DSpace at VNU: Jar burials tradition in South East Asia

V N U J O U R N A L O F S C IE N C E ,

soc

. S C I , H U M A N ., N 01E. 2 0 0 2

J A R B U R I A L S T R A D I T I O N IN S O U T H E A S T ASIA

L a m T h i M y D z u n g (#)

A. Early period
M a n u n g g u i Cave-Chamber A assemblage
A.I. Southeast Asian Islands :
This period w as d e fin e d

in Palawan (Philippines):
u n d e r various

T here was

yielded a highly sophisticated

term s su ch as Early N e o lith ic p h a se and Late

a sse m b la g e

Neolithic p h ase (B ellw ood); Late N eolithic-Jar

including

burial phase (Fox) or Stone

tool-jar burial

dated by associated charcoal fat the University

(Solheim II); A g ricu ltu ral Stage (for Indonesia)

o f C alifornia at Los Angeles) to 710 B .c and

(Soejono)...

890 B.c (R .Fox 1979:233).

the

of

earthenware

burial

jars,

now fam ous M an u n g g u l Jar,

There w ere u n c o v e re d a n u m b e r o f sites

T he earlier ja r burials provided a range of

from this period, w h ic h located in Philippines,

grave goods, including jade beads and bracelets

Indonesia an d M a la y s ia (Spriggs 1989: F ig .l) .

and three agate beads, but no objects o f metal,

Here we can m en tio n e d s o m e o f them .

g lass or carnelian. T he pottery vessels display a

Cave A rku in N orthern L u zo n (Philippines):

rem a rc a b le expertise including arguably the

It is located in a tributary o f the C a g a y a n

m o st im pressive e x am ple from Southeast Asia,

V alley, this site p ro d u ce d a burial asse m b la g e

a vessel 6 6.5cm in height, topped by a soul

dated to be tw e en 1500 BC an d 0. T h e artefacts

boat transporting aw ay the dead . In addition to

included

this j a r -burial assem blage ị\ was uncovered a

orn am ents

stone,

pottery.

im p le m e n ts

red-slipped bowl with ring stand

(Solheim II

were

s e c o n d a ry ,

and

1966: PI.Ia). A ssociated with it were a small

som etim es d u s te d with ore he or placed in jars.

stepped daze, a scoop m ade from the M clo

O ne ja r burial has b e e n r a d io c a rb o n dated to

shell, small green-stone beads, and a few beads

about 5 00 BC. A c c o rd in g to Beliw ood (1 9 8 5 ) it

m a d e o f the co m m o n N assarius shell.

prim a ry

or

The

and

burials

apparently

and

shell

is clear that this a s s e m b la g e c o n tin u e d on to

It is seems that C h a m b e r A assem blage

overlap with a m a jo r I n d o -M a la y s ia n jar-burial

provided the evidences for the beginnings of

tradition.

the ja r burial tradition at the beginning o f the

Dr., Department of History, College of Social Sciences & Humanities, VNU

44


45

Jill burials tradition 111 Southeast Am.I

first m ille n n iu m
rad io c arb o n

B.C. on

basis o f two

sea. N eolithic ja r burials, h o w ever, have been

a sse m b la g e contained no m etal. The pottery is

found in interior o p e n sites o f central Luzon, in

fine

N ueva Eciji p ro v in c e (R .F o x

carved

m en tio n e d

includes

paddle

both

above.

coast; caves the m o u th s o f w hich overlook the

This

and

dates

the

c o rd -m a rk in g

im pressions

as

a

and

significant

T he sa m e kind o f sites (sto n e tool-jar burials

e le m en t o f surface treatm ent. A c c o rd in g to

bv

Fox,

Sorsogon,

cord

treatm ent
southern

and
w as

paddle

im pressed

surface

the

e x tre m e

w idespread

Philippines

but

III

absent

or

rare

1979:234-235).

Solheim )

is

a ls o

M ataas,

re c o g n iz e d

M isibis ,

in

Rato,

M arinduque...

