Evidence of smoke mummification in South China and Southeast Asia more than 10 000 years ago.

Archaeologists classify Human burials in two ways. In primary burials, the deceased is placed into the ground without modification, with-or-without grave goods. In secondary burials, the body is modified in some way before being buried. Burials classified as secondary include cremations, mummified remains, and a variety of embalming and body-modification techniques. Burials left by the ancient pre-Neolithic peoples of South China and Southeast Asia, who lived in the area from the Late Pleistocene till between 5000 and 3500 years ago, appear to have undergone complex mortuary procedures before being buried. Such burials are typically found in tightly flexed, crouching, or squatting positions, often with signs of having been tightly bound. These remains often show signs of scorching on their bones, but this appears to be localised to certain areas, rather than indicating a cremation process has occurred. Others show signs of partial dismemberment or mutilation.

In a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 15 September 2025, a team of scientists led by Hsiao-chun Hung of the Department of Archaeology and Natural History at the Australian National University,  and Zhenhua Deng of the Key Laboratory of Archaeological Science and School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, present the results of a study in which they analysed 94 pre-Neolithic burials from northern Vietnam and Guangxi Province, China.

Hung and Deng et al. theorised that many burials from ancient South China and Southeast Asia were subjected to long periods of smoke-drying, which effectively mummified the bodies before they were buried. This practice was still carried out in parts of Australia and the New Guinea Highlands within recent history. Burials which Hung and Deng et al. believe were similar in nature are extremely numerous in northern Vietnam and Guanxi Province, with a lesser number of examples from the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. There are also some possible examples from northern China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and other parts of the world. 

Recorded hunter-gatherer sites with flexed and squatting burials in Southeastern Asia from the Late Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene. (1) Gaomiao, (2) Niupodong, (3) Zhaoguodong, (4) Qihedong*, (5) Daowei 1, (6) Xiaoma, (7) Jiaoziyan, (8) Zengpiyan, (9) Miaoyan, (10) Dayan, (11) Xingyi, (12) Baida, (13) Gexinqiao, (14) Beidaling, (15) Liyuzui, (16) Fengyan, (17) Huangmenyan, (18) Xiankezhou, (19) Baxun, (20) Liyupo, (21) Changtang, (22) Lingwu, (23) Huiyaotian, (24) Qingshan, (25) Dingsishan, (26) Qiujiang, (27) Xijin, (28) Ganzao, (29) Hecun, (30) Jiangbian, (31) Chongtang, (32) Lang Cuom, (33) Mai Da Nguom, (34) Pho Binh Gia, (35) Hang Doi, (36) Dong Thuoc, (37) Hang To 1, (38) Hon Hai Co Tien, (39) Cai Beo, (40) Liyudun, (41) Dong Can, (42) Du Sang, (43) Lang Gao, (44) Hang Cho, (45) Hang Muoi, (46) Xom Trai, (47) Hang Mang Chieng, (48) Hang Con Moong, (49) Hang Diem, (50) Mai Da Dieu, (51) Mai Da Nuoc, (52) Hang Lang Bon, (53) Da But, (54) Con Co Ngua, (55) Banyan Valley Cave, (56) Spirit Cave, (57) Tham Lod, (58) Ban Rai, (59) Doi Pha Kan, (60) Ban Tha Si, (61) Quynh Van, (62) Pha Phen, (63) Yingdun, (64) Bau Du, (65) Krong No, (66) Bubog-1, (67) Ille Cave*, (68) Duyong Cave, (69) Sa’gung, (70) Moh Khiew, (71) Gua Kerbau, (72) Gua Kepah, (73) Gua Kajang, (74) Gua Teluk Kelawar, (75) Gua Gunung Runtuh, (76) Gua Peraling, (77) Gua Cha, (78) Niah Cave, (79) Kimanis, (80) Liang Tebo, (81) Keboboh Cave, (82) Gua Tengkorak, (83) Leang Panninge, (84) Cappalombo1, (85) Gua Harimau, (86) Gua Pawon, (87) Gua Braholo, (88) Song Tritis, (89) Song Terus, (90) Song Keplek, (91) Gua Lawa, (92) Song Gentong, (93) Tron Bon Lei, (94) Ratu Mali 2, (95) Liang Lembudu (*suspected flexed). Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

