, greyware surfaces have a uniform texture and a smooth finished surface. Practically none of the grey vessel parts were slipped and few sherds contained decorative elements (S-shaped punctate and incised lines are associated with grey sherds).

n

Rice/Chaff S,S,R Sand,Grog Laterite Sand,Rice Lat.,Sand

Figure 29: Graph Depicting Ceramic Tempering Agent Frequencies

differences may suggest that the two earthwork groups were not directly associated in terms of pottery manufacture, that the sites were not contemporaneous, or these differences are a function of sampling. Further, Krek # 13 is the only site in which laterite was not utilized as a tempering agent. With the data at hand, it is hard to offer any explanation for these differences at present. Overall, the results of this analysis are directly comparable to previous studies ceramics from earthwork sites (Albrecht et al. 1999; Dega 1999) in that sand, organics (rice/rice chaff, fibers), and laterite were common tempering agents.

Following grey sherds in order of frequency were reddishbrown sherds (21. 7% ), these being of a coarser nature than the grey ones, orangish-light brown buff sherds ( 15.9% ), tan colored sherds (13.4%), brown sherds (10.7%), black sherds (7 .1% ), combinations of various colors (4.2), and finally, wares with a light grey-white coloration (4.0%). Excluding grey sherds, a high frequency of the assemblage sherds, particularly body parts, contained fire clouds or sooted interior/exterior areas of vessel walls.

Table 42 provides inter-site comparisons of these general patterns. In Chapter 4 (and Chapter 9 below) it is shown that earthwork sites are located on clay (kaolinitic) and silty clay soils, and that sand is present along the borders of the floodplain-lower terrace margin several kilometers from each recorded site. Based upon geology and sedimentology of the region, all natural tempering agents were locally available.

On an inter-site basis, sherd colors were evenly divided among six general color classes. Table 43 depicts sherd color percentages by site (only excavated sites). It thus appears that more effort was expended at the Phoum Chong site in terms of vessel firing and surface treatment.

Both carbonized and non-carbonized rice and rice chaff occur within earthwork ceramic matrices in great quantity (see Table

Table 42. Tempering Agent Percentages by Site (100% per site) Sand

*S, S, R

SandRice

SandGrog

SandFibers

Late riteSand

*S, R, L

Krek #13

26.30

0.00

53.70

0.00

0.00

0.00

20.00

Krek #14

7.60

8.20

14.80

3.50

5.90

10.00

50.00

Chi Peang

18.00

0.00

38.80

0.00

0.00

15.40

27.50

Phoum Chong

14.00

0.00

54.80

1.10

3.90

0.50

25.70

Banteay Meas

16.00

0.00

53.80

0.00

0.00

4.00

26.20

Phoum Trameng

8.50

0.00

21.10

0.00

0.00

21.10

70.40

Site

*S,S,R=Sand, Shell, Rice; S,R,L=Sand, Rice, Laterite

86

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Table 43. Sherd Coloration Percentages by Site

Site

Red

Brown

Grey

Black

Tan

Buff

Krek #13

18.20

21.20

16.70

16.70

9.00

18.20

Krek #14

24.00

8.20

30.10

14.40

4.10

19.20

Chi Peang

34.30

9.40

19.00

9.60

8.40

19.30

Phoum Chong

17.00

14.20

51.80

6.04

3.50

7.10

Banteay Meas

11.50

16.20

27.70

4.00

6.80

33.8

Phoum Trameng

38.60

6.80

18.30

3.80

8.30

24.20

Overall, intra-assemblage sherd coloration differences are less significant than inter-site contrasts.

the horizontal distribution of ceramics: Krek #14 and Chi Peang.

In terms of manufacturing, grey sherds were likely produced under oxidized conditions. There is the slight possibility that the coloration could be the result of non-oxidized organic inclusions. The combined percentages of grey, buff, tan, and whitewares (some 56%) are also thought to have been produced under oxidized conditions. Red, brown, black, and combinations of these three colors (44%) were suggested to have been fired under reduced conditions. Based upon the probable firing temperature of the sherds (900-1200 degrees centigrade), the coloration of the sherds, the coarseness of the samples, and ethnographic research on ceramic firing in Cambodia (Mourer 1996), the earthwork vessels seem to have been fired in both open and closed firing pits. The closed pits would have reduced oxygen availability, producing darker colored vessels. Albrecht et al. ( 1999) also suggest that earthwork pottery was fired in open fires (inferred low temperatures). Ethnographic parallels from Kampong Chhang, Cambodia revealed that earthenware pottery is generally fired to finishing stages in one hour of exposure (Mourer 1996).

At Krek #14 (Table 44), a small sample of sherds was recovered (n=435) from the six 1 x 1 m units. This relatively small sample produced several patterns. First, body sherds are the most common class. Second, no sherds were recovered from the exterior of the sites or within interior depressions. Third, most of the ceramics were recovered from the perimeter of the interior platform (63%). Frequency counts and the recovery of wasters and anvils in this area also suggest that ceramic utilization and/or even manufacturing could have occurred near platform periphery areas, the suggested habitation loci of the sites. Fourth, few decorated sherds were recovered from the units (4%). Most of these decorated sherds were recovered from the platform periphery. Overall differences in vessel part (body, rims, wasters), aperture size of vessel (from rims), and coloration show that a fairly diverse ceramic assemblage is evident within the sample. As is shown through an analysis of the vertical distribution of this same set of sherds (Table 45), there is a slight difference in ceramic frequency through time.

Intra-Site Ceramic Distributions

Most sherds occur within a discrete stratigraphic range (see also Chapter 6). Surface to 0.40 mbs represents postdepositional soil accumulation, while 0.90+ mbs reflects natural strata. Though decorated sherds were recovered between 0.50-0.90 mbs, they cluster within the 0.50-0.70 mbs range. This pattern is more meaningful when compared on an inter-site basis (see below). Vessel part, coloration, and

Horizontal and vertical ceramic distributions from excavated sites were utilized to discern activity areas within the sites (horizontal) as well as to evaluate if vessel attributes (e.g., rim, coloration, temper) change through time (vertical; see Chapter 6). As was the case when comparing lithic assemblages, only two sites were appropriate for judging

Table 44. Horizontal Distribution of Ceramics at Krek #14

Unit

Location

Count

(Decorated)

Total Count

Total%

23

center site

86

(0)

86

19.77

24

*inter plat

45

( 1)

45

10.34

25

*inter plat

29

( 1)

29

6.67

26

plat periphery

275

(15)

275

63.22

27

int depress

0

(0)

0

0

28

exterior site

0

(0)

0

0

Total Count

5

435

(17)

435

----

Total%

-----

100

3.90

----

100

*intermediate platform area

87

Table 45. Vertical Distribution of Ceramics at Krek #14 cmbs

TU-23

TU-24

TU-25

TU-26

TU-27

TU-28

*40-50

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0 14.71

Total Count

Total%

50-60

0

0

0

64

0

0

64

60-70

42

0

4

178

0

0

224

51.49

70-80

33

20

18

33

0

0

104

23.91

80-90

7

20

5

0

0

0

32

7.36

90-100

4

5

2

0

0

0

11

2.53

100-110

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total Count

86

45

29

275

0

0

435

-----

Total%

19.77

10.34

6.67

63.22

0

0

-----

100

*no artifacts recovered from 0.00-0.40 mbs

Table 46. Horizontal Distribution of Ceramics at Chi Peang Unit

Location

Total Count

(Decorated)

Total Count

Total%

1

plat periphery

100

(0)

100

2.82

2

int depression

1

(0)

1

0.03

3

plat periphery

439

(1)

439

12.41

4

plat periphery

389

(6)

389

10.99

5

plat periphery

240

(0)

240

6.79

6

center site

35

(0)

35

0.99

7

center site

15

(0)

15

0.42

8

entryway

56

(0)

56

1.59

9

plat periphery

1094

(54)

1094

30.90

10

inter platform

504

(41)

504

14.24

11

int depression

0

(0)

0

0

12

entryway

0

(0)

0

0

13

plat periphery

339

(6)

339

9.58

14

inter platform

22

(2)

22

0.63

15

plat periphery

62

(0)

62

1.75

16

center site

243

(4)

243

6.86

Total Count

5

3539

(114)

3539

-----

Total%

-----

100

(3.22)

-----

100

other classes are evenly distributed through vertical columns. All units with sherds exhibit a pattern of continuous deposition.

locations, even those with smaller sherd frequencies. No one vessel part or vessel type dominated a spatial area. Decorated sherds composed only a small fraction of the total assemblage.