(W .S o lh e im ll 1980: 3-9).

in

West M outh (it S ia h in Sarawak (Malaysia):

central and northern Philippines.
D uring the N e o lith ic , an inner portion of
Be 11w ood

has

in d icated

that

in

this

the cave was used for burial purposes. There were

a ssem blage there is at least o n e pottery coffin,

un covered a b o u t 130 b urials,

and som e vessels have red -painted curvilinear

and burnt s e c o n d a ry bu ria ls have been asserted

d esig n s e n clo sed by in cised lin es-a tec h n iq u e

in addition to the o th e r fu neral rites.

well represented in the E arly M etal sites in
Sabah, and also in the Sa H u y n h c u ltu re in
southern V ietnam . T herefore he feels that the

both c re m atio n s

A c c o rd in g to BeIIw ood (1 9 8 5 :2 5 7 ) there
were rec o g n ize d th re e m a in p eriods o f funeral
practices at N iah:

absence o f m etal is not reliable indicator o f a
/. P recerarnic e x te n d e d burials in coffins

Neolithic date. Like all ja r burial caves this one
also distributed and the ja rs sm a sh e d , a n d the
carbon dates need not necessarily date the jar
burial event (Bellwood 1985:31 i). H ow ever, it
is noting that, here is a dated

M etal A g e

or

bam bo

c a sk e ts ,

and

c o n tin u in g

flexed

burials ( 4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 BC).
2. 2 0 0 0 BC (or later ?) e x te n d in g to an
uncertain

point,

p e rh a p s

late

in

the

first

a ssem blage from the a d ja c e n t C h a m b e r B o f

m ille n n iu m BC, c h a ra c te r is e d

M annungul. T h e artefact a s se m b la g e s o f tw o

e x te n d e d burials, n e w ly a p p e a rin g c rem ations,

C ham bers, with m etal and g lass o n ly in B, do

ja r burials, and p o ttery ( in c lu d in g the d o u b le ­

support

spouted form).

that

the

Cham ber

A

burial

jar

assem blage is older. T h e d e c o ra te d pottery was
therefore s o m e tim e betw een 3 0 0 0 and 2 1 0 0 BP
( M Spriggs 1989:606-607).

primary or se co ndary or both, are a d iagnostic

and perhaps textiles.
The c o lla g e n d a te s for these burials range

Late

betw een ab o u t 2 1 0 0 and 7 0 0 BC. T w o burial

T hese

are

jars dated to a b o u t Ỉ 5 0 0 BC (burial 69, and

generally found in lim estone caves n e a r the

from burnt w o o d w ith burial 159) and another

IV

in

the

pha se

probably po std a te s A D I at N iah, associated

o f the

Neolithic

term inal

3. C o m e s the E a rly M e ta l p h a se, w hich

with the sam e c o n tin u in g burial form s, copper,

Burial in large e a rthen w are jars, e ith e r

feature o f the

by c o n tin u in g

Philippines.

Journal o f Science, Sot'., S c i , Human , V;//•.'. 2002


Lam Thi My D zung

46

burial ja r dated to ab o u t 7 5 0 B C (burial 67)

a m o n g the potery assemblage two distinctive

(B ellw ood

types

1985: 2 5 6 -2 5 7 ; Fig 8.7). But as

(both

form

decoration)

recognized,

fram ew ork

th ere

is

All

vessel and thne-colour ware vessel. It is said

radiocarbon

d a tes

are

to

that the p o tsh rd s o f double-spouted v e ssels

absolute d epth, ra d io c a rb o n a g e s for the site

were found wth j a r burials (Bellwood 1985:

were rarely p roperly rep o rted . F o r in stance the

257; fig 8.5;8.0.

date

4 0 7 0 + /- 7 0 B P

for

o n ly

a

refe re n c e d

level

su p p o sed ly

sealing in the N eo lith ic d e p o sits at N ia h Cave
first reported by H a rris s o n in 1959 and qu o ted
by every c o m m e n ta to r o n the site since that
time. T h e re is in fact no s u c h d a te fro m N iah
(M .S priggs 1989:603). T h e o th e r p ro b le m is
the m ix in g -u p o f the d e p th s and p laces o f the

included

w e re

Spriggs (1 9 8 9 ) has s h o w n , the c h ro n o lo g ica l
u n a c ce tab le .

lie se

and

d o u b le-spouted

T he most that c a n be inferred fro m the
early excavatim s is that there was p ro b ab ly a
N eolithic

cenetery

there

incorporating

ja r

burial, a tradiion w hich became w idespread
during the Braize A ge, and which m ig h t date
back into the econd m illennium BC (H ig h am
1996: 301).

taking sa m p le s (M .S p rig g s 1989: 603).
G lo v er (1 9 7 9 -.177-178) has s h o w n that it

A .I I .

