Strange baptism of the tribe of unknown people

Lying precariously near the edge of the cliffs, coffins and many 'body containers' dating back centuries are the only surviving traces of an unknown Cambodian tribe belonging to the literary background. Unnamed chemistry.

Ten such burial sites have been discovered in the Cardamom Mountains (southwestern Cambodia) since 2003, sprawling at least 50 meters high, enough to prevent anyone intending to approach them. , Nancy Beavan - head of the study from Otago University (New Zealand) said.

Close up of a coffin made from a tree dating back 700 years.(Photo: Nancy Beavan)

Using the carbon-14 method, the team found wood, teeth and bone fragments in four of the 10 locations that appeared between AD 1395 and 1650, just in time for the Empire's decline. Khmer.

After the corpse decomposes or is cleaned by 'scavenger' animals specializing in scavengers, the ancients put the skull and bone parts into 50cm tall ceramic pots. In addition, made from stems some 700 years ago, a series of careful coffins were lined up like ramshackle piano keys and placed in many slopes in the Cardamom range - the ideal burial place to protect people death.

'These are the only remaining evidence of a highland culture that has disappeared from Cambodia' , Beavan said.