Dental modification techniques in Neolithic and modern Cambodia

Intentional dental modifications are known to have occurred on several continents at different periods and have been used as a diachronic bio-cultural marker to reconstruct the history of human settlement on different geographical scales. Such practices, present since the Neolithic in Southeast Asia, are thought to have originated in China and to co-exist in different forms in archaeological sites. There are many gaps and the proportion of archaeological evidence of these practices varies, making it impossible to trace their history and evolution perfectly. However, in Cambodia, cases of dental ablations are known from the Neolithic, the Metal Age and historical periods, and joint cases of dental abrasions or ablations have been attested since the Metal Age. As cases of dental abrasion were documented right up to the end of the twentieth century, this article aims to provide information on the still living memory of the motivations and techniques used by the mountain populations of Cambodia. As a complement and in comparison, we will present the unpublished cases of the Neolithic burials at the Laang Spean site, which bear witness to similar practices and raise questions about their relationship with those that persist today among certain ethnic groups.