E a rly p e rio d -C e n tra l

and

S o u th

V ie tn a m :
is

difficult

to

d isc o v e r

from

the

m any

prelim inary pub lic a tio n s on
the N iah C ave e x c a v a tio n s
exactly

w hen

pottery

appears

in

the

a rc h aeological
there,

and

first

sequence

its

subsequent

developm ent. F o r instance,
on

one

ha n d

Ciolson

c o n c lu d e d that the e a rliest
pottery, at the 2 4 in. level,
m ight

ap p e ar

8.000

years

as

long

as

ago.

On

the

o ther hand, it is c le a r fro m B a rb a ra H a rris s o n ’s
an aly sis

that

the

e a rlie st

o f the

n eo lith ic'

It in cluds over 20 sites, w hich

were

burials in the c e m e te r y area, w h ic h includes

ranged from cDout 3500 BP to 2700 /2 6 0 0 BP at

m o st o f the pottery, m u s t be d a te d to 5 0 0 B . c

the sa m e spa o f tim e as the C h a m b e r A of

or after; and at least tw o o f th ese

M an n u n g u l

burials

"ave-Palaw an

and

N eolithic

contain bronze or c o p p e r tools. In a d d ition to

C em etery at iiah Cave-Sarawak. T hese were

pottery d ata here I w ant to e m p h a s iz e this

occupation-sits

or

occupation-buriai

sites.

I 'NU. Journal ( Science, Soc., Sci., Human., No IE, 2002


47

Jar burials tradition in Southeast Asia

M etal and glass artifacts have not yet been

Here

we

w ant

to

give

su p p le m e n ta ry

found. The urn burials (except the infant pot-

m ate ria ls g a th e re d from the hight plateau in

burial) were o f various kinds o f jar o r pot with

S outhern part o f V ie tn a m -th e

the lids in form o f the other pot o r pedestal

area". In this a re a there w ere recognized 48

vessel, in some cases, there were uncovered the

sites, w hich b e long to the Late N eolithic-E arly

spherical

the e g g -sh a p e d jars.

M etal

A ge.

Some ja r burials contained nothing, but in the

H anoi

Institute

others there were provided the grav e goods,

c ould

which incluJe the stone im plem ents, orn am e n ts

e a rlie r is c h a ra c te riz e d

and pottery vessels. The oc c u p atio n sites are

sho u ld e re d and q u a d ra n g u la r ax e s and adzes

located on lie sand dune or slow m o u n d o r hill

with sm all or a verage m e a s u re s , c o rd -m ark e d ,

nearby the water sources, the j a r burials alw ays

incised c o a rs e pottery. In s o m e c a se s w e can

have been b u n d within the settlem ents. There

see and ap liq u e o r p u n c tu a ted d ecoration. The

were found :he occupation-hurial site from this

stone hoes rarely o c c u rre d a n d all o f them are

period on the Island Cti Lao Chain, Q uang Nam

small.

province and Island Ly Son, Quang Ngai province.

uncovered. T h e c o ffin vessels are g lo b u la r pots,

Id s covered

A c c o rd in g

to

'T a y N tytyen

rese a rc h rs

o f A rc h a e o lo g y ,

these

from
site

be d e v id e d into tw o su b-phases. The

The

ja r

b urials

by

the

also

p rese n c e o f

have

been

of

the ja rs are jo in e d m o u th to m o u th and placed

Central Vietnam and Southeast Islands we can

vertically in the g ro u n d . T h e latter one, beside

see very clearly that their c o m m o n traits were

these features, there w ere yield e d the large

the funeral rites, especially the using pottery

stone hoes, big ja r burials, m o u ld s for bronze

vessel as the coffins, som e sim ila r w ays o f

casting.

