National Museum in Phnom Penh displays artefacts of prehistoric Cambodia

As Cambodians prepare to vote on this Sunday, July 28, in their general elections, many shops, supermarkets, restaurants, and tourist sites will close for the day, although some may decide to open later in the day. Business owners can choose whether to open or shut on the day. The Ministry of Labour has allowed workers up to three days off work, from July 27, to travel to their home locations to vote.

The sale and consumption of alcohol by Cambodians and visitors is not permitted on Saturday July 27 and Sunday July 28 during the weekend of the elections. Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, Ang Kim Eang, said that despite the closures and restrictions on Sunday, it was unlikely to have an impact on the tourism industry. Tourism in Cambodia accounted for 12% of their GDP in 2012.

On Friday, large trucks were banned from driving in Phnom Penh from 5:00am to 12:00am to avoid contributing to traffic congestion on the National Assembly’s last day of election campaigning.

The National Museum in Phnom Penh will also close on Sunday, but when it resumes normal hours on Monday a new exhibition will display artefacts from Cambodia’s Iron Age. “Origins of Empire, Cambodia’s Prehistoric Past: Archaeological Remains” opened on July 23 and will continue until September. It will display items dating back to AD300 that were unearthed in Banteay Meachney province. Archaeologists commenced excavation at Phum Sophy in 2009 after years of looting at the site. An Australian National University archaeology team found significant items during two excavations in 2009 and 2010 that lasted for three months. They found at least 80% of the site had already been destroyed by looters.

Burial grounds were uncovered during the building of latrines by Heritage Watch, an NGO, and hence the site was targeted for excavation and research by the Australian National University. Dr Dougald O’Reilly from the ANU archaeology team said 14 human burials were found, of which two are on display in a side room of the National Museum alongside valuable items found beside the bones, such as glass and stone beads, metal artefacts, bronze jewellery and animal tooth pendants.

One of the most surprising findings during the excavation was that both males and females practiced dental ablation—the removal of the secondary incisor tooth. Some had sharpened their teeth to points. A researcher from Monash University in Australia, Dr Louise Shewan, conducted a chemical analysis on the teeth. She suggested that the dental ablation could be a cultural marker to delineate different tribes, or it could be a rite of passage, or related to status. The remains of the teeth also revealed differences between the diets of men and women. They ate predominantly a rice-based diet and their bones indicated that they live a relatively healthy lifestyle.

In addition, fragments of 16 clay pots were found during the Phum Sophy excavation. Headed by ceramics expert Tep Sokha, members of the Ceramic Conservation Lab at the Royal University of Fine Art, Cambodia, cleaned and reconstructed the fragments. From the pots, as well as the metal artefacts, the team could determine that the society was wealthy. However, with most of the site looted and artefacts stolen, the experts and archaeologists have only a limited number of specimens to study, and therefore much of the history of Phum Sophy has also been lost.