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An ancient site in Laos, known as the Plain of Jars, is finally beginning to give up its secrets, as the first major excavation effort since the 1930s digs into its mysteries.
Strewn over hundreds of square miles in central Laos, thousands of ceramic jars ranging from three to nine feet in height pepper the landscape, scattered in clusters of anywhere between one and 400 individual pieces.
[...] And while the specific function of these jars is still to be determined, those involved in the most recent work have their theories.
One such theory is that the pots were actually used for decomposition, as lead researcher Dougald O'Reilly of Australian National University in Canberra explained in a statement.
The professor hypothesized that once the process was complete, the bones would then be buried nearby. But whatever the details, he is now convinced that the jars "were used for the disposal of the dead."
Wikipedia says, "[Grave sites] are one of the chief sources of information on prehistoric cultures, and numerous archaeological cultures are defined by their burial customs."
What does it say about ancient cultures in Laos that they put their dead in big stone jars?
(Score: 2) by mrchew1982 on Sunday April 10 2016, @06:27AM
If I remember correctly their current funeral traditions are very strange by Western standards. They burry their deceased in what amounts to a compost pile for one year, letting the soft bits decompose, then dig the bones up, clean them with pressurized water and box them up to take them home! Presumably the bones are placed into some sort of family shrine back at their residence.