pottery surface treatm ent and it is possible that

Plateau in S o u th e rn part o f V ie tn a m is the

stone implements a lso shared so m e similarities.

h o m ela n d o f n u m b e r o f m in o r eth n ic groups

But

w hich

W hile com paring

between

them

two

there

a s se m b la g e s

w ere

not

single

difference, particularly in the potterv form s and
stone tools and ornam ents. Infact, there are not
m uch oppotinitics to observe the data from
Southeast Is antis jai-burials sites, blit these

We

w ish

b e long

to e m p h a s iz e

both

to

that

A u stro a siatic

H igh

and

A u stro n e sian la n g u a g e fam ilies. T he using of
jar as a burial c o ffin is c o m m o n p h e n o m e n o n
in this period for the large a re a w hich e x te n d e d
from m o u n ta in to coastal reg io n s in* Central

ones we coulJ see o f the publications led us to
and part o f S o u th e rn V ietnam .
the opinions that

in two areas

there

were

established a id developed the d istin c t c u ltu ral
traditions w i n own characteristics in ea ch and
their

similarities

m ig h t

be

the

results

B.I.. S o u t h e a s t A s i a n I s l a n d s :

of

e xchanges anJ m ultiform relationships than the
people s movements.

I XU Journo/ ojScierce, Soc . Sc I , Human , A

B. L a t e p e r i o d :

T h is period a lso w as term ed differently
a m ong the arc h a e o lg ists su ch as Early M etal

2007


Lam Thi My Dzung

48

Phase

and

B ellw ood arg u e that the ja r burial tradition

M etal A g e (F o x ), C ra fts m a h s h ip

is seen at its m o st elaborate in the islands

(B ellw ood);

D eveloped

E a rly

M e ta l

A ge

a round the C elebes and Sulu Seas (Northern

Stage (for In donesia) (Soejono)...
Sites o f this period are far m o re n u m ero u s
than the e a rlie r N eolithic sites. It is w orthy to
note that ja r burial is on ly on e o f several
funeral structures or c o n ta in e rs , w h ic h were
recognized o n the Islands b e lo n g in g to the last

Borneo,

T a la u d ,

Central

and

Southern

Philippines), and here it involved the placing of
prev io u slv -e x p o sed secondary burials in large
jars or b o n e -b o x e s provided with lids. T he jars
w ere placed e ither o n the floors or fairly
rem ote c a v e s or in pits dud into o pen sites.

m ille n n iu m B . c

T h e sites a round the Celebes and Sulu

Indonesia:

Seas-the T a b o n Caves, the "K alanay" sites, and

U rn burials are k n o n w at A n y a r in west
Java; N g ra m b e in e ast Java; T e b in g tin g g i in
south Sum atra; N iah in S a raw a k (n o w E a ste rn
M alaya); G ilim a n u k an d C e k ik in w est Bali;
Sa'bang in c e ntral Sulaw esi; S alay ar Island; and
M e lo lo in Sum ba; P la w a n g a n in north-central

the sites of ea ste rn Sabah and T alaud-do share
very clo se ly related pottery assem blages with
iron

and

copper/bronze

during

the

first

m illle n n iu m A D . J a r burial is the predom inant
rite

in

this

characterisics

region,
is

and

sm all

an o th er
pottery

c om m on
bone

box

(Bellw ood 1985:314).
Java...T he d istribution is a lre a d y q u ite w ide but
urn-fields

are

c o n fin e d

to

coastal

districts

(G lover 1979:180). T h e p ractice o f j a r burial
was p red o m in an t m a in ly in the m o re easterly
parts o f Indonesia, but in m a n y o f the southern
Indonesian sites the j a r burials o c c u r to g h eth e r
with e x te n d e d burials, as noted in section VI B
for the sites o f P la w a n g a n in Ja v a (B ellw ood
1985:304) and G ilim a n u k in Bali (P. Soejono
1979:186-198).