Sixteen trenches were excavated at the Chi Peang site. The horizontal distribution of ceramics at the site, as is illustrated in Table 46, show variable counts between units. Frequency counts establish that units with highest ceramic retrieval were located along the periphery of the platform. In descending order of frequency, platform periphery units typically contained more ceramics than the center of the site, intermediate areas, and site depressions. However, there is no discrete pattern of co-variance between unit location and vessel part. Even ceramic wasters were not uniquely located in specific portions of the sites. Third, another trend was that many vessel types (e.g., bowls, jars, plates) were represented in some

Table 4 7 shows that the vertical distributions of ceramics in Chi Peang units have varying concentrations. However, it appears as though a majority of the sherds cluster within the 0.40-1.0 mbs range. Within this 0.60 m range, there is a noticeable concentration of ceramics, particularly between the 0.50-0.90 mbs range where almost all excavated units contain ceramics. In most cases, vertical distributions are uni-modal: absence of ceramics (post-deposition), steady increase in sherds to greatest frequency, then a decrease in sherd counts to natural strata. Only Unit #4 contained appreciable ceramic

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2 Table 47. Vertical Distribution of Ceramics at Chi Peang

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

13

14

15

16

0-10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10-20

0

0

0

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6

0

20-30

0

0

0

0

39

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6

0

Unit

30-40

0

0

21

0

78

0

0

0

0

7

0

0

0

0

40-50

4

1

7

0

40

0

5

12

27

42

50

0

0

40

50-60

6

0

16

38

29

0

9

21

47

144

134

0

9

26

60-70

29

0

90

4

18

26

1

9

300

212

82

22

10

44

70-80

40

0

22

47

16

0

0

14

550

72

28

0

11

69

80-90

10

0

10

20

16

9

0

0

95

27

32

0

10

25

90-100

11

0

10

158

0

0

0

0

75

0

13

0

10

28

100-110

0

0

263

37

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

11

110-120

0

0

0

63

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

120-130

0

0

0

22

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

130-140

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total#

100

1

439

389

240

35

15

56

1094

504

339

22

62

243

Total%

2.82

0.03

12.41

10.99

6.79

0.99

0.42

1.59

30.90

14.24

9.58

0.63

1.75

6.86

*Units 11 and 12 contained no ceramic artifacts; Negative units blank to observe pattering

Table 48. Ceramic Database versus Stratigraphic Level

Phoum Tram.

Phoum Chong

Krek #13

Krek #14

Banteay Meas

0-10

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10-20

0

0

0

0

0

10

10

0.2

20-30

0

0

0

0

0

45

45

0.8

30-40

0

0

0

0

0

106

106

1.8

cmbs

Chi Peang

Total Count

Total Percent

40-50

25

0

0

0

0

191

216

3.7

50-60

122

108

0

91

27

442

790

13.4

60-70

87

67

23

240

286

810

1513

25.7

70-80

45

97

22

87

51

832

1134

19.2

80-90

27

85

0

9

32

254

407

6.9

90-100

4

132

83

8

27

305

559

9.5

100-110

13

340

259

0

22

311

945

16.0

110-120

13

0

30

0

6

63

112

1.9

120-130

0

0

30

0

0

22

52

0.9

130-140

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total Count

336

829

447

435

451

3391

5889

-----

Total%

5.7

14.1

7.6

7.4

7.6

57.6

-----

100%

concentrations in lower strata, this being the highest point measured on the platform and requiring greater depth to reach cultural strata. Another pattern is that ceramic types were covariant throughout profiles: no one vessel part or ceramic type dominated a certain stratigraphic level. As is discussed further below, based upon the variety of vessel forms and decorative attributes through entire stratigraphic sequences, it appears as though earthwork occupants had the ability-knowledge to manufacture a variety of vessel forms prior to construction and occupation of the earthwork sites. The uninterrupted

presence of sherds with certain sections of site stratigraphic columns also suggests continuous occupation of each site through time.

Inter-Site Ceramic Distribution Comparisons Although horizontal ceramic distributions are compared at only two sites, several patterns are evident. First, most sherds were recovered from units located on the platform periphery

89

of the sites. Second, there was no co-variance of ceramic vessel form or type versus site location. Third, many different types of sherds and vessels were recovered from each unit. Finally, body sherds dominated site artifact counts. The remaining sherds showed a fairly equal distribution to the overall ceramic assemblage distribution pattern. These preliminary observations provide information relating to intrasite activity areas (see Discussion below).

1) Earthwork ceramic assemblages predominantly consist of small, undecorated and unslipped earthenware body sherds reflecting a diverse set of vessels. These pots are suggested to fulfill domestic roles. 2) In the overall assemblage, decorated wares accounted for only 6% of assemblages while slipped sherds, mostly reddish in coloration, comprised only 8% of total assemblages. Over 70% of decorated ceramics were incised. Following were impressed (9 .4%), ribbed (9 .1%), punctate (5.5%), and cord-marked (5.2%) design elements. These decorative attributes are not diagnostic across space or through time.

All excavated earthwork sites were compared to analyze trends in the ceramic database through time (see also Chapter 6). Table 48 shows sherd occurrences by stratigraphic level. When comparing the vertical distribution of ceramics, several inter-site patterns are again evident. First, beyond the ubiquitous presence of body sherds (mostly undecorated), none of these levels are dominated by any ceramic vessel part or type. Distribution patterns are more clearly related to site occupational intensity and duration. A majority of sherds cluster in a close stratigraphic range. In most units occupation seems to have been continuous. Second, in most cases, unit distributions took the form of bell-curved structures where ceramics are absent, appear and increase in quantity to a peak, then decrease to basal reaches. Several exceptions are notable. At Phoum Chong, for instance, ceramic frequency does not display a bell-shaped curve; differential occupational intensity is possible. Third, at almost all sites located across the 55kilometer study area, ceramics begin to appear well below surface (c. 0.40 mbs) and continue uninterrupted forover 0.60 mbs. This pattern suggests a fairly consistent rate of site sedimentation across the region as well as site occupation duration. The hiatus in upper strata cultural material is attributed to post-deposition sedimentation. No disturbances were noted for any site profile across the region. Finally, as was also shown in Chapter 6, a majority of ceramics recovered from each site predominantly occur within a 0.60 m range. This regional redundancy suggests similarity in site occupation duration and intensity.

3) That small sherds occurred in each unit, particularly those along the platform periphery, suggests that the sherds were trampled. Small sherd size may have been a function of primary depositional context (habitation area), secondary context (post-deposition), and of acidic soils making the low-fired sherds friable. The low-fired nature of the sherds and predominantly thin vessel walls could also have contributed to breakage patterns. Even though small in size, the sherds are thought to represent habitational debris recovered from primary contexts, mostly along the peripheral platform of the sites. The pattern of greatest sherd frequency along platform edges was uniform at all investigated sites. 4) Vessel thickness', particularly ofbody sherds, was quite thin. As was illustrated in Table 40, vessel wall thicknesses range from 0.20-3.0 cm. This wide range suggests different vessel type and function. Thick-walled

3.

Discussion 4.

Potsherds were the major class of artifact recovered from the circular sites in terms of absolute quantity. Several salient and repetitive points are derived from the analysis of 6,032 earthwork sherds (1,332 more explicitly analyzed under all 29 dimensions with multiple modes), which are related to earthwork ceramic type, manufacture, function, and depositional context.2 The following is a summary of findings:

5.

6. 2

Based upon similarity in site location and morphology, it is expected that similar results would be produced by other circular earthwork investigations in eastern Cambodia. In this regard, the Albrecht et al. (1999) study of four different earthworks (Krek #15, Phoum Beng, Phoum Kampoan, Banteay Meas), produced ceramic results that were both similar to the present study in some respects and different in others. These may be summarized as follows: I. Body sherds dominated each assemblage in terms of frequency. Rims were second in ubiquity while bases were the rarest vessel parts recovered form each site. 2. Decorated sherds composed a very modest portion of all assemblages. Decorative treatment was dominated by incised sherds (crosshatched, angled, horizontal, vertical, geometrical designs, and parallel lines) followed by impressed sherds (cord-marked, stippling). S-

7.

90

shaped design sherds were only recovered from Banteay Meas (Groslier site), Phoum Chong, and Chi Peang. In total, only several sherds of the combined assemblages (26,000+ sherds) were painted (red ochre). Slipped sherds only accounted for a small proportion of sherds in the assemblages. Vessel apertures in the RUFA assemblages averaged 26 cm in diameter, the smallest measuring 11 cm while the largest measured 42 cm. In the present study, vessel orifice diameters clustered in the 8-12 cm and 12-16 cm ranges, with the smallest orifices measuring 2 cm and the largest 44 cm. The RUFA study showed that reddish-brown and orangish-brown sherds dominated their assemblages. In the present assemblages, both greyware sherds and a combination oflighterwares (tan, buff, white) as well as reddish-brown wares, brown wares, and black wares formed a substantial proportion of the assemblage. Overall, vessel coloration was more variant in the present assemblage. The comparative nature of tempering materials included in the clays was somewhat uniform, with sand being combined with organic materials (e.g., rice/rice chaff, fibers) to dominate temper distributions within the vessels. In both the present study and the RUFA study, a majority of the sherds were finished with the paddle-and-anvil technique, only a minority of sherds exhibiting striations reflective of wheel-thrown pottery. To date there is no evidence at any site for kiln manufacture. The recovery of an anvil by the RUFA team, combined with the fairly significant amount of wasters identified during the current project suggests at least limited on-site pottery manufacture of pottery. Other ceramic objects were recovered from both sets of excavations, many more having been recovered by RUFA. In the presently discussed assemblages (seven sites), one bangle fragment was recovered (of6,032 total sherds) and there were also several oddlyformed fragments that may be waddle-and-daub fragments. During RUFA excavations, a clay bead, clay ball, bangle fragment, clay cylinder, and one gaming sherd with cord-marking were recovered from the four sites.

