Skip to main content

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.





http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/shops-close-limit-hours

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/light-shed-prehistory


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...
Post a Comment
Read more