M atiungul Cave sừe- Chamber B (Palawan):
Jar burial sites have been excavated in the
Early M etal A g e in Philippines which include
in the a sse m b la g e o f artefacts both socketed

bronze adzes, sm all trapezoidal or quadranglar
stone adzes and possibly iron. Charcoal from
M a n u n g g u l Cave (C h a m b e r B), associated with
thirty fragm ents o f iron objects, yielded a c 14
de te rm in a tio n o f 2 1 4 0 + /-1 0 0 B .p or 190 B.C.
H o w e v er Fox g ave the 5 00 B . c date for the

Philippines:

early m etals-bronze and copper-found in the
Jar

burials

are

u n c o vered

at

K alanay,

M a k ab o g , B atungan in M a sb a te ; San N a rc is o in

P alaw an caves (F o x 1979:238).
T h is

asse m b la g e

p ro d u c e d

iron,

glass

T ayabas, M a n u n g g u l Cave ( C h a m b e r B), west-

bracelets, glass and c a rn e lia n beads, and also

central

five acid-etched agate b e a d s sim ilar to those

coast

M indanao...

of

P a law a n ;

M a itu m

in

from Buidane. C o p p er o r bronze item s occur in
other j a r burial caves in the area, and include

l ’NU. Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci., Human., NfilE, 2002

49

Jill burials tradition in Soulhcasl Asia

G ilim a n u ky n o rth -w e ste rn B ali:

socketed axes and spearheads, a tanged and
barbed

arrow head,

and

a

possible

barbed
E x c a v atio n s at G ilim a n u k in 1963, 1964

harpoon. A xe casting m oulds, gold heads, and
jade lingling'O earrings have also been found.
A fter analysis Be 11wood has suggested that the
T abon (i.e. M a nungul) jar burial se q uence will
resem ble the sequence from the Sabah sites and
belong m ainly

in the

first m ille n n iu m

AD

a n d m o re rec e n tly in 1973, p ro d u ce d evidence
o f coastal se ttle m e n t d u rin g late prehistoric
tim es

(R .P .S o e jo n o

e x c a v a tio n

c a rrie d

se cto rsp ro d u c e d

1979:185).
out

in

1963

e n c o u ra g in g

Selective
on

results.

three
Beside

re m n a n ts o f pottery a n d shell a n u m b e r o f

(Be 11wood 1985: 312).

burials, a m o n g th e m a d o u b le urn burial, were
Most

of

M alaysia,
Sabah,
Southern

ja r

burials

E astern

Central

in

E astern

Indonesia, T alau

Islands,

and

Indonesia

sites

Southern
and

Philippines,

Sulawesi

such

as

Leang Buidane, A g o p Atas, P u su sa m a n g , Bukit
Tengkorak,

M agsuhot,

M elolo...w ere

d ated

m ainly in the first m ille n n iu m A .D . (Be 11w ood
1985: 301-316).

four m a in s y s te m s re c o g n iz e d at the site. Urn
burials (fouth s y s te m ) o c c u rre d o n ly twice at
the G ilim a n u k site, but a re unique bec au se o f
the use o f d o u b le ja r s as a funeral m ed iu m .
A c c o rd in g

to

S o e jo n o

th e c u s to m o f using d o u b le ja rs did not exist

M ailumt Saranggani Province in Mindanao:

The

In

d e scrib ed as follow:

1991,

a n th ropom orphic

se co n d a ry

830+ /-60 B.p. (calibrated date o f A .D .7 0 to
370) and 1920+/-50 B.p. (cai.date o f 5 B.C. to
A .I).225). T h e radiocarbon dates w ere obtained

from the soot sa m ples taken from the sm all
earthenw are vessel found inside o n e o f the
anthropom orphic burial jar. T h e se burial jars
are m ade o f ea rth en w a re desig n e d and form ed
figures

with

d o u b le j a r

burials

at G ilim a n u k

w ere

in A y u b Cave,

Pinol, M aitum . T he site had be e n dated to

hum an

(1 9 7 9 :1 9 5 -1 9 6 ),

a n y w h e re in In d o n esia , e x c e p t at G ilim an u k .

burial jars were discovered

like

recovered a lm o st intact. J a r burial is o n e o f the

c o m p le te

facial

characteristics . T h e se were a sso ciated with
metal im plem ents; g lass beads a n d bracelets;
shell spoon, scoop, bracelets and

pendants;

earthenw are potteries with incised de sig n s and
cut-out foot-rings; n o n a n th ro p o m o rp h ic burial
jars (A rchaeology).