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

vessels, which occur with vessels having large apertures (to 44 cm in diameter), are suggestive of storage vessels; they may also be considered a trademark of permanent habitation sites. No vessels were amenable to complete reconstruction. 5) Most rim sherds derive from unrestricted vessels (e.g., bowls, plates) suitable for processing, cooking, or consuming activities. A minority of the vessels were restricted (e.g., jars). Rim orifices, illustrated by size in Figure 27, ranged from 2 cm to 44 cm in size with most clustering in the 8-12 cm and 12-16 cm range. This diversity is thought to reflect differential vessel size, shape, and function. 6) All tempering agents identified in the assemblage could have been procured locally (see also Chapters 3 and 4). The overall assemblage was dominated by combinations of tempering agents: sand, rice/rice chaff, and laterite. Rice grains and chaff have been the only plant genera repeatedly occurring within clay paste. Rice seems to have been deliberately added as temper to the exclusion of other potential organic agents. 7) Based upon coloration, a majority of the sherds were likely fired under oxidizing conditions in open-air fire pits (graywares, lighter colors), while the darker colors (brown, red, black) were presumably fired under reducing conditions. Fire clouds, often reflecting past cooking marks or firing practices, occurred on most interior and exterior sherd surfaces. 8) Broadly, 77% of the analyzed sherds exhibited variable proportions of a dark interior core. This is reflective of oxidation/reduction patterns, indicating that the firing atmosphere was not constant nor uniform. The other 23 % of the assemblage did not contain a dark core, indicating that those vessels were well-fired in an oxidizing atmosphere. 9) In 67.8% of the collected sherds, carbonized materials (rice/rice chaff, fibers) were visible either on the surfaces of the sherds or within the profile of fractured sherds. 10)The presence of wasters and anvils at the sites suggests at least limited on-site pottery manufacture (see also Albrecht et al. 1999). In terms of intra-site and inter-site ceramic distributions, perhaps the most salient pattern is that a majority of the sherds were recovered from areas along the periphery of the interior site platform. These consist almost entirely of plain, domestic, earthenware ceramics. This pattern also supports the interpretation that habitation occurred along the interior periphery of the platform. In lieu of postmolds and other subsurface features (e.g., hearths, trash pits, postmolds ), the overwhelming presence of domestic ceramics and utilized/ manufactured lithics in the peripheral areas has perhaps been the strongest argument for interpreting these areas as habitation loci. These areas also seem to have been occupied continuously.

The presence of similar tempering agents through time at each site suggests continuity in tempering agent use (and technique) during the length of regional earthwork occupation. Sherd coloration was also consistent within each excavated site through time, no one color dominating any portion of site occupational sequences. It is speculated that earthwork pottery was fired under both oxidizing and reducing atmospheres (open-and closed-fire pits) during the duration of each site's occupation. Vessel variation in terms of shape, size, function, and surface treatment may simply be a function of time. Sinopoli (1991 :87; Mills 1989; see also Arnold 1985) suggests that the length of time a site is occupied will also have an impact on the range of ceramic classes found there. In the case of the earthworks, many vessel forms were produced during each site's occupational sequence. However, based upon the nature of the assemblages horizontal and vertical distribution, it would be misleading to state that vessel diversity was a function of occupational longitivity. Moreso, vessel diversity may relate to past domestic activities at the sites. In Cambodia itself, earthwork pottery assemblages exhibit surface treatment attributes that are comparable to pottery recovered from Laang Spean and Samrong Sen, both sites containing a Neolithic occupation component. Pottery assemblages from the circular earthworks and Samrong Sen both contained "footed bowls and flaring mouth pots .. .produced by the paddle-and-anvil technique" (Heng and Som 1999:Chapter 7:35). Further, both assemblages contain incised decoration that was both complex (geometric designs) and less complicated (cross-hatching). Compared to Laang Spean, the earthworks also share a similarity in vessel form (bowls) and surface decoration (incised, geometric motifs). These traits are common across most of Mainland Southeast Asia from c. 2,500 B.C. From a wider geographical perspective, the earthenwares of the present study share both temporal and decorative affinities with prehistoric ceramic assemblages stretching from northeast Thailand to northern Vietnam. Most of these shared traits are non-diagnostic, however (e.g., cord-marked sherds, low-fired plainwares). Yet, on a very general level, there are a few diagnostic attributes that allow for comparison. For example, rim size, rim shape, and exterior surface treatment are quite similar all across Mainland Southeast Asia during relatively early (c. 3,000 B.C.) temporal horizons (e.g., Solheim 1998;Higham 1989, 1996b). Theearthworkpottery of the present study appears to fit comfortably within this pattern. More consequential evidence of sherd temporal comparisons (decoration and rim) has previously been offered in Chapter 6 and were shown to be internally non-diagnostic at the circular sites. Here, decorative treatments, the most diagnostic attributes of the assemblage, are discussed in terms of more regional and supra-regional comparisons. For instance, during Neolithic times in Southeast Asia, several site ceramic assemblages share surface treatment attributes with the earthwork sherds. The pottery assemblage from one of the most well-studied of the Southeast Asian "Neolithic" sites,

Khok Phanom Di, consists of ceramics that were decorated by burnishing and incising parallel lines in-filled with impressions, a style found, albeit with regional variations, in many sites that represent the earliest known sedentary communities in the interior valleys of Southeast Asia (Higham 1996a:55; Higham and Thosarat 1994). These communities date between c. 3,000-500 B.C. In the Red River Valley of Vietnam, Neolithic sites associated with the Phung Nguyen culture contain pots with dots (punctate) and incised lines while Dong Dau assemblages (1,500-1,100 B.C.) feature parallel incised lines and interior decoration. Incised and impressed pottery similar to earthwork sherds has been dated from the metal-age site of Non Pa Wai in central Thailand to c. 2,400-2,000 B.C. (Higham 1996b:55-56). Ha Van Tan (1984/85) suggests pre-Dong Son cultures in the north and the Neolithic Sa Huynh culture in the south share the common attributes of wheel-made pottery that is red-slipped, smoothed, and primarily exhibits cord-marked surface treatment. Such attributes occurred in earthwork assemblages and have been dated in Vietnam to c. 3,000-500 B.C. (Ha Van Tan 1984/ 85). All these attributes occur in many Mainland Southeast Asian ceramic assemblages through long time periods. In other terms, these attributes seem to be temporally diagnostic (e.g., 3rd -2 nd millennium B.C.), yet only along a lengthy time continuum.

these temporal and spatial patterns meaningful on less general levels? Based on the above results, it can be seen that the earthwork pottery assemblages share similarities with other assemblages of Mainland Southeast along a time continuum stretching from some 2,500 B.C. to the middle of the first millennium B.C. Based upon five radiocarbon dates (Chapter 6), earthwork occupation occurs within this time range. Thin-walled, incised and cord-marked earthenwares tempered by rice and other inclusions (laterite, sand) appear at the beginning of the northern Thai sequence of Phimai wares c. 500 B.C. (Welch 1984) as well as through early and middle stages of the Non Nok Tha assemblage (c. 1500 B.C.+) (Bert Davis, personal communication) and throughout contemporaneous Sa Huynh assemblages in Vietnam (Ha Van Tan 1984/1985). While appearing somewhat common across large land tracts, the customary "incised" wares have been further divided by Rispoli (1997:66) into classes of simple geometric motifs, composite geometric motifs, and complex geometric motifs in hopes of further distinguishing these classes. Rispoli (1997:72) notes however that "it is clear that the corations, or rather the decorative techniques, that best characterize this period [3rd -2nd millennium B.C.] and that frame the entire area of continental South-East Asia as a single cultural entity ... utilize incision and impression on the walls of the ceramic container." The detailed study accomplished by Rispoli further defines sub-dimensions within ceramic classifications yet the data again point to some definitive uniformity (diagnostic attributes) across most of Mainland Southeast Asia during this time period. Earthwork ceramic assemblages, while internally non-diagnostic, may provide more evidence on a larger scale to support such ceramic traditions during Neolithic to Proto-Neolithic times across Mainland Southeast Asia.

Rispoli (1997) discusses pottery traditions in the late yct_Mid 2nd millennium B.C. from Central Thailand and lists diagnostic traits of such for this period across the continent. Utilizing "attribute sets" to define similarities and difference meaningful at local, regional, and interregional levels, Rispoli (1997:6772) discusses one set of attributes that also appears in earthwork assemblages: decorations with incised lines filled with impressed or incised motifs (S-shaped meanders). Such decorations have been noted for Non Pa Wai and Tha Kae in central Thailand and best characterize late 3 rd -Mid 2nd millenniumB.C. assemblages across the entirety ofMainland Southeast Asia (ibid.). In other terms, the presence of this decorative style and motif is diagnostic for the suggested time range. Portions of the earthwork assemblage with these attributes fall into this time frame (see Chapter 6). But, are

Earthwork ceramic patterns, on both descriptive and distributional levels, were repetitive at each investigated site. As such, these patterns seem to be earthwork conventions. These pattens provide another robust line of evidence suggesting cultural connectivity between the sites.

