Bronze Age Myanmar (Burma): a report on the people from the cemetery of Nyaunggan, Upper Myanmar.

TAYLES, NANCY ; DOMETT, KATE ; PAUK, U PAUK 等

The site and its excavation

A prehistoric cemetery in Upper Myanmar was excavated during two field seasons in 1998 and 1999, by staff from the Mandalay Division of the Department of Archaeology of the Union of Myanmar, under the directorship of U Pauk Pauk, Director of Research. The site is named Nyaunggan after a near-by village. It is on a slight slope within metres of the rim of a shallow volcanic crater, in a rural area to the north of the city of Monywa, near the Chindwin River (FIGURE 1).

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On the basis of the style and composition of surface-collected artefacts, the site was identified as potentially Bronze Age. The objective of the excavation was to confirm whether this was the case. The reason for a particular interest in this was the inference that technology in prehistoric Myanmar had by-passed the stage of copper and bronze working and had passed directly from the Neolithic to iron working (Stargardt 1990: 14; cited in Nyunt Han 1999: 29). No radiocarbon dates are available for the site but on the basis of the presence of technologically and stylistically advanced bronze artefacts and the absence of any iron artefacts, the site is deemed to represent the Bronze Age in Myanmar. Since the excavation, a number of other similar sites have been located in the region by staff from the Department of Archaeology (Pauk Pauk pers. comm.).

The site measures approximately 200x85 m, with the long axis parallel to the crater rim. The excavations involved five pits located within an area of 490 sq. m, with a large area of 360 sq. m exposed. The depth of the excavation ranged from a few cm to ~3 m, with burials located at depths between 10 cm and 1.5 m.

During the excavation 43 burials were identified, many with numerous pots of a variety of styles and shapes, ranging in size from large (diameter 55 cm) to very small (diameter 4 cm). Some had bronze, terracotta, stone and shell artefacts, and animal bones. The bronze artefacts totalled 11 socketed items, mainly spear heads and axes. There was no bronze jewellery but 11 polished stone bangles of a variety of sizes and shapes, including distinctive square and triangular, and beads of stone, shell and terracotta were present. A number of burials had no visible human skeletal remains but were identified on the basis of accumulations of large numbers of pots and occasional animal bones.

Excavation of test pits to considerable depth (~3 m) in areas of the existing excavation squares where there were no burials did not reveal any deeper skeletons. There was very little superposition, and only one instance of definite disturbance of a skeleton by a later burial. The true depth of the cemetery could only be confirmed by removal of the exposed burials and further excavation, but the evidence suggests the cemetery represents a single, short period of activity. There was no cultural stratigraphy and no evidence of habitation remains (Pauk Pauk 1999; Nyunt Han 1999; Kyaw Han 1999).

The site has been left with the burials in situ, as a `site museum' and the area designated as a protected archaeological zone. There is a caretaker living on site. The excavation pits have been covered with shelters of split bamboo, with walkways around the interior walls and fences to prevent visitors from entering the pit itself (FIGURE 2). A tour company has been contracted to bring tour groups to the site and a shelter has been built for giving talks to tour groups, together with other facilities. The artefacts other than pottery and some stone bangles have been removed from the site for safe-keeping and replaced by resin replicas. Many of the skeletons are on raised pedestals of soft soil, which have been supported with wooden retaining walls. An effort has been made to preserve both the bones and the surrounding matrix using chemical preservatives.

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The human skeletons

In January 1999 an international group of scholars was invited to visit the site during the course of a workshop on the Bronze Age Culture of Nyaunggan. This was attended by Tayles, and as a result of contacts made during this visit, Tayles and Domett returned to Myanmar in January 2000 to conduct a field school in the excavation and preliminary recording of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites. Following the field school, we recorded as much data as possible from the skeletons in situ, including measurements and evidence for health and disease, using the standards from Buikstra & Ubelaker (1994). These data are minimal because of the need to record in situ. Age and sex were estimated where possible, also using the standards from Buikstra & Ubelaker (1994).

The skeletal sample represented a minimum number of 43 individuals, with variable representation and preservation ranging from complete (FIGURE 3) to minimal. Most of the skeletons with bones in situ were extended and supine primary burials, although there was at least one secondary burial, consisting of a skull in a large pot. On the basis of prehistoric burial practices in Thailand, it might be assumed that many of the large jars contained infant skeletons. As most jars are very fragile, it was not possible to excavate the contents completely without the jars failing apart.

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Census

Of the 43 individuals, 36 were adults and seven infants and children. Age estimates were based mainly on dental development and wear, supplemented by evidence from skeletal maturity such as epiphyseal ossification and fusion where available. Subadults are summarized in periods suggested by Scheuer & Black (2000). Adult age estimates are limited to relative age groups of `young', `mid age' and `old' because of the preservation quality. The adult sex estimates were based on pelvic and/or cranial characteristics.