T h e ja r s arc jo in e d m outh to m outh cmd
p la c ed vertically in the g ro u n d . T h e lo w er ja r,
which is bigger than one on to p , con tained a
seco n d a ry b u rial o f a single pearson. Skeletons
in tlie ja rs o f G iỉim anuk w ere n o t fu rn ish e d
with gifts. V ery in teresting w as th e disco very o f
evident hum an sa crifice in co n n ectio n with ja r
burial here. A skeleto n in p ro stra te position
was fo u n d below a d o u b le ja r. T h e skull
sq u eezed
tow ards

b a ckw ards,
the

backw ards,

back,
seem ed

the
and

to

elb o w s
the

indicate

legs

p u lled
fo ld e d

intentional

killing. The p la cin g o f skeleto n s in ja r s seem s
to h a ve been ca rried o u t in a fe w cases o f
d ecea sed p erso n s o f p ro m in en t status. The
sa crificed p erso n w as p resu m a b ly intended to

IM

Journal o f Science, Sot . S c i, Human , Soil:, 2002


Lam Thi Mv D zung

50

accom pany

the

em inent

deceased

on

his

journey to the hereafter (Soejono 1979:196-197).
E xcept

these,

among

the

potshards,

m aking. A great num ber o f bronze im plem ents,
sh o w n the closed relationships with D ong Son
culture to the North. In the final stage (I, II. BC

uncovered at the site there w ere sherds o f more
than usual thickness and recognized as the
frag m en ts o f jars. Several bro k en specim ens of
this kind o f pottery co n ta in ed disintegrated
h u m a n skeletons. This indicates that jars had a
su p p le m e n ta ry

function

as

burial

jars

( S o e jo n o l9 7 9 : 192).
T he a sse m b la g e s o f grave goods o f burials
from

Clilimanuk

have

show n

the

pottery

apparently like that from Buni. O ther gra\eg o ods

include

localised

socketed

h eart-shaped

bronze

form ,

axes

a tanged

of a

iron

spearhead, an iron d a g g e r with a bronze h a n d e
(like M a in la n d Southeast A sia bim etallic f o m s
from Ban C hia n g , Shizhaishan, G o M a Voi,
D ong Son, C u o n g Ha), beads og gold, glaỉS
a nd carnelian, and a range o f o ther items of

w hich gold e y e covers like those o f the Bmi
c o m p le x are the most striking. N o stone tods
w ere found w ith the burials, and as a whole tie
a s se m b la g e m a y belong to the early or mil-fi'St

to I. AD), the H an C hina influences were

m ille n n iu m A D ( B e llw o o d 1985:301).

sfrong, these m ight bé c a m e by the political
w ay, at this juncture, northern and central parts

B.I. Central and Southern Vietnam:
It includes over 70 sites, w hich

o f Central V ietnam w ere H an District "N hat
W ir e

ranged from about 260 0 BP to I AD. Alrrust
are ja r burial sites, located on the san du n e )r
slow hill and m o u n d along the coastal and ri\er
or the old

flow or river. T here w ere ako

uncovered the j a r burials on the islands.
The

iron

and

bronze

artifacts

Nơm ".
Since 1975 a further 1000 burials of the Sa
H u y n h culture, dating from the period o f 600
BC -100 A D have been recorded and excavated.
N e w regions with n u m e ro u s sites that c a n be
recognised as local gro u p s or settlem ent cores

were

have becom e know n th ro u g h this research. The

c o m m o n a m o n g the grave goods. T h e re were

areas in Can G io district, S outheast o f Sai Gon

revealed the evid e n c e s o f local iron and g las

and Hoi A n (Lam T hi M y D z u n g 1998) and in

VNU. Journal o f Science. Soc,, Sci., Human., No IE, 2002


Iill huriiils tradition in Soilhcast Asia

51

Q uc Lot and Duy Xuyen districts in Quang

primilary a nalyses o f resin from H au X a II

Nam province (keiiK'cke, N gu y e n C hicu and

cem etery

Lam Thi My Dzung 2002), arc o f particular

sim ilar in c o m position to m o d ern D ipterocarp

importantce.