92

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Chapter 9. THE SETTLEMENT DISTRIBUTION OF CIRCULAR EARTHWORKS This chapter considers earthwork site location in terms of landscape features and how earthwork populations articulated with their environment. Each earthwork site is compared in terms of location on the landscape, elevation and landform, hydrology, associated soil type, and locally available resources. These attributes are not mutually exclusive. The goal of the chapter is to discern what environmental and social criteria may have governed earthwork settlement location. Potential reasons for how and why the sites articulate across a discrete geographical niche of Mainland Southeast Asia are discussed. The argument is built upon preceding chapters and provides a final line of evidence for assessing the circular earthworks in terms ofNeolithic adaptations within Mainland Southeast Asia between c. 2300-300 B.C.

selection of settlement location. From an archaeological perspective, circular site location is structured and definable. It is suggested that soil regimes, site proximity to water, avoidances of flooding, and site association with various natural resources were several of the possible criteria. Social criteria included selection of certain site loci as defensible positions on the landscape. These same criteria may have initially attracted settlement in the area. Suggestions that circular sites are associated with certain environmental attributes are not novel (see Malleret 1959; Dega 1997, 1999; Kojo and Pheng 1998; Albrecht et al. 1999). However, an explanation is needed to understand the pattern.

Identified Circular Earthworks

In Southeast Asian archaeology, settlement pattern and site catchment analyses have been used frequently in the past several decades (e.g., Welch 1985, 1993; Moore 1988; and Mudar 1995 are but several examples). Bayard (1992: 19) notes that site location and soil type associations are most often utilized in Southeast Asian archaeology to infer prehistoric settlement patterns (Higham 1975, Payom 1983, Welch 1985). In the present study, site location versus soil type is also analyzed to infer site distribution patterns. More succinctly, the spatial analysis of site distribution and the analysis of internal variation among the sites through comparisons of environmental attributes are examined.

At this writing, forty earthwork sites have been identified in eastern Cambodia/western Vietnam. For the present discussion, only basic descriptive data on thirty-three sites are presented. Seventeen circular settlements in the region are discussed in a greater degree of specification as the other sites either occur in Vietnam (and have not been part of this study) or accurate locations for the sites have not been obtained (Map 10). Table 49 lists known circular earthworks in southeastern Cambodia and Table 50 lists earthworks in southwestern Vietnam.

General Location and Distribution of Earthwork Sites

The present chapter discusses circular earthworks on a regional level. Site location data provide important information as to the random or non-random spatial patterning of the earthwork sites, these in tum relating site distribution to aspects of the physical or social environment. It is argued here that the earthwork sites are not randomly located such that any point in the region has an equal and independent chance of being chosen for settlement. Certain parameters governed settlement location and there was repetition in the

Between the westernmost Cambodian earthwork at Krek # 15 to the easternmost earthwork near Phoum Ruung, direct geographical distance measures approximately 55 kilometers east-west. The largest separation of earthwork sites on a northsouth axis is approximately 22 kilometers. When incorporating the earthwork sites in Vietnam, the east-west 93

Table 49. Circular Earthworks In Eastern Cambodia, Kampong Cham Province, Krek and Memot Districts GPS Coordinates

Meter Above Sea Level

Date of Identification or Rediscovery by Archaeologists

Archaeological Work Performed at Site:

Krek #13

N 11° 49'.670" E 105° 57'.072

90

Malleret 1959; Kojo and RUFA 1996;

Survey, Mapping, Coring, Excavations

Krek #14

N 11° 50'.115" E 105° 55'.583"

100

Malleret 1959; Kojo and RUFA 1996

Survey, Mapping, Coring, Excavations

Krek #15

N 11° 50' .106" E 105° 55'.581"

80

Malleret 1959; Kojo and RUFA 1996

Survey, Mapping, Coring, Excavations

Phoum Samrong

N 11° 48'.270" E 106° 07'.185"

70

UH/RUFA 1996

Survey, Mapping, Coring

Phoum Trameng

N11°47'.219" E 106° 11'.178"

66

UH/RUFA 1996

Survey, Mapping, Coring, Excavations

Chi Peang

N 11° 48'. 786" E 105° 59'.396"

70

UH/RUFA 1996

Survey, Mapping, Coring, Excavations

Phoum Beng

N 11° 47'.22" E 106° 03'.49"

102

UH/Tubingen/RUFA 1998

Survey, Mapping, Excavations

Phoum Chong

N11°54'.01" E 106° 02' .26"

185

UH/Tubingen/RUFA 1998

Survey, Mapping, Excavations

Phoum Kampoan

N11°55'.18" E 106° 05' .29"

140

UH/Tubingen/RUFA 1998

Survey, Mapping, Excavations

Chamkar Thmey

N 11°53'.845" E 106° 04'.750"

160

Tubingen/RUFA 1999

None

Huon Khim

N 11°56'.905" E 106° 06'.805"

125

Tubingen/RUFA 1999

None

Banteay Meas (Groslier 1966a)

N 11°54'.545" E 106° 03'.612"

180

Groslier 1966a, b; Tubingen/RUFA 1999

Survey, Mapping, Excavations

Chhok Khley

N 11° 58'.580" E 106° 04'.775"

130

Tubingen/RUFA 1999

None

Phoum Mukras

N 11° 50'.543" E 106° 07'. 763"

85

UH/RUFA 1999

None

Phoum Peam

N 11°47'.059" E 106° 13'.880"

130

UH/RUFA 1999

None

Phoum Ruung

N 11°45'.893" E 106° 12'.380"

-150

UH/RUFA 1999

Survey

Phoum O'Ankam, (Malleret 1959)

N 11°46'.155" E 106° 15' .589"

200

UH/RUFA 1999

None

*Phoum Kbal Sleng

N 11°48'.313" E 106° 16'.730" (+ 4km at 180°)

-140

UH/RUFA 1999

None

7 km northeast of Memot Town (45°)

-90

UH/RUFA 1999

None

Site Name

*Phoum Chrey

axis extends to 85 km while the north-south axis is extended to approximately 35 kilometers. The total known area of the earthwork domain is thus roughly 2,975 square kilometers. Total Number of Earthwork Sites Area

2,975 sq. km.

Density/ sq. km.

0.01

outside rubber plantations. In Cambodia, thirteen of seventeen circle sites (76%) occur on rubber plantations while four (24%) occur outside plantation areas (Phoum Beng, Phoum Trameng, Phoum Ruung, and Houk Kou). The Cambodian earthworks, as well as those in Vietnam, form small clusters on rubber plantations (see Map 3). This clustering may be artificial, however, due to uneven survey of the landscape. The first cluster involves earthworks occurring in various portions of the Krek Rubber Plantation (Krek #13, #14, #15, and Chi Peang). Sites #14 and #15 are located only 1.5 km apart. Krek # 13 lies 3 km to the southwest and Chi Peang lies 6 km to the southwest of these two sites. No reconnaissance has occurred to the north, west, or south of this plantation. The second cluster consists of seven sites that occur some 15

33

Earthwork density in the region is fairly low. As more sites are identified and recorded, the density of earthwork sites in the region will undoubtedly increase. Combining the Cambodian and Vietnamese data sets, only six of thirty-three earthworks (18%) have been identified 94

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2 Table 50. Circular Earthworks in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (from Mr. Nguyen Trung Do 1999-2000 and Malleret 1959)

Site Name

General Location (District)

Meter Above Sea Level (masl)

Date of Initial Identification by Archaelogists

Archaelogical Work

Malleret 1

Phuoc Long

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 2

Phuoc Long

150 maslA

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 3

Phuoc Long

150 maslA

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 4

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 5

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 6

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 7

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 8

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 9

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 10

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Malleret 12

Binh Phuoc

c. 100 masl*

Malleret 1959

Aerial Identification

Lon-Ninh

Binh Phuoc

158 masl

Long and Do 1980

Ground Identification, excavation

Loe Hoa

Binh Phuoc

145 masl

Binh Phuoc Museum 1998

Ground Identification

Tate Site

Tate Commune, Loe-Ninh

c. 150 masl

Do 1999

Excavation pending

Loe-Ninh

150 masl

Do 1999

Ground Identification

Loe Binh (destroyed)

*=estimation based upon Site K57 near Loe-Ninh A=Malleret(1959) Estimation Note: Further survey, mapping and recording, and excavations occurred at several of these identified sites in 2000 by Mr. Nguyen Truni Do (e.g., Site K57)

km to the east of the first cluster in or near Chiong and Chalang Rubber Plantations: Phoum Samrong, Phoum Chong, Phoum Kampoan, Chamkar Thmey, Huon Khim, Banteay Meas (Groslier site), and Chhok Khley. These sites are separated by as little as two kilometers and as great as c. 15 kilometers. Two outlying sites, Pho um Mukras and Beng, are not located on active rubber plantation land. Areas between the Krek cluster and the Chiong and Chalang plantation clusters have yet to be systematically surveyed. The third and final "clustering" of earthwork sites occur near Memot. Three sites occur within a I 0-km radius of each other (Phoum Trameng, Phoum Peam/Takeo, and Phoum O 'Ankam), all on the Memot Rubber Plantation. Another site (Phoum Ruung) occurs approximately 7 km to the east of this cluster. Areas between the second and third cluster have yet to be systematically surveyed. Only a small portion of the border area between Cambodia and Vietnam has been surveyed (Phoum Ruung area). That most Cambodian earthworks have been identified on rubber plantations may simply be a reflection of more intensive fieldwork that was accomplished on plantations.

