Ban Non Wat Archaeological Site
Thailand · Nakhon Ratchasima
In brief
Ban Non Wat is a long-lived prehistoric site where settlement layers and numerous burials have been excavated together. Changes in grave goods are used to study the spread of metallurgy and social differentiation.
What was found?
- 1Rich grave assemblages
Numerous vessels, ornaments, and metal objects were brought together in some burials. Differences between graves allow changes in social inequality over time to be investigated.
- 2Socketed copper-alloy axes
Axes with sockets for inserting handles had been placed in graves. The fact that most of the early examples examined had not been hardened after casting is important for assessing their intended uses.
- 3Shell and marble ornaments
The beads, earrings, and bracelets include seashells brought from distant coasts. According to researchers, the marble also probably came from the Phetchabun mountains.
- 4Ceramic grave offerings
Vessels placed in rows in burials include painted examples and examples decorated with human faces. Fish remains in some vessels also document food offerings.
- 5Domestic chicken bones
Bones dated to 1.650–1.250 BCE were assessed in a 2022 study as the oldest remains definitively belonging to domestic chickens. The find reopened discussion of the history of chicken domestication.
What does it point to?
Grave offerings show that, with the arrival of metal, some individuals gained greater access to objects of distant origin. According to researchers, this privilege was not permanent; the chicken study, meanwhile, links domestication to the proximity between humans and animals that developed with rice farming.
What did it teach us?
- Made it possible to trace in detail the relationship between early metal use and social differentiation.
- Showed that inland communities obtained raw materials for ornaments from distant coasts.
- Contributed to the reassessment of some claims that chickens had been domesticated much earlier.
Latest news / selected archive
An international study published in 2022 identified chicken bones from Ban Non Wat dated to 1650–1250 BC as the earliest known definitive evidence of domestic chickens.
Record
- Culture
- Prehistoric communities of the Upper Mun Valley
- First modern dig
- 2002
- Team / historical
- Research teams led by Charles Higham and Nigel Chang
- Coordinates
- 15.2744°, 102.2689°
Sources
Nearby excavations
- Ancient Town of Si Thep 122 km
- Ban Chiang Archaeological Site 259 km
- Angkor Archaeological Site 267 km
- Koh Ker 295 km
- Sambor Prei Kuk 401 km
- My Son Sanctuary 628 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
From beneath the soil: latest discoveries
- Rare Messapic inscriptions found in a 2,300-year-old tomb in Italy
Two Messapic inscriptions were found on the cover slabs of a rock-cut tomb in Manduria. According to researchers, the texts may indicate that the woman associated with the tomb held a religious role; a connection to priesthood and the cult of Demeter has not yet been confirmed.
Heritage Daily ↗ - Main sewer line and inscriptions describing Roman rituals found at Aquinum
Investigations at Aquinum uncovered the main sewer line, a group of 120 coins and religious inscriptions. The finds help researchers understand water management in the Roman city and practices such as consecrating places struck by lightning.
Heritage Daily ↗ - Analysis of Inca mummies detects traces of coca, alcohol and harmine
Hair and nail analyses of eight Inca mummies from Peru and Argentina identified evidence of coca consumption, alcohol in four individuals and traces of harmine in the Ampato mummy. According to researchers, the use of different substances shows that sacrificial ceremonies varied according to local traditions.
Arkeofili ↗ - Object from a 5,300-year-old grave in Russia identified as a kidney stone
Analyses of an object measuring approximately 2.1 centimeters, found in a Bronze Age grave in the Stavropol Upland, revealed a mineral composition consistent with a kidney stone. According to researchers, the find indicates that the man buried in the grave had a chronic infection, providing direct evidence of diseases of the period.
Arkeofili ↗ - 3,000-year-old bronze objects found during battlefield survey in Hungary
A survey of the Mezőkeresztes battlefield uncovered a large bronze vessel and two decorated spiral arm ornaments. The objects, dated to the 13th–11th centuries BC, were recovered with their original positions preserved, allowing researchers to study Bronze Age practices of burying valuable objects.
Heritage Daily ↗ - 2,600-year-old mudbrick structure identified beneath the city of Buto in Egypt
The walls of a large mudbrick structure identified through satellite and geophysical surveys were confirmed by a trial excavation. According to the researchers, a layer of sand placed beneath the foundations may have helped protect the structure in the waterlogged ground of the Nile Delta.
Heritage Daily ↗ · Excavation notebook - Celtic woman's grave containing jewelry and animal remains found in Germany
A woman's skeleton, heavy bronze anklets, a sapropelite arm ring, and the remains of a lamb or kid were found in the grave in Bavaria. According to the researchers, placing the animal in the grave as a food offering represents an unusual example of Celtic funerary practices in the region.
Arkeofili ↗ - Cupboard containing personal belongings, childhood amulets and coins found in Pompeii
Grooming items, 38 bronze coins and a necklace made up of at least 24 amulets were found in a cupboard in a house in Pompeii that had remained closed since the eruption in AD 79. The preservation of these objects together provides detailed information about everyday life and personal mementos in Roman times.
Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook
All excavation sites (395)
Türkiye
- Acemhöyük
- Aizanoi
- Alabanda
- Alacahöyük
- Amos
- Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Arslantepe Mound
- Aspendos
- Assos
- Ayanis Fortress
- Aşıklı Höyük
- Barcın Höyük
- Blaundus
- Boncuklu Höyük
- Can Hasan I
- Carchemish
- Claros Sanctuary
- Clazomenae
- Domuztepe
- Ephesus
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- Gordion
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- Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia
- Hattusha
- Hierapolis
- Iasos
- Kaman-Kalehöyük
- Karahantepe
- Karatepe-Aslantaş
- Kaunos
- Kibyra
- Knidos
- Kültepe-Kanesh
- Laodicea on the Lycus
- Letoon Sanctuary
- Limyra
- Magnesia on the Maeander
- Medieval City of Beçin
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- Miletus
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- Nysa on the Maeander
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- Patara
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