resin. The sim ilar results also have provided o f

Beside the jar burials (w hich was certainly
the m ost popular funeral rite in Sa H uynh

have show n

that the

residue

are

the sam ples from Spirit Cave and N o e n U- loke

(Thailand).

culture) there were lecogm zed and extended

It is difficult to c o m p a re the j a r burials

burials in several cem eteries, for instance in

from Southeast A sian Island and those from

Hau X a I, Binh Chau, G o Ma Voi , Bau Tram -

Central

1ia n g Doniz Du...This practice also is fam iliar

ch ro n o lo g ial o rder. T h o se from Islands m ostly

with som e burials sites on islands.

belong to first m ille n n iu m A D , w hile the Sa

and

Southern

V ie tn a m

due

to

H uynh culture ja r burials were dated from 6 0 0
T here was and practice o f using two jars

BC to I AD . W e have not uncovered yet the j a r
burials w hich belong to
period after II A D . T h e
sim ilarities
and

in

pottery

o rn am e n ts

in two

asse m b la g e s

were

subjects o f m u c h studies
of

Solheim ,

H igham ...
of

Be 11wood,

The

their

reasons

sim ilary

were e xplained

also

bv the

m o v em e n ts o f people or
e x c h a n g e netw ork... W e
as the o uter and inner cofins . At G o Dua site

want only to psescnt as detailed as possible the

(D uy X uycn district, Ọ u a n g N am province) we

data from two regions tw o show that each o f

have uncovered a group o f five burials o f this

them evolved differently. Everv region had it's

kind. In the o th er sites the double jar coffins

own features, w hile sharing several c o m m o n

also

characteristics.

have

been

provided

but

as

a

single

occasion
On

the

o ther

hand,

it

is

w orthy

to

The Using o f resin to join the cover-rim

indicated that the ja r burials were the funeral

and jar-m oulh was abundant. In the case of

ph e n o m e n o n w hich appeared in s o m e hudge

extended burial at G o M a Voi site, the grave

areas in E urope and A sia at the apro x im ate ly

goods were laid on the resin platform . The

sam e

IM

Journal o f Science, Soc , Sc I.. Human ,

2002

period

over

3000

BP

(H .F o k k e n s


Lam Thi My Dzung

52

1997:360). T h e g e n e sis o f this p h e n o n m e n o n in

" category " o f people united by and identity o f

E urope w as related to m ig r a tio n (C hild 1958:

though, beliefs, dayly activities and ethnicity

178); social c h a n g e o r e c o n o m ic proce sse s or

(ibit. 41). This opinion is also valid in the case

crices. F o k k e n s (1 9 9 7 ) has s e e n the c h a n g e s in

of

burial rites, s e ttle m e n t stru c tu re and ho a rd in g

V ietnam jar-burials tradition.

Southeast

A sia n

Islands

and

C entral

p ractices in the L o w e r R h in e B asin as the
T h o u g h the conventional view is th a t the
results

of

a

tra n s fo r m a tio n

of

ideology,

the dispersal o f ja r burilas was the m a jo r

c o n sisten t w ith the d iss o lu tio n o f a s o c ie ty into
contribution o f A u s tro n e s ia n spe ak in g people
sm aller, m o re a u to n o m o u s so c ia l units th ro u g h
m o v em e n ts

(B ellw ood

1985,

H ig h a m

1996,2001...)

w e have to indicate that these

the expansion o f the exchange netw ork (ibit. 360).

c. E a s t A s ia :

peoples were habitated C e n tra l V ie tn a m in the
period as early as in S outheast A sia n Islands.