It is likely that additional sites in the region could be identified by means of aerial photography if rubber tree plantations were not so prevalent in eastern Cambodia/southwestern Vietnam. Aerial photographs of the bas plateau area, taken from the 1950s through the 1990s, are generally oflittle value for site identification as the extensive rubber plantations almost completely obscure the sites. A recent aerial photograph of the Pho um Samrong area, where older rubber trees have been cleared, did reveal, however, the Phoum Samrong earthwork (see Kojo and Pheng 1997). Thus, if aerial photographs are taken at time periods coinciding with periods when older trees are cleared, then circular earthworks may be identified in this manner.

A similar site clustering effect occurs for earthworks in western Vietnam. Of the sixteen identified circular sites, thirteen occur on rubber plantations. Three sites occur adjacent to plantations. Like Cambodia, this region has not been subject to systematic landscape survey; the clustering of earthwork sites around plantations in Vietnam also appears to reflect artificial site distribution.

Elevations increase from west to east as the flood plain corridor gently slopes to the south and west toward the lower Mekong region and the Tonie Sap floodplains. Consequently, earlier dated sites occurring along the eastern flanks of the basaltic region typically occur at a higher elevation than those to the west. Table 49 above shows individual site elevations. The greatest disparity in elevation occurs between the Phoum

Elevation and Landform

The circular sites lie at an average 121 m above sea level in locations juxtaposed against forests and hills. Each earthwork site is either on or near the summit of a hill. The sites lie above valley margins.

95

Table 51. Circular Earthworks and Distances to Perennial Water Sources Site

Location

Water Source

Distance from Site (km)

Krek #13

Krek District

*O Krek

1.75 km

Krek #14

Krek District

0 Krek

1.0 km

Krek #15

Krek District

0 Krek

2.5 km

Chi Peang

Krek District

0 Cam Penh

1.5 km

Phoum Beng

Memot District

*Prek Kdol Prek Chom Pech

0.5 km 2.0 km

Phoum Chong

Memot District

0 Kaoh Russe

0.05 km

Phoum Kampoan

Memot District

Prek Kampoan

1.25 km

Chamkar Thmey

Memot District

Prek Chhlang

0.7 km

Huon Khim

Memot District

Prek Kampoan

-1.0 km

Groslier Site

Memot District

Prek Chong

0.2 km

Chhok Khley

Memot District

Prek Runcheh

-1.5 km

Phoum Samrong

Memot District

Prek Puoy Prek Boeng

1.5 km 1.0 km

Phoum Trameng

Memot District

Prek Oak Por

1.75 km

Phoum Peam

Memot District

un-named

0.2 km

Phoum Ruung

Memot District

unknown

-1.0 km

Phoum Mukras

Memot District

Prek Puoy

1.5 km

Phoum O'Ankam

Memot District

unknown

-1.0 km

("O"=Creek, "Prek"=Stream; "-" estimated from site location)

O' Ankam site, which lies at approximately 200 m above sea level, and the Phoum Trameng site, the latter located at approximately 66 m above sea level. Both sites occur in the eastern cluster of earthworks. The disparity in elevation is a result of the O'Ankam site being more northerly and occurring slightly further from the floodplain. The Trameng site occurs at the southern extent of the red earth region closer to the floodplain. In general then, the northernmost sites occur at greater elevations then those to the south. The northern landscape extends into higher montane reaches while the southern sites are slightly closer to the floodplain. However, even with these elevation differences, there are no significant changes in the relationship between circular earthworks and the red clay soil type.

respective streams or creeks are presented in Table 51 below. The distances of water sources to the sites are estimates and are based upon site reconnaissance data and a series of maps covering Cambodia and Vietnam which were illustrated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1972 (1:50,000 scale). Each earthwork site occurs near a different perennial water source. A stream occurs from 200 m to 2.5 km of each site. All streams in the earthwork region principally flow from the north (upper elevational reaches) to the south and east. Stream flow patterns follow landscape topography on a northwestsoutheast axis to where they enter the flood plain. The streams are only slightly meandering, most being straight. The direct and incised nature of the streams and their low hydrological output has not allowed the formation of significant alluvial flats to occur along the banks. Small alluvial flats have only been created where the streams run across flat lands as they enter lower valley-flood plain areas. At upper elevations, many kilometers north of the earthwork region, streams converge and diverge with some regularity (anastomosing streams). No streams run directly through earthworks nor have they in the past; only nearby alluvial areas, not earthwork locales, were subject to perennial flooding (see Chapter 4). 1

Hydrological Pattern The earthwork sites lie at or near the tops of low hills or terraces above secondary drainages and flood plain areas. The widened valleys at the base of the hills are typical of those created by slow paced, perennial gravitational water movement from higher to lower elevations. These valleys drain modest hydrological outputs onto the flood plain. Streams near the earthwork sites are directed principally to the south (along a meandering north-south axis) toward the flood plain. Perennial streams or creeks occurring near the circular earthwork sites average between 5-10 m wide, with some extending to 40 m in width in pooled locations. Exact measurements of each perennial stream or creek, including widths and lengths from points of origin, are presently not available. Approximate distances from earthwork sites to

Krek sites #13, #14, and #15 are unusual in that they cluster near the O Krek water source. All other sites are situated near individual streams; each site has its own, neighboring There was no natural flooding of earthwork loci, unless the flooding was produced by rain or heightened water table. Natural flooding occurred in valley and floodplain areas below the sites however. Natural flooding has been described as a key component of early agricultural systems (White 1984). Flooding would also make agriculture very risky.

96

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

perennial water source. None of the earthwork sites are directly connected by streams or rivers. The earthworks do not form settlement nodes along one or more shared streams, as is the case with modern circular villages in northeast Cambodia, nor cluster around similar drainages (except in the case of Krek). In the basaltic region, there is no clearly dominant water resource to which the sites are drawn or clustered. Further, as each earthwork site occurs near a different water source that is similar in size and hydrological output, these sources probably did not need to be shared between sites. There is no evidence for any diversion of water sources between sites. That almost all the sites occur near a separate perennial water source is considered as one determinant for selection of settlement location.

the pottery (see Chapter 8). Ferritic laterite was present at earthwork sites and forms a ubiquitous basement across the adjacent flood plain (see Map 7). Laterite is also a source of iron ore. All of these resources are present across the earthwork region as a whole. Bordering regions do not contain the same resources. The raw materials composing archaeological resources recovered from six excavated sites did not diverge much in material composition, be it source materials for adze manufacture or tempering agents in pottery. The presence of such local resources may indicate that environmental criteria were partially determinant in earthwork site location. As discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, there is a similarity in settlement location between prehistoric earthworks and modem circular sites of northeast Cambodia: both sets of sites are associated with red, upland soils. Shifting cultivation is argued to be but one subsistence strategy in a diverse, broad spectrum economy that occurred during both prehistoric and modern times. Shifting cultivation of upland rice and flood recession rice production in neighboring flood plain areas complement the cultivation of other crops (e.g., garden crops such as tubers, arboricultural products) and other subsistence strategies (e.g., hunting, butchering of domesticated animals). It is argued that both prehistoric and modem upland groups occupying circular sites settled in locations on the landscape where they could profit from diversified subsistence zones and employed broad subsistence strategies not wholly concentrated on intensive rice cultivation.

Soil Association

As discussed in Chapter 4, the circular earthworks are exclusively associated with red clay soils, those derived from the decomposition of underlying basalt. No circular earthworks have been identified outside red soil areas of Cambodia or Vietnam (see Map 1O;see also Chapter 4). This does not mean that earthwork occupants only associated their activities with red soils, however. In Chapter 4, the red clay soil was shown to be of poor quality for some agricultural pursuits, which suggests that the carrying capacity of the immediate site environment, in terms of agricultural pursuits, is low. However, an important pattern is evident when comparing earthwork locations to regional soils: most earthworks occur at the interface between red soils and alluvial sediments (see Figure 5 and Map 10 above). All earthwork sites occur within 5 km of this soil boundary, with most sites being closer (c. 1-2 km). The division between the static red soils associated with the earthworks sites and the more dynamic dark grey/light brown shades of alluvial, flood plain sediment, is distinctive.

