A Potter's Astonishing Wealth
Between 2000 and 1500 BCE, a large mound on the estuary of the Bang Pakong River housed a thriving Neolithic community. Today, the site of Khok Phanom Di is a 5-hectare mound rising 12 meters above the surrounding plains. Excavations in 1984-85, led by Charles Higham and Rachanie Bannanurag, uncovered a stunningly complex cemetery with 154 burials spanning roughly 20 generations.
The most remarkable of these was Burial 15. The grave contained the skeleton of a woman, approximately 35 years old, whose body had been covered in red ochre and wrapped in a fabric shroud. She was adorned with a shell headdress, shell bangle, and garments decorated with more than 120,000 individual shell beads. The sheer quantity of beads, stitched onto at least two layers of clothing, would have created a dazzling costume. Alongside her body were eight pottery vessels, two horned shell discs, and a shell container holding two burnishing stones. Next to her leg lay a clay anvil—a specific tool used for shaping pottery.
Society on the coast
The woman in Burial 15 was not explained by royal birth, but an individual whose status was earned. The presence of the potter's anvil and burnishing stones strongly suggests she was a master artisan. At Khok Phanom Di, pottery tools are found almost exclusively in the graves of women and children. The community was strategically located to control coastal and riverine trade, and the high-quality pottery produced by its women was likely a primary trade good. This economic power translated directly into social status.
The environment of Khok Phanom Di shaped the lives of its inhabitants. Around 4,000 years ago, the site was on a mangrove-rich coastline. The people had a diet heavy in marine species, but also cultivated rice. Over the 500 years of occupation, the coastline receded, and the diet shifted more toward freshwater resources and rice. Skeletal analysis shows changes in activity over time; the upper-body strength of males decreased, possibly reflecting a reduction in canoe travel as the sea moved further away. The woman from Burial 15 and her people were physically robust, but life was difficult; analysis shows many individuals suffered from anemia. Her descendants, identified in graves in the layers above hers, were also buried with considerable wealth, suggesting that her high status and perhaps her skills were passed down through her lineage.