In the F a r E a st, j a r b u rials w ere a lready

T he proposal date is a b o u t 3500 BP. T hese

k n o w n in C h in a 's Y a n g s h a o C u ltu re and in

groups o f A u stro n e sian p eo p les to g e th e r w ith

J a p a n d u rin g the m id d le -la te J o m o n period,

the

but, in both cases, this fu n e ra ry c u s to m seem s

Central V ie tn a m

to be practiced not o n a large sc a le b u t lim ited

created the new c u ltu res , w hich partly w ere

to

defined as Pre-Sa H u y n h ia n .

T he Sa H u y n h

ordinary use (R iotto 1995:40). H o w e v er, in the

culture

a

K o re a o f the Iro n A g e - P r o to T h r e e K in g d o m s

com bination o f a native culture and the new

periods a n d in J a p a n d u r in g the Y a y o i period,

technology from the o u tsid e . T h e re are m an y

j a r burials b e c o m e so fre q u e n tly used . In both

features and rem ains, the origin o f w h ic h can

countries, ja r burials w e re d istrib u te d in lim ited

be found locally fro m th e internal pre- Sa

areas. In K orea, j a r bụ ria ls in c o m b in a tio n with

H uy n h ia n developm ent. F o r e x am ple, there are

shell m o u n d s have b e e n p re s e n te d the one o f

jar-coffin

two traditions, w h ic h w ere re c o g n iz e d in Iron

incised and painted p o tte ry existing in the Pre-

Age.

for

Sa H u y n h cultures. S o m e o f decorative items

so u th e rn c o astal a rea a n d c u ltu ral artifacts and

are provided from their p ro to ty p e s from earlier

cu s to m s m a y ha v e b e e n traveled a lo n g the

period. W hile a c cepting the role o f people's

coastal route (C hoi S u n g -ra k 1996: 35). R iotto

m o vem ents at certain lev e l. W e believe that

(1995) recognized that j a r burials are found in

m ost o f the people w h o w
K orea in a quite p recise g e o g ra p h ic a l c o n te x t

H uynh culture also had liv e d the from the Pre-

w hich was pro b ab ly a territory in h ab ite d by a

Sa H uy n h ia n period. O f course w e can not

particular group, w h o s e c u ltu re d iffe re d from

ignore the im pacts o f the m u tu a l and m ultitude

o ther groups. His o p in io n is, the use o f ja r

e x changes betw een Sa H u y n h and Southeast

burials is to be se en as the e x p re s s io n o f a

A sian Islands, N o rth ern

the

in h u m a tio n

T his

traditions

of

c h ild r e n

w as

in

jars

c h a ra c te riz e d

of

local

peoples

from

600

who
from

BC

burials as

were distributed
N eolithic

w as

w e ll

tim e

result

as cord

in

have

of

a

m arked,

V ie tn a m -D o n g Son

VNU. Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci., Human., No IE, 2002


53

Jar burials tradition 111 SiHilhcast Asia

A c c o rd in g

culture. Southern V ictnam -D ong Nai culture,

to us the

internal cultural

C hinese Han (later period), India (final period).

evolution in C oastal C entral V ie tn a m m ight be

Southeast m ainland (Thailand and Laos)...

d e veloped in som e stages as follow:

T h e jar burials
originated

in

111

pre-Sa

Sa H uynh culture were
H u y n h ia n

jar

P re -S a h u y n h ia n j a r b u ria ls stage (stone

burials.

Between them we can see a lot o f c o m m o n

tools , p o ttery). T h e j a r c o ffin s varied fr o m

features in funeral rites, pottery form s and

sp h erica l b ody to eg g -sh a p ed bogy . 3500 BP-

decorations... But for the e stablishm ent o f Sa

600 B C .

H uynh

culture

characteristics

there

were
factors.

E xtented burials assocừứed with bronze

Despite the num erous n e w ly discovered burial

artefacts. The strong acculturatioiis with D ong

finds,

S o n culture. 600 -500 B C (?).

certainly

a

the

lot

impacts

of

of

external

unansw ered

questions

still

remain. H ow ever, the jig s a w puzzle o f the Sa
H uynh culture has undoubtedly been enriched
by m an y exciting new aspects.

S a H u y n h j a r b u rials stage (iron to o ls ,
glass). 4 00 B C - I A D .

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