Discussion

Local Resources and Subsistence Practices

Both ecological attributes and social reasons may have governed the selection criteria for establishing the location of prehistoric circular earthworks in Cambodia. The present research suggests that ecological attributes were more important in site selection. By comparing site locations with a set of environmental characteristics, several patterns are repetitive or non-random. It is argued that earthwork group settlement strategy was at least a partial function of the ecological structure of the landscape as well as adaptation to the social environment. As such, the relationship between the presence of circular sites and specific landforms is acutely positive: there is a nucleated settlement pattern in the red soil region where circular earthworks are exclusively tethered to red, basalt-derived clay soils on hill tops above secondary drainages and flood plains; all sites occur adjacent to alluvial flood plain areas, and perennial streams lie within 2.5 km of each site; lithic resources, kaolinitic clay deposits, and lateriteiron deposits are nucleated, local resources for each site. Each is discussed further below.

Locally-available resources amenable to artifact production include lithic and soil resources. As indicated in Chapter 4, source materials for lithic manufacturing (e.g., siltstone, basalt) occur within and near the earthwork region, as do kaolinitic clays suitable for ceramic manufacture (see Map 7). Another class of natural resources utilized at the sites was laterite. Laterite nodules were common tempering agents in

Initial patterns of circular settlement distribution indicate that the circular sites are not densely distributed across the region. Spatial remoteness in overall site distribution may be a function of archaeological sampling (uneven landscape coverage), spatial relationships between the sites (hilltops), or due to time (non-contemporaneity of sites). There is, however, repetition in earthwork site location over time. The

The relationship between soil type and elevation is also clear: where flood plains give way to hills, alluvial soils occurring across flat expanses give way to red clay soils, where the earthworks are located. This is a meaningful pattern as alluvial, fluvial, and in situ derived soils and sediments all occur adjacent to the earthwork sites. The association between earthworks and soil regimes is intriguing: there may be a trade off in that circular sites occur on red upland soils that offer security from flooding, although they are readily amenable to swidden agriculture only, but at the same time are adjacent to flood plain areas that require less labor effort for improved agricultural production.

97

sites are exclusively located between 66 masl and 200 masl, or between 30 m and 90 m above the flood plain that stretches to the south and west of the sites. No circular earthwork sites are located on the flood plain. Site location may have been partially determined by elevational remoteness from the flood plain in order to avoid seasonal flooding. Second, the sites are located at or near the apex of hills, likely to perform a defensive function. Finally, no earthwork site is located more than 5 km from the flood plains and thus, agriculture on the flood plain could have been practiced during certain parts of the year.

response to high risk and high stress social and/or environmental conditions (c.f. Kealhofer 1996:230). It is suggested here that earthwork inhabitants utilized a broad spectrum economy due to the social and natural environment in which they lived. Subsistence and dietary concerns were likely not an issue as a wide range of crops and food were likely, and could have been, cultivated in both upland hills and flood plain areas. Beyond flooding and/or drought, there is no evidence to suggest subsistence diversification and/or trade as a response to environmental severity. Most likely, the earthwork subsistence base was diversified simply because a wide range of resources were available in the region and there was some success in agricultural pursuits. In other words, to remain permanently occupied sites, earthwork occupants had successfully adapted to the region by diversifying subsistence resources; their success in economy allowed for permanent habitation of the region. However, due to the acidic nature of site soils, many of these subsistence forms have not been empirically verified: animal consumption and smaller garden plots for the cultivation of tuberous plants, yams, millet, and such. Rice and rice chaff have been the exception, having been documented in ceramic sherds throughout each earthwork sites occupation levels.

It is argued here that while the regional flood plain area was

not as amenable to agriculture as other flood plain areas of the country (due to shallow deposits overlaying a laterite basement), certain sections of the flood plain or adjacent fluvial areas near the earthworks could have been utilized for their agricultural potential on at least a seasonal basis (flood farming). Combined with the fact that upland rice was likely grown nearer the sites, lands amenable to agriculture were not scarce. There is a definite relationship between site location and soil areas: the earthworks were constructed at a transitional facies with the advantage of access to both upland and lowland soils and other resources. The major implication of settlement location is that these sites are part of a community that practiced swidden agriculture as their primary subsistence strategy, with perhaps some flood farming of rice in the alluvial plain. Clearly, this subsistence strategy requires a low population density, especially if the groups were trying to maintain permanent, long term settlement at the circular sites. If one is not moving one's place of settlement, then the settlement must remain small enough to have land with a reasonable site catchment. That the sites are argued to have been occupied on a permanent basis for some 500 years, at different times between 2300-300 B.C., shows successful adaption to the landscape, in terms of both environmental (transitional zones) and social (site as defensive) reasons.

It was shown in Chapter 6 that not all the sites were occupied

contemporaneously. Group movement through time (east to west?) to exploit similar niches of the terra rouge region and/or intra-group, kin-fissioning is a distinct possibility. Based upon settlement location, site-environmental relationships, resource zones within the region, and the ethnographic record of the earthwork area, it has been argued that earthwork occupants were primarily swidden cultivators. As such, it remains possible that these earthwork sites are places of aggregation for groups during part of the year, groups who spend part of their year living near the fields and shifting their place of residence periodically. The present dataset suggests the sites to have been occupied permanently. Yet, the resolution of data may not be sufficiently fine to detect short (year?) occupational hiatuses at the sites. In either case, it is postulated here that the circular sites were constructed on the cusp of two variable environmental zones so that they could utilize their central location to profit from both tracts.

The present database contains direct evidence for rice agriculture occurring in association with earthwork occupation: rice and rice chaff occurring in pottery sherds. The presence of rice in ceramic matrices and the nature of the sites themselves (permanently occupied; sedentary) provides some positive evidence however. The utilization of rice and rice chaff as tempering agents, at the exclusion of other organic forms, suggests ready abundance of this material. Use ofrice may imply some surplus use of the grain or that rice was included by accident. Typically, rice chaff is used as temper. That such remains were not recovered directly in sampled soil matrices suggests rice to have been intentionally included within ceramics. Artifacts typically linked to agriculture, such as polished adzes, stone hoes and reaping knives, provide secondary evidence for prehistoric agriculture in the earthwork region.

Another settlement distribution pattern is that northern sites typically occur at higher elevations than southern sites. This pattern may simply be a product of topography or landform: the presence of raised flexures in the region. Regardless of elevation, most circular earthworks occur at or very near facies of red soil and alluvial or fluvial areas. The earthworks exclusively occur at or near hilltops or terraces above secondary drainages. Several explanations for such a pattern are valid. Hilltop locations allow for avoidance of seasonal floods. Settlements occurring on hilltops usually do not take up scarce lands suitable for agriculture. The hilltops exhibit stable soil surfaces, particularly when compared to those of flood plain areas. In social terms, hilltop locations are easier to defend than open, flat areas. Not only do the sites occur on hilltops which offer commanding views of the surrounding landscape, but this location is complemented by

Given the nature of the earthwork environment, it is likely that other forms of subsistence also fueled earthwork occupants; rice was just one part of a large and diverse set of subsistence strategies (see Kealhofer 1996:229 regarding prehistoric Thailand). In some cases, the development of varied cultivation-subsistence strategies may have been as a 98

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

the fact that all earthworks are completely enclosed and have limited, restrictive access.

different stream. The streams are quite small in absolute size and course through fairly deep, incised V-shaped drainages. None of these streams could feasiblely support most means of water transportation. A majority of the streams run in a reasonably straight course from near or above most earthwork sites to lower flood plain reaches. However, there is really no method of transporting anything from earthwork sites to the flood plain along these small drainages. The largest river with transport capabilities in Cambodia, the Mekong River, lies approximately 60 kilometers to the west of Krek #15, the westernmost earthwork site.

While the primary function of the sites was as a place of permanent settlement, a secondary function may have been defensive. The evidence comes in several forms: a variety of stone points were recovered from all excavated sites; the sites are exclusively located at or near the tops of hills; the sites are completely enclosed; restricted access was permitted through passageways; the sites occur in a transitional area between lowlands and uplands. Overall, there is little evidence to suggest whether "defense" was to afford protection from animals, people, or both. Bayard (1992:21) has provided evidence for prehistoric conflict in Mainland Southeast Asia. The portrait of peaceful populations coterminously occupying various regions of Mainland Southeast Asia during prehistoric times may be unwarranted (see White and Pigott 1996:165 for an alternate view). Again, whether earthwork groups could have been in conflict with each other or with external groups remains speculative at present: inter-site feuding can be argued if the sites are contemporaneous; extra-site warfare can be argued if the earthworks are not contemporaneous (although the identity of such groups remains unknown; flood plain populations?). Further, in terms of site spacing and site function (permanent settlement and defense), the irregular spacing of the earthworks across the basaltic region, possibly a function of archaeological sampling, does not directly lend itself to competition models where settlements are more regularly spaced (see Hodder and Ortner 1976:54-55).