Hung and Deng et al. recorded the positions in which burials were placed within the ground, as well as signs of burning and cut marks upon bones. X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to detect prior heating of bones, by looking for characteristic recrystallisation structures. Finally, they compared the ancient remains to records of smoke-drying mummification in Australia and the New Guinea Highlands. 

Zengpiyan Cave, a pre-Neolithic site in the northeast of Guangxi Province, was occupied from approximately 12 000 to 7000 years before the present. At this site 26 individual burials were found, some of which were placed in squatting positions in small pits, while others were placed on their sides in flexed postures. 

Human burials exposed in Zengpiyan Cave (approximately 12 000-7000 years before present), Guangxi, southern China, excavated in 1973. (A) Three human burials exposed in excavation square BT2, viewed from the east; (B) Burial BT2M1 in a hyper-flexed position; (C) The three burials viewed from the south; (D) Burial BT2M5 in a flexed position, though not as tightly flexed as BT2M1. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

Huiyaotian Shell Mound, by the banks of the River Yongjiang in Nanning City in central Guangxi, has produced 169 individual burials, one of which has been radiocarbon-dated to approximately 9030-8975 years before the present. Hung and Deng et al. examined 60 burials from this site, with 21 being flexed, 17 placed in squatting positions, and 22 too poorly preserved to determine. Twelve of the flexed burials were placed on their sides, three on their backs, and one was lying face down (the original position of the remaining flexed burials was unclear).

The Luyupo Shell Mound is located about 50 km from Huiyaotian in Long'an County and contains a series of burials dated to between approximately 8000 and 6700 years before the present. Many of the burials here were flexed, and covered by large stones, which were placed on the heads, chests, or stomachs of the deceased. 

Examples of Early and Middle Holocene Human burials from southern China. This figure shows six Human burials from Huiyaotian in Nanning City: (A) M14, (B) M19,  and (C) M20, and Liyupo in Long’an County: (D) M23, (E) M24, and (F) M28. Both shell-midden sites arelocated in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. All individuals are in flexed positions, with several exhibiting hyper-flexed postures. (A) and (E) are male, (B)–(D) and (F) are female. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

The Hoabinhian-Da But-Quynh Van Group burials of northern Vietnam comprise a series of sites, such as Mai Da Dieu, Hang Cho, Hang Diem, Hang Mang Chieng, Con Co Ngua, Quynh Van, and Bau Du, which record a material culture similar to that of ancient Guangxi, mostly within cave or shell mound deposits. 

Notable among these is the Con Co Ngua site in Thanh Hoa Province, which was excavated between 1978 and 1980, and again in 2015, has produced a shell midden and 267 burials, dated to between 6700 and 6200 years before the present, and attributed to the pre-Neolithic Dabutian Culture. The nature of the shells here has been interpreted to indicate that the site was on the coast when inhabited, although it is more than 30 km inland today. The majority of the burials here (about 77%) were placed in a squatting posture, while the remainder (about 23%) were flexed and placed on their sides. 

Examples of Early and Middle Holocene flexed burials from northern Vietnam. (A) Burial 80M27 from the Con Co Ngua Shell Midden; (B) Burial M16 from Mai Da Dieu Cave, both located in Thanh Hoa Province. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

The Gua Harimau (Harimau Cave) site on southern Sumatra is considered to be one of the most significant burial sites in Island Southeast Asia, with a chronological sequence which runs from the late pre-Neolithic into the Iron Age. A total of 33 burials have been uncovered, containing 82 individuals, the majority of which are Late Neolithic or Iron Age, which are mostly either in a supine position (on their backs) or secondary burials. There is a smaller number of pre-Neolithic burials, placed predominantly in flexed positions, two of which have been directly dated, the older to between 5715 and 5587 years before the present, and the younger to between 3819 and 3568 years before the present, making it the youngest known burial of the type in Southeast Asia. 

