Chapter XVII: a preliminary analysis of the Bronze Age human skeletal remains from Ban Lum Khao archaeological site, Lum Khao Sub-district, Non Sung District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province in the excavation season 1995-1996. As part of “The origin of the civilization of Angkor”, the joint research project between the Fine Arts Department of Thailand and the University of Otago, New Zealand.

Of the 110 specimens consist of thirty-five infants and children under five years of age, sixteen children and adolescents aged between five and fifteen years, twenty-seven adult males, and thirty-two adult females, The mortality rate of infants in their first year are about 19.1 percent of the total remains. The stature was estimated using Thai-Chinese equations (Sangvichien et al., 1985). The mean stature of females was 154.7 centimeters while the mean stature of males was 164.7 centimeters.

The growth disruption indicators have focused on the presence of the Harris Lines on the radiographs that were taken from the adult tibiae, the results showed that at least three in ten individuals showed evidence of one or more Harris Lines. Enamel hypoplasia was examined macroscopically on every deciduous and permanent tooth, and there was about 11.9 percent of all teeth affected. The prevalence of the common oral pathology lesions of this population was low like 4.5 percent of all teeth had caries and 5.2 percent of all teeth lost antemortem. The other skeletal pathology lesions presented like the osteoarthritis in the synovial joints, spondylosis, and the trauma fractures that mostly found on the forearm bones.

In summary, the Ban Lum Khao population had a low morbidity rate. In contrast, they had a high rate of infant and subadult death probably caused by infectious diseases and malnutrition. This consistent with the high prevalence of the growth disruption indicators that possibly impacted by the adaptation with the new cultural and natural environment as the new settled in this area.