Luke Duggleby

CAMBODIA: THE MYSTERY OF THE JAR PEOPLE

Around 600 years ago people lived in the vast and remote Cardamon forests of southwest Cambodia who placed the bones of their dead in large ceramic jars and wooden coffins and hid them on steep cliff ledges. Dotted amongst the 20,000km2 expanse of jungle are many such sites all occupying their own remote stone outcrops. There is no written evidence or documentation of such people, only these remains.

Since 2003 Dr Nancy Beaven, an American specialist in radio-carbon dating and Senior Research Fellow at New Zealand’s University of Otago has made it her mission to find out who these people were and why they used such a unique burial practice.

In January 2012 Dr Nancy Beaven and a team of experts spent a week at one of the most distant and largest of any of the sites to make a detailed survey of the forty four jars and five wooden coffins.

The results were fascinating.

A full written text accompanies this story. For more details contact me directly.

The vast Cardamon forest viewed from the air.
   
The forty four jars crammed in to a cave in a cliff at a location called Phnom Khnorng Perng.
  
The remains of a human skull at the Phnom Khnorng Perng site.
     
  
The morning sun attempts to shine through the dense jungle of the Cardamon forest.
   
The helicopter that dropped in Dr Nancy Beaven and her team. The flight time was 10 minutes compared to almost 3 days of walking and was kindly donated by US NGO Wildlife Alliance.
   
Dr Nancy Beaven sieves through dirt found in the bottom of the jars.
     
  
Ceramics expert Tep Sokha restores a broken jar from the Phnom Khnorng Perng site.
  
A Cambodian assistant sifts through the dirt floor looking for remains of bone or jewellery.
   
The forty four jars crammed in to a cave in a cliff at a location called Phnom Khnorng Perng.
     
  
Tep Sokha and his assistant carry a jar from the cave to a safe place to for cataloging.
  
Ceramic expert Tep Sokha restores a broken jar.
   
The vast Cardamon forest.
     
  
Dr Sian Halcrow examines the bones found in the jars. Remains of around 80 people were discovered.
   
A Cambodian assistant helps take a jar out of the cave for examination.
   
The vast Cardamon forest viewed from the air.
     
  
Dr Nancy Beaven measures simple metal rings found in the jars.
   
Dr Nancy Beaven cuts a sample of bone from a bone that she will take with her to carbon-date.
   
Large plots of land prepared for plantations cut in to the Cardamon Forest.
     
  
Cambodian helpers measure the width of a jar. The jars originally came from Thailand.
   
The Cardamon forest.
   
Dr Sian Halcrow examines the bones found in the jars. Remains of around 80 people were discovered.
     
  
A Cambodian assistant helps number the jars for surveying.
   
Simple metal rings and glass beads found at the site are bagged and counted.
   
Tek Sokha removes bones from a jar.
     
  
The vast Cardamon forest viewed from the air.
   
Dr Sian Halcrow examines the bones found in the jars. Remains of around 80 people were discovered.
   
A Cambodian guide climbs up a rock face at another jar site nearby that contains only 5 jars and no human remains.
     
  
Dr Sian Halcrow examines the bones found in the jars. Remains of around 80 people were discovered.
   
Large plots of land prepared for plantations cut in to the Cardamon Forest.
   
Ceramics expert Tep Sokha photographs and catalogues each jar.
     
  
The vast Cardamon forest viewed from the air.
   
Tep Sokha and assistants helps re-assemble a broken jar.
   
A Cambodian assistant sifts through the dirt floor looking for remains of bone or jewellery.
     
  
The vast Cardamon forest viewed from the air.
   
Dr Nancy Beaven photographs the remains of a wooden coffin found at the site.
   
Dr Nancy Beaven meansures the remains of a wooden coffin found at the site.
     
  
Dr Sian Halcrow examines the bones found in the jars. Remains of around 80 people were discovered.
   
A Cambodian assistant sits amongst the jars.
   
Dr Sian Halcrow examines the bones found in the jars. Remains of around 80 people were discovered.
     
  
A 600 year old skull peers out from its burial place.