For nearly a century, questions have remained as to the purpose and age of the Plain of Jars in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Scholars have generally argued that these megaliths served a mortuary function, either as symbolic monuments or receptacles for the dead. However, due to a paucity of mortuary evidence associated with the jars, it has been difficult to conclusively argue either way. Aside from small amounts of cremated human bone fragments found within a limited number of jars, to date no substantive human burials have been found inside a stone jar across this vast megalithic landscape. Additionally, the stone jars are thought to date to the Southeast Asian Iron Age, between ca. 500 BCE-500 CE, with ritual activity continuing into the 13th century CE. This paper provides the first substantial evidence that the jars were used to contain the deceased for either primary or secondary burials during the 9th to 12th century CE.

中文翻译：

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老挝人民民主共和国一处石罐墓葬的初步现场报告


近一个世纪以来，关于老挝人民民主共和国石缸平原的用途和历史的问题一直存在。学者们普遍认为，这些巨石具有太平间的功能，要么作为象征性的纪念碑，要么作为死者的容器。然而，由于与这些罐子相关的太平间证据很少，很难对任何一种方式做出结论性的争论。除了在有限数量的罐子内发现少量火化的人骨碎片外，迄今为止，在这片巨大的巨石景观中的石罐内还没有发现任何实质性的人类墓葬。此外，这些石罐被认为可以追溯到东南亚铁器时代，大约在 2000 年左右。公元前 500 年至公元 500 年，仪式活动一直持续到公元 13 世纪。本文提供了第一个实质性证据，证明这些罐子在公元 9 世纪至 12 世纪期间被用来盛装死者，用于初次或二次埋葬。