Shifting gender relations at Khok Phanom Di, Thailand - Isotopic evidence from the skeletons

The values for isotopes of strontium, carbon, and oxygen in human tooth enamel from the prehistoric site of Khok Phanom Di (ca. 2100 - 1500 BC) in Thailand shed light on human mobility and marital residence during a crucial period of subsistence change. Khok Phanom Di was a sedentary coastal community that apparently relied on hunting, gathering, and fishing in the midst of a transition to rice agriculture in the interior. The results of the isotope analyses indicate female immigration and then a marked shift to local strontium isotope signatures among females accompanied by a clear increase in the prestige of female burials. A possible explanation is a shift in the pattern of exogamy with a concomitant change in gender relations. Observation of a very similar transition at Ban Chiang, in northeastern Thailand, suggests the possibility of a regionwide social transition. In the case of Khok Phanom Di, the increasing role of females in producing high-quality ceramic vessels may have contributed to the change.