Beads Associated with Infant Jar Burials/Supine Child Burials: Evidence of Social Inequality in Early Ifugao Culture

Summary

Beads have been used as social markers in many Southeast Asian cultures. The Ifugao Archaeological Project excavations conducted between 2011 and 2012 recovered beads associated with infant jar burials at Old Kiyyangan Village, an early Ifugao site in the Philippines. Preliminary analysis shows that prestige beads were concentrated in burials located near the center of the village. Case studies from Southeast Asian sites in Thailand and Cambodia show similar distributions of material types and locations, allowing inferences about social ranking. The concentration of non-local goods suggests social ranking was in effect during the occupation of Old Kiyyangan Village and, therefore, the precolonial social structure of Ifugao was stratified before European contact.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17184