Fishbone artefacts from the Samrong Sen site, Cambodia, cast new light on Bronze Age networking between inland and coastal communities.
Résumé
n this paper, we examine previously unstudied archaeological fish remains recovered
during Mansuy's first excavation in 1902 from the inland Samrong Sen midden site in
Cambodia and which are currently stored at the Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France. The
remains are dated by association to the Neolithic/Bronze Age between 2206 and
1892 cal.
BC from a time when the development of metal age trade and exchange
networks contributed substantially to the success of many cultures in this diverse
region. We focus on the taxonomy of the fish captured and the implications for tech-
nology and regional networks. The identification of two perforated shark vertebrae
beads indicates that, during the late Neolithic to Bronze Age period, trade and
exchange between coastal and inland communities was prominent on mainland
Southeast Asia