The key role of the upper and middle Mekong in the expansion of settled ag- riculture from Yunnan to the plains of northern and northeastern Thailand has been indicated by a site survey of the upper reaches of the river and its northern Four archaeological sites in northeast Thailand, of which the two best known are Ban Chian and Non Nok Tha, provide important evidence of new Neolithic settlements in the Mekong valley in the early second millennium BCE. The picture we have is of quite large agricultural communities practicing horticulture and rainfed wet-rice production, probably in natural wetlands and seasonal shallow ponds. Most remarkable is the extensive use of pottery and burial of the dead in defined cemeter- ies, in the graves of which much of the pottery was found. From the excavations it is evident that hunting and fishing still supplied a good percentage of the diet, including large animals such as wild buffalo, pigs, and large deer. Turtles, fish, and shellfish
Population diversity and rice in Laos 3
provided important additions to the diet. Shell ornaments and copper and bronze items have also been excavated, though claims of very early dates for metallurgy are now discounted.
The key role of the upper and middle Mekong in the expansion of settled ag- riculture from Yunnan to the plains of northern and northeastern Thailand has been indicated by a site survey of the upper reaches of the river and its northern Four archaeological sites in northeast Thailand, of which the two best known are Ban Chian and Non Nok Tha, provide important evidence of new Neolithic settlements in the Mekong valley in the early second millennium BCE. The picture we have is of quite large agricultural communities practicing horticulture and rainfed wet-rice production, probably in natural wetlands and seasonal shallow ponds. Most remarkable is the extensive use of pottery and burial of the dead in defined cemeter- ies, in the graves of which much of the pottery was found. From the excavations it is evident that hunting and fishing still supplied a good percentage of the diet, including large animals such as wild buffalo, pigs, and large deer. Turtles, fish, and shellfish
Population diversity and rice in Laos 3
provided important additions to the diet. Shell ornaments and copper and bronze items have also been excavated, though claims of very early dates for metallurgy are now discounted.
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