TABLE 1 summarizes the census. Of the seven children, three were aged under 5 years and four between 5 and 10 years. There were no very young infants. The almost equal representation of adult males and females suggest that the sample may be representative of the cemetery population.

TABLE 1. Composition of the burials by age at death.

 females males ? sex total
age at death n % n % n % n %

<1 0 0
1-4 years 3 7
5-9 years 4 9
10-14 years 0 0

sub-total 7 16

adults
young 4 40 2 16 0 6 14
mid 2 20 5 42 2 9 21
old 4 40 5 42 4 13 30
unknown 1 1 6 8 19

sub-total 11 31 13 36 12 33 36 84
total 11 13 12 43 100

As there are no available publications on prehistoric skeletal samples from Myanmar, the data are interpreted in comparison with data from prehistoric sites in Thailand (Ban Lum Khao, Nong Nor, Ban Na Di: Domett 1999; Khok Phanom Di: Tayles 1999). The representation of infants and children at Nyaunggan is very low at 16% of the total sample, compared with proportions in the Thai sites which ranged from 21-56%. The complete absence of very young infants, especially neonates, cannot be assumed to be a reflection of an absence of infant mortality, as this would be unique in human populations.

Considering the length of life of those who survived to adulthood, at Nyaunggan almost half lived to a relative old age, which is a high proportion compared with the Thai sites where the range was 6-20%. The difference is statistically significant ([Chi.sup.2] p [is less than] 0.01) against three of four Thai sites. The high proportion of individuals of both sexes surviving to old age at Nyaunggan implies this was a healthier population than at the other sites, although the difficulty of establishing age estimates in adults means this interpretation must be applied with caution.

Skull and body size and shape

Cranial and mandibular measurements and long bone lengths were taken where possible, using extending calipers (TABLES 2 & 3).

TABLE 2. Cranial measurements from Nyaunggan (in mm).

 sex IO MFB MB ML

NW2 female 23 [multiplied by] 3
NW10.2 male 105 145 194
M2 ?
M3 ?
M5 male
SE1 male
SE2 male
SE6 male

mean

 sex CI RH
 R L

NW2 female
NW10.2 male 74 [multiplied by] 7 80
M2 ?
M3 ?
M5 male
SE1 male
SE2 male 65
SE6 male

mean 72 [multiplied by] 5

 sex RB BH
 R L R L

NW2 female
NW10.2 male 35 32
M2 ? 32
M3 ? 37
M5 male 40
SE1 male 40 31
SE2 male 36 30
SE6 male 29

mean 37 [multiplied by] 6 30 [multiplied by] 8

Definitions (`M' from Martin & Sailer (1957)). IO interorbital breadth
(M50); MFB minimum frontal breadth (M9); MB maximum cranial breadth
(M1); ML maximum cranial length (MS); CI cranial index (Bass 1995: 68);
RB mandibular ramus breadth (M 71); RH mandibular ramus height (M70);
BH mandibular body height (M69.2). R right, L left.

TABLE 3. Nyaunggan long bone measurements and stature estimates.

 clavicle humerus

 sex right left right left

M2 ? 138 [+ or 299 [+ or
 -] -]
M4.1 male? 156 317 [+ or
 -]
SE13 female? 129 308 [+ or
 -]
SE22 female
NE1 male

 ulna radius tibia
 sex left right left right left

M2 ?
M4.1 male? 279 [+ or 384 383 [+ or
 -] -]
SE13 female?
SE22 female 231 [+ or
 -]
NE1 male 251 253-255

 stature from
 sex

M2 ? 156/160 H
M4.1 male? 168.5 T
SE13 female? 159 H
SE22 female 154 R
NE1 male 161-162 R

T tibia ([+ or -] measurement imprecise [+ or -] 3.47 mm); H
humerus; R radius (no SE available for upper limb bones).

Compared with cranial vault length from Southeast Asians, both prehistoric (Tayles 1999; Pietrusewsky 1997) and modern (Pietrusewsky 1981; Tildesley 1920-21; Warusawithana-Kulatilake 1996; Morant 1923; 1924; Olivier et al. 1966) the cranial vault of the single individual at Nyaunggan (TABLE 2) is long. The only geographically close cranial vaults of similar length are recorded in a small sample of East Tibetans (Khams) (Morant 1923). The vault breadth of the single Nyaunggan individual is within the upper range of the comparative samples but is not exceptional. The vault shape overall is similar to samples from India and Nepal but only the sample from East Tibet is a similar size (Tildesley 1920-21; Morant 1923; 1924). It is long and narrow compared with the relatively short, broad cranial vaults of samples from Burma and the area of Thailand and Cambodia (Pietrusewsky 1981; Tildesley 1920-21; Warusawithana-Kulatilake 1996; Morant 1923).

There are relatively few comparative data available for mandibular measurements (Tayles 1999; Morant 1923; 1924; Olivier et al. 1966) but the Nyaunggan mandibles are within the range from Khok Phanom Di and large compared with means of modern Southeast Asians, although the lack of ranges for some samples limits this interpretation.

