IS IT AN INDICATION OF POPULATION MOVEMENT IN MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA?
This paper will present results from the recent excavations in Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi Provinces in WestCentral Thailand. The fieldwork in the areas yielded the contrasting materials cultures and burial practices of the Metal Age. The test excavation at Ban Nam Daeng, Kanchanaburi province unearthed primary burials with various types of grave goods. However at the Nong Kwang site in Ratchaburi secondary burials were found. The practice was to bury human remains elsewhere, or cremate them, before reburying them with some grave goods. This burial practice was common in prehistoric Ratchaburi but appeared to be in contrast to the rest of Central Thailand. Secondary burials were known in various regions of prehistoric Southeast Asia, however the diffusion of this ancient practice and the relationships among these secondary burial people are still obscure. This paper explores the distribution of secondary burial in mainland Southeast Asia and its implications. The evidence of this cultu