That none of the earthwork sites are directly connected by a water source sheds light on possible prehistoric transport in the area: overland transport. The combination of a modest north-south geographical deviation between the sites, and the fact that most of the streams run in a northwest-southeast course shows that there would have been little/no interaction between settlement occupants if they relied solely on water transport. The small drainages do not connect sites, especially along the east-west axis in which most sites are clustered. Thus, if transportation/trade occurred between the circular sites and/or other sites in the area, it is argued that overland routes would have been employed. While many flood plain populations are connected in the dry season by major rivers (e.g., Mekong, Bassac) and during the wet season by inundated flood plains (e.g., lower Mekong region, Tonie Sap area), prehistoric groups occupying lower to middle terrace regions could have been somewhat isolated due to the absence of connecting water courses. That overland travel would have to occur between the prehistoric earthwork sites throughout the entirety of a year, as occurs today, seems quite realistic. One viable alternative is mentioned above: during certain times of the year when alluvial areas are flooded, water travel or transport in east, west, or southern directions from the sites could have been possible. At this point in the research however, there are no discernable nodes for direct transport between the circular sites on either a northsouth or east-west axis, nor with other contemporaneous sites occurring some distance away (e.g., Doc Chua in Vietnam, Samrong Sen in central Cambodia).

One hypothesis of this research read that on a local and regional level, there is a positive correlation between the presence of circular earthworks and specific environmental features. The earthwork grouping is tethered to a specific environment. This hypothesis has been supported. Second, it was proposed that earthwork site aggregation resulted from the mutual attraction to certain landscape features. The alternate hypothesis was that the trend away from aggregation (and equal spacing of sites) is the result of intra-group competition for necessary resources (which should be most pronounced in the zones of most crucial resources). With the present dataset, earthwork aggregation in relation to specific types of environmental features (e.g., red soil on hills near perennial water sources) has been supported. That feuding or warfare occurred on an inter-site basis is less a possibility than warfare between circular site occupants and others in the region because the circular site are not completely contemporaneous. Inter-site and extra-site competition is a very real possibility, although perhaps not due to the presence of crucial resource zones. As is shown here and in Chapter 4, while each site catchment is small, they are roughly equal in terms of available natural resources. If warfare or feuding involved the earthwork population, many unknowns remain: competition against whom and for what reasons.

The circular earthworks occur in an area where site occupants could use two very different environmental zones. As such, transport and even inter-site trade may not have been necessary among contemporary earthwork sites. It has been shown in both Chapter 4 and this chapter that the earthworks were constructed and occupied at repetitive locations, all sites accessible to upland and lowland resource zones. Tangible resources such as red, laterite-producing soils, kaolinite clays, and source stone materials are evenly distributed throughout the earthwork region. The argument could be made that if each site had equal access to these resources, there would be little need for inter-site trade, assuming that some overlapping contemporaneity occurred between some of the sites. For example, Krek #14 and Krek #15 are situated within 1.5 km of each other across relatively flat terrain on a large hilltop. The proximity of these sites suggests that they each had a similar bank on which to draw needed resources such as arboreal products, lithic source materials, and soil amenable

Another determinant for earthwork settlement location may have been access to water sources. All sites are located within 2.5 km of a perennial water source. No streams run through earthwork sites. The only direct water source at the sites is either from rainwater or tapping into deep wells. With the exception of three sites in Krek, each site is associated with a 99

to both agricultural pursuits and ceramic production. As both sites occur on the same hilltop, there may not be much difference in resource access potential between the sites. The artifact record reflects such similarity. In this case, there would not be much need for trade, unless a higher-ranking individual occupied one site over the other or the two groups were specializing in producing certain materials and exchanging them. In the present database, there is no evidence to suggest that any one earthwork site was specialized, outranked another site, or had special access to different or rare resources. Another way to see the two geographically proximate sites is in terms of time: if the two sites are contemporaneous, they may reflect the movement of a part of one site's population to the other site (kin-based fissioning). Contrastingly, these two sites may simply represent two different periods of occupation of the Krek area. Radiocarbon dating of each site's occupation strata are required to further both arguments. The circular earthworks are not regularly or uniformly spaced in terms of distance. This may be an artifact of incomplete archaeological survey of the region. Yet, settlement pattern data, analyzed here in terms of ecological attributes, reveals that the settlements are likely not simply a passive reflection of population distribution. Population may more so be a reflection of site catchment areas. There is a strong, repetitive correlation between site location and topographical features. At this point in the research, earthwork settlement locations across the basaltic plateau are highly predictable. The "magnets" reflecting site

location, as shown above, may have been a combination of environmental and social factors. A valid contention remains that other contemporaneous sites may exist in the region during earthwork occupation. Should the circular sites be regarded as the sole component of a regional settlement system or are there non-moated sites or other archaeological phenomenon that occur in the area? This possibility can only be evaluated by means of systematic survey in the future. As a whole, the overarching mechanism that is thought to have determined aggregated settlement type exclusively in the red soil region as well as governed site location was group or cultural tradition adaptation to a specific environment. The data suggests that there has been some commitment to longterm occupation of the homogenous sites and there is a repetitious pattern in earthwork settlement location. It is argued that group adaptation to the red soil environment took the form of selecting settlement locations that were removed from the flood plain but close enough to acquire resources from both upland zones and flood plain zones, were situated on hilltops to avoid flooding and to use as natural locations of defense, and occurred close to perennial water sources. These are suggested to be earthwork conventions employed and replicated across the region through time by the same population. These patterns provide another line of evidence intimating cultural connectivity between earthwork sites occurring in a small ecological niche over a time period stretching from c. 2300-300 B.C.

Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Chapter 10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The primary goal of this research has been to analyze Cambodian circular earthworks in terms of regional prehistoric adaptations. Interpreting the dynamic natural and social processes generating earthwork archaeological data allowed for inferring the means by which earthwork site occupants interacted with their natural and social environment between c. 2300-300 B.C. This research included five major research activities: analyses of regional and local environment, study and comparison of site morphological characteristics, earthwork chronology, analysis of artifact classes and their distributions, and the relationship between settlement location and the natural and social environment. Through these activities, it was determined that the sites share a physical association with the landscape that is shown in repetitious group settlement distribution. This project actively pursued differentiation within and between sites on several levels, yet homogeneity in site location distribution, site morphology, and artifact class and distribution was realized. This redundancy is strong evidence earthwork adaptation was group-driven or community-based. The homogenous, aggregated nature of the sites and all they encompass, through time, is argued to reflect the operation of a discrete cultural system. The Neolithic/Proto-Neolithic earthwork sites themselves, representing a subset of other sites with a circular morphology that occur across other parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, are distinguished by their location, size, function, timing, and artifact types and distributions. The circular earthworks are limited in distribution to the red soil terraces-uplands of eastern Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. Settlement analysis has demonstrated that the distribution of earthworks is suspected to have been primarily derived from environmental factors and second, possibly by political factors. The sites were constructed at a transitional facies between lowland flood plains and upper terraces, the

latter of which continue into the central Vietnamese highlands and the uplands of northeast Cambodia. It is argued that earthwork occupants likely utilized two forms of agriculture, one in each geomorphological zone. Occupants practiced slash-and-bum (swidden) agriculture in upland zones throughout the year and cultivated flood recession rice in lowland areas part of the year. Upland areas containing the sites supported the precursors of today's upland swiddenrice cultivation and wide range of garden and tree crops. As also seen today, occupants of the earthwork region continue to practice swidden agriculture and seasonally harvest flood recession rice. Yet, it may be argued that rice cultivation was only one form of a diversified subsistence base that also included tubers, animal husbandry, and hunting. The repetitive nature of earthwork settlement location at the intersection of these upland and lowland resource zones allowed each settlement its own, fairly productive site catchment. It is argued that settlement location in these transitional zones created a nucleated settlement pattern that was based upon community-type adaptation. Shared between the two environmental zones, water (streams), laterite soil rich in iron ore, forest products, lithic source material, kaolinitic clay amenable to pottery manufacture, and maybe even salt pans were fairly evenly distributed across the earthwork region. This may have encouraged the development of many habitation centers (i.e., villages) but not the emergence of a single, central foci of population. Some resources were nucleated in and near the basaltic plateau region. It is suspected that access to this variety of natural resources was one reason the earthwork group occupied this environment. On a more local scale, all the earthworks were situated in certain locations, on hilltops, that were removed from seasonal flooding of the floodplains and also offered a defensive position on the landscape. The circular earthworks averaged 4.96 hectares in size, no one site dominating the grouping in terms of size or structural

elaboration. The primary function of the earthworks is inferred to be habitation, as based upon the presence of site architectural features, construction of the sites, artifact types recovered from the sites, and the nature of intra-site and intersite artifact distributions. It is argued that habitation was only one function of the sites. Another site function may be that the earthworks were constructed for defensive purposes. Several lines of evidence have been used to support this interpretation: the exclusive location of the sites on hilltops; enclosing circular walls rising above the landscape while interior site depressions have been cut below the surface; restricted passageways into/out of each site; and lithic points and arrowheads recovered from each site. It is argued that "defense" was for protection against wild animals and/or humans.

be considered as sharing a similar culture or tradition. It has been established that the earthworks represent an adaptation to this lower terrace region, with some variation between the sites essentially coming only in the form of site temporal affinity. That the earthworks are connected environmentally and socially (location, architecture, artifact representations) is clearly evident. Sharing of similar technologies and styles among sites often indicates some cultural unity (see Neiman 1995:7-36). Further, the spread of similar material forms, goods as well as styles, functioning in a number of different behavioral realms across a distinctive ecological niche may reflect acculturation of participants to just such a common spatially extensive social identity (see Schortman and Urban 1992). There is a concrete and overt expression of commonality within the earthwork grouping in terms of settlement location, site architectural engineering, site function, and artifact assemblage type and distribution, a wide range of cultural markers that allows for more easily identifying members of the same salient affiliation (Hodder 1979:193).

