An early 1st Millennium BCE “hill tribe” jar burial, Northern Thailand

<title>Abstract</title> <p> An unusual jar burial of an adult male secreted in a deep shaft of a karst cave in the uplands of NW Thailand was associated with a cast copper-based artefact decorated with a finial in the form of a zebu-type bull ( <italic>Bos indicus</italic> ) which raised issues about its chronological age. To reduce uncertainties associated with radiocarbon dating of bone from carbonate rich environments a program of 14C AMS dating of apatite/collagen fractions from three bones was used to establish an early 1st millennium BCE age of the burial. Isotopic results suggest this individual was from a mixed agricultural and hunter-gatherer economy. Finds associated with the burial include a large handmade globular earthenware pot and the cast copper-based spatula. In size and treatment, the pot suggests a local origin but is a type common to lowland 1st millennium BCE agricultural communities in Thailand. The cast copper-based artefact is typologically closest to an elaborated form of lime spatula, an essential part of the paraphernalia for the ritual consumption of the addictive stimulant betel nut ( <italic>Areca catechu</italic> and <italic>Piper betle</italic> ). For this period and locale, this grave good, likely acquired through fledgling regional trickle trade networks, suggests a high prestige burial. </p>