These data can only be interpreted very cautiously, as there are multiple limitations to drawing any conclusions, including the minimal sample sizes and the contributions of both genes and environment to cranial vault size and shape. Nevertheless, the fact that NW10.2 was so large with such a long head, at the extreme of the range of the small set of samples from the geographic area, is of interest. The difference in size and shape compared with a modern sample from near Mawlamyine (Tildesley 1920-21) may, at least in part, reflect a different ethnicity, as the Mawlamyine sample may be of Mon ancestry. The difference from a sample from near Mandalay (Pietrusewsky 1981) is more surprising and the comparison with a small sample from the Kham region of Eastern Tibet (Morant 1923) is interesting as the people are described as typically tall (Stein 1972) which is consistent with a large head size. This region of Tibet includes the valleys which ultimately drain into the rivers of Southeast Asia, including the Ayeyarwady, and the prehistoric inhabitants may therefore have been in contact with the people of the Chindwin River area.

Stature estimates from long-bone lengths (TABLE 3) were made based on regression equations developed on Southeast Asians (Sangvichien et al. 1985; n.d.). The validity of these equations for prehistoric Southeast Asians has been discussed at length in Tayles (1999). The long-bone lengths from Nyaunggan are all at or above the means, but within the ranges, of estimates from the Thai sites using the same equations. The stature estimates show that this very small sample is very similar in height to prehistoric Thai. Unfortunately it was not possible to estimate stature from the individual with the large skull.

Health

From the limited observations possible, we saw no evidence for any skeletal pathology. Our comments on health are therefore limited to dental observations. The data collected were for dental wear, loss of teeth during life, and dental caries, which are all indicators of dental health. No data on periodontal disease could be recorded as the bone surfaces were not visible.

Five infants and children had at least one tooth present but none had any dental disease. Dental data were recorded from many of the adults, although the representation of teeth per individual was not high and there was an imbalance in representation between the sexes, with males having more teeth present than females.

A limited dental pathology profile has been created for the Nyaunggan sample in comparison with the available Thai prehistoric samples. This is detailed in TABLE 4. The terms high, moderate and low are used here as relative terms only.

TABLE 4. Dental pathology profiles for Nyaunggan
and prehistoric Thai samples.

 ante-
 mortem
 severe tooth
sample attrition caries loss

Nyaunggan high low low
Khok Phanom Di(1) low high high
Nong Nor(2) high low low
Ban Lum Khao(2) moderate low low
Ban Na Di(2) moderate low low
Noen U-Loke(3) moderate low high

(1) Tayles (1999); (2) Domett (1999); (3) Nelsen (1999)

Overall the people of Nyaunggan had relatively high rates of severe attrition, low mean caries per individual with caries, and low ante-mortem tooth loss compared with prehistoric Thai people. This profile is most similar to the Bronze Age southeastern Thai sample of Nong Nor, although the environments of Nong Nor and Nyaunggan are quite different, as Nong Nor was close to the coast and had access to riverine resources while Nyaunggan is inland. However, they may have had a similar level of technology. Although the people of Nong Nor relied on rice as a subsistence staple, as Nyaunggan is in the Dry Zone of Myanmar their diet may have not have been based on rice.

Sex differences in some dental pathologies in the Nyaunggan sample may imply sex differences in diet. In particular, females had more severely worn anterior teeth. There was no evidence that the wear was due to other uses of the dentition.

Conclusions

The sample of skeletons from the Nyaunggan cemetery is small but the census suggests it may be representative of the cemetery population with the exception of the absence of newborn and very young infants.

The limited data we were able to collect suggests that the individuals who lived to adulthood lived longer than comparative prehistoric Southeast Asians. This suggests a healthy population, as does the growth of adults to a size which is within the upper range of statures for the other populations. This hint of large body size is in accord with the evidence from the large mandibles and the single large skull. However, it is not possible to say whether there may be a genetic contribution to the body size, rather than it being a reflection of good health.

We saw no evidence for skeletal pathology but are unable to confirm the absence of disease. The information from the dentition suggests that the diet of these people was high in fibrous and or gritty material, causing a high degree of dental wear, and that it may have been low in cariogenic foods. Overall the dentition appeared to be healthy. Women have more severely worn anterior teeth than men, which suggests that there may have been a sex difference in diet.

Although we have been unable to draw any more definite conclusions from the study of the Nyaunggan skeletons, we have felt it has been worthwhile detailing the evidence we did find as beginnings of the study of the prehistoric peoples of Myanmar.

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Received 29 August 2000, accepted 17 October 2000, revised 22 January 2001

NANCY TAYLES, KATE DOMETT & U PAUK PAUK(*)

(*) Tayles & Domett, Department of Anatomy & Structural Biology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. nancy, tayles@stonebow.otago.ac.nz Pauk Pauk, Department of Archaeology, Corner of 70th & 28th Streets, Chan-aye-tha-san Township, Mandalay, Myanmar.