The sites are interpreted to have been permanently occupied, open-air settlements though possibly, semisedentary agricultural communities may have occupied the earthworks. While the evidence shows that all the earthwork sites were occupied continuously (sedentary grouping), no direct archaeological signatures for storage areas, permanent shelters, nor cemeteries have been identified. These are typically hallmarks for sedentary societies, as evidenced by the dense, discrete distributions of habitation debris (lithics, ceramics). Storage is indicated by sherds representing very large, thick-walled vessels with substantial orifices. That these vessels were used for storage is supported not only by metric attributes of the vessels but, in all cases, by their direct association with site habitation areas (platform periphery). Horizontal artifact distributions at each excavated site were the same: dense, discrete distributions of habitation debris occurred exclusively at the peripheries of central platforms. The vertical distribution of remains at the sites also suggests permanent, continuous habitation of the sites. Most direct evidence for storage and subsistence (trash or midden pits, faunal remains) have been destroyed by the acidic soils of the region.

Along parallel lines, all site artifact inventories are composed of utilitarian implements, no artifact class displaying wealth or status, such as the Dong Son drums of the late I st millennium B.C. (c.f. White and Pigott 1996: 157). This thesis sought evidence for functional differentiation in different parts of the sites but instead the evidence revealed a striking spatial homogeneity in the deposits. This could reflect a production system in which numerous spatially flexible small operations were undertaken simultaneously (ibid.) or, as is also argued here, adaptive success could have conferred repetitive group adaptation over time. The prehistoric earthworks reflect similar patterns of adaptation across a discrete space. Such similarity is argued to reflect the workings of a socially identifiable group or cultural tradition that occupied the basaltic plateau of eastern Cambodia into southwestern Vietnam between the early 3'd millennium through I st millenniumB.C.

Prehistoric Group Adaptation

The mechanism to achieve homogeneity in settlement location, morphology, function, and distribution over a c. 2000 year period was group tradition and affiliation. Internal differentiation between the sites was extremely limited, even through time: group adaptiveness was parallel through time. In this vein, adaptive success conferred repetition and success over time conferred cultural redundancy. These cultural redundancies are suggestively related to the organizational role of each site within the cultural system. In this vein, cultural change was not unilineal but processual through time. Changing adaptive strategies were developed and shared, with an apparent attempt to focus strategies on the group rather than individuals. This strategy appears to have been successful as it was accomplished throughout the occupational range of the sites over a c. 2,000 year period.

Empirical evidence and inferences derived from such evidence leads to the interpretation that "similarity" is related to the cultural or behavioral cohesiveness of earthwork populations. The question at present seems not to be whether the sites represent a unique grouping but to what degree may the sites

Similarity in settlement location, site morphology, and artifact assemblages reveals that each circular site was not the result of independent invention but rather due shared adaptive mechanisms. The mechanism was the functioning of a discrete cultural system.

Habitation and defense are given equal value in terms of site function. If the sites were occupied by kin-based groups, maintenance of a privileged position would have occurred over long time periods. Competition arising from inheritance disputes may have resulted. One argument against intragroup conflict is that some occupation of the earthworks was not contemporaneous. However, overlapping occupation time periods are suggested by the five radiocarbon dates and seriation exercises. If earthwork occupants participated in feuding or warfare activities, it is not known against whom, against each other or other groups (e.g., lfugao, Bontok lgorot).

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Pn0historic Circular Fs1ihv:orks of Cam bod 2

Conclusion

of research, it is argued that these sites do represent the archaeological manifestation of reciprocal cultural processes promoting group cohesion and identity. These in tum have conferred adaptive success over a c. 2000 year period in the prehistory of Mainland Southeast Asia. The Cambodian earthworks appear to represent a very distinctive subset within a larger domain of sites having a circular morphology in Southeast Asia.

A small subset of circular earthworks were constructed in a red soil region of eastern Cambodia-western Vietnam between 2300-300 B.C. The sites were located on hilltops overlooking a red upland landscape and nearby floodplains. The sites occur on stable surfaces that averaged just less than 5 ha in size and except for restricted passageways, were entirely enclosed by a large, circular, earthen wall. Inside the wall, habitation occurred along the fringes of the platforms, with possible secondary use of the center of the platform as a communal area, as is the case at modem circular villages in northeast Cambodia. Earthwork occupants practiced upland swidden agriculture and likely cultivated flood recession rice in nearby floodplains. Based on archaeological and ethnohistorical data, rice cultivation was but one part of a diverse subsistence system that is inferred to have also included horticulture, hunting, animal husbandry, and arboriculture. Earthwork inhabitants had access to many local resources and manufactured a diverse and complete lithic toolkit and earthenware pottery assemblage. The lithic toolkit was primarily oriented toward agricultural/horticultural use. The ceramic assemblage was primarily utilitarian and reflected domestic use. Artifact distribution analysis suggests that the sites were occupied continuously somewhere in the 2300300 B.C. range. Even though the earthworks shared many traits, they were not all contemporaneous. The earthwork sites in the eastern portion of the red soil region were occupied earlier than those earthworks in the west. By extension, all Cambodian circular earthworks were constructed and occupied prior to moated sites occurring further to the west/ northwest in Thailand. There is some overlap in site dates, particularly between neighboring earthwork sites. However, the most geographically removed sites do not share contemporaneity.

Future Research

There are several suggestions for future work. Additional radiocarbon dates from all excavated sites are needed to more accurately establish regional earthwork chronology. Systematic survey of the region is required to more precisely assess local and regional earthwork settlement patterns. These circular sites may not be the sole archaeological component of the region between c. 2300-300 B.C. All known earthwork sites (n=40) must be fully mapped and recorded and the information entered into the existing earthwork database. More data is required to establish inter-site relationships as well as those external relationships that may have existed during earthwork occupation. Finally, continued analysis of in-hand datasets is imperative to more accurately assess the nature of the assemblages in terms of raw material resources and source locations, manufacturing processes, and crossdating. Comparative information currently being assembled in Vietnam should be compared to the present datasets to more fully understand the nature and chronology of the earthworks. Future research at the earthworks will continue to utilize the sites as a case study to explore archaeological manifestations of prehistoric group identity and adaptation. Further, as the path to social complexity and state formation could have run directly through these sites via developed community-based production systems, decentralized distribution, and/or social heterarchy (see White and Pigott 1996:161), additional archaeological work at the circular earthwork sites in Cambodia and Vietnam is warranted.

The age, nature, and articulation of the Cambodian earthworks have been examined to advance initial interpretations that there is a significant degree of site community and group cohesion across what is seen as a relatively circumscribed environment. Together, the circular earthwork sites form a larger, singular and cohesive entity or tradition. At this stage

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Appendix I. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SOIL ANALYSIS RESULTS horizon. This variation was thought to represent different occupational surfaces (Thuy 1999:7). It is in this vein of discovery that a re-evaluation of the RUFA soil analysis is presented.

In a compilation of theses published by RUFA (Albrecht et al. 1999), more ideas about the nature and sourcing of soils and sediments that formed and accrued at the earthworks were disclosed. This work followed less in-depth studies of physical (soil textures) and chemical (pH and calcium carbonate levels) soil properties by other researchers (Kojo and Pheng 1998; Dega et al. 1997a, 1997b; Dega 1999). During the recently completed RUFA project, soil samples from several excavated sites (Banteay Meas, Beng, and Krek # 15) were submitted to sedimentologists in Germany (University of Applied Sciences, Suderburg, Germany) for soil characterization studies. In general, the results of these studies provided comparable results. It is in discussions on micro-stratigraphy that variations within sediment regimes are notable however. At the Banteay Meas site, for example, variations in clay content were visible in the B2 horizon and clay content increased again in the B4

Below, physical and chemical characterization studies of samples acquired during excavations at three earthwork sites by the RUFA team is reproduced in their full form. All results were obtained by German sedimentologists and were presented in tabular form within Albrecht et al. (1999). A short summary and interpretive comparison of each dataset is presented herein by the present author. The importance and explanation of these analyses has not fully come to fruition until this point and, as will be shown below in tabular form, the data sets provide invaluable information as to the paleoenvironment in which the earthworks occurred.

Banteay Meas Earthwork Soil Description (Thuy 1999:8)

Depth in cmbs

H20 CaCl2

Carbon%

Texture

Munsell Color

0

4.50 3.85

0.73

clay

10 R 3/3

30-60

4.77 4.02

0.54

clay

10 R 3/6

64-90

4.93 4.15

0.45

clay

10 R 3/3

90-120

4.89 4.12

0.35

clay

10 R 3/3

160-180

5.124.54

0.3

clay

10 R 3/3

Chemical Analyses of Banteay Meas Soil (Mrs. Brigiter Urban)

cmbs

As

Cd

Cr

Cu

Mg

Mn

Ni

p

Pb

Ti

Zn

0