Physical Anthropology in Thailand

The collecting of physical anthropological data of people in the past, by physical anthropologists, physicians, archaeologists, including academics in related fields, from studying skeletal remains at archaeological sites in Thailand and to publish knowledge in any form.

HEALTH IN LATE PREHISTORIC THAILAND

Title
HEALTH IN LATE PREHISTORIC THAILAND
Author
DOMETT, KATHRYN
Paper type
Research
Language
English
Location
GN855.T45D66 2001 (SAC Library)
Year
2001
Date report
Published
Archaeopress, Publishers of British Archaeological Report
Subjects
Oral health, Late Prehistory, Late Prehistoric Period, Mun Basin, Health
Abstract

The purposes of this research are to study the health in Late Prehistotic of Thailand. Two hypotheses were examined: firstly, the general health of the populations from the same natural environment will be similar and there will be the difference between the general health of the samples from different natural environments, and secondly, the general health of the peoples will be improved as well as the increasing social complexity.

Sample of this research consisted of 497 human skeletal remains excavated from four prehistoric archaeological sites in Thailand. Based on their location and the natural environments of these sites, there can be divided into two groups. The first one is the sites located along the eastern coastal as Khok Phanom Di site in Chonburi Province dates to a Neolithic period, approximately 3,500-4,000 BP. and Nong Nor site in Chonburi Province dates to the Bronze Age, approximately 2,700-3,100 BP. Secondly, the archaeological sites where located on the Khorat Plateau, Northeast Thailand as Ban Lum Khao site in Nakhon Ratchasima Province that represented as the Bronze Age population, dates to 3,400 BP. and the Iron Age sample from Ban Na Di site in Udon Thani Province dates to 2,400-2,600 BP. The health indicators that utilized in this research were the age at death and sex ratio, the indicators of growth and disturbances of growth, joint disease, trauma, and dental pathology.

The summary results accepted all hypotheses, the general health of the population improved with the increasing of social complexity and the natural environment had a significant influence on the health of the prehistoric populations. For example, although the coastal populations had various food resources, they lived in the risk area of malaria. In contrast, the northeastern populations had not a problem about malaria but there was a limitation on food resources due to the seasonal changes. Also, the people of Nong Nor and Ban Na Di had a better health status possibly because they had more experience and knowledge about their natural environments, unlike the people of Khok Phanom Di and Ban Lum Khao, the pioneers who were setting and adaptation in a new environments.