Population health from the Bronze to the Iron Age in the Mun River Valley, Northeastern Thailand

Abstract

During the second half of the second millennium BP, a significant statelike civilization arose in Southeast Asia. This included the establishment of the Khmer kingdom, centered on Angkor in Cambodia and including the Mun River valley in northeastern Thailand. Prior to this occurrence, communities were undergoing significant change as they became more centralized politically and able to support increasing population numbers (Higham 2002; O'Reilly 2000). Using two skeletal samples from sites dated between 3400 BP and 1600 BP, in this chapter we examine population health during the period prior to the development of the Angkorian state.