A major question which needs to be addressed in order to understand these burials is how individuals were placed into the hyper-flexed positions in which they are found? Such skeletons frequently retain all of their original articulation, but are folded into very compact positions, which would have required a degree of contortion unlikely for an intact body.

M26, a tightly flexed human burial from Huiyaotian, Guangxi, southern China. (A) Skeletal position of a middle-aged male, and (B) surface scan of Burial M26. The mostly complete skeleton retains its original articulated position. The pelvis lies on the ground, while the Right and Left femora are nearly vertical, with their distal ends oriented upward. Both knees are strongly flexed, positioning the feet just medial to the hip joints, and the foot bones are largely intact. The shoulders, rib cage, and upper limbs have collapsed downward, but the positions of the humerus, radius, and ulna indicate that the arms were crossed beneath the thighs, with each hand placed under the opposite knee. Overall, the body is folded in an extremely compact manner. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

When unmodified bodies are buried within sediments, decomposition of the flesh creates voids, which in turn allow skeletal elements to move, leading to varying degrees of disarticulation, particularly of small bones such as the phalanges (bones of the fingers and toes). Examination of hyper-flexed skeletal remains from Guangxi and Vietnam shows that they appear to have been buried with no space between their limbs and torsos. This would appear to imply that there was no soft tissue (with the possible exception of dried skin) left on the bodies when they were buried. 

This combination of extreme flexion and preservation of small bones in their original position has been seen in other parts of the world, such as the Mesolithic burials from the Sado Valley in Portugal, which have also been interpreted as having undergone some port-mortem treatment before burial.

Another question which arose from examination of the skeletons is whether they were treated with fire or smoke before being buried. Some of the bones from Huiyaotian and Liyupo show clear signs of fire exposure, in the form of burned and blackened patches, even though the skeletons are still articulated (something which is not usually the case with cremated remains). Curiously, this burning appears to be quire localised, and restricted to certain bones, notably the frontal bones of the skull, the lower limb bones such as the femur, tibia, and fibula, the upper limb bones in the elbow region including the humerus, ulna, and radius, and the pelvic bones. About 15% of the skeletons from Huiyaotian and Liyupo showed signs of such burning.

This combination of highly flexed yet articulate skeletons with occasional burn marks has also been recorded from sites in northern Vietnam, Sarawak (Malaysia), southern Java (Indonesia), and northern Palawan (Philippines). Notably, a male skeleton from Hang Muoi Cave in Hoa Binh Province, northern Vietnam, which shows intense burning of some bones, also shows cranial features characteristic of Indigenous Australo-Papuan populations, and has been radiocarbon dated to between 14 027 and 13 798 years before the present. Another cranium showing a similar burn pattern was found at Dong Can, close to Hang Muoi Cave, has been interpreted as that of an older male from with a similar date.

Examples of hyper-flexed burials with partially burned bones from southern China and Indonesia. (A) and (B) Burial M35, a young male from Liyupo in Guangxi, with its partially burned skull; (C) and (D) Burial ST1 from Song Terus Cave in Java, showing its partially burned left femur, tibia, and humerus. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

In the 1950s and 1960s, archaeologists  Tom and Barbara Harrisson excavated a series of burials at the West Mouth of the Niah Caves in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo). They found over 150 burials, 39 of which they classified as Mesolithic or pre-Neolithic. These burials again were typically flexed or seated, sometimes mutilated, and showed signs of burning, and were dated to between 11 698-11 270 and 8454-8354 years before the present. 

The Song Terus individual from southern Java has been directly dated to 8500 years before the present, and was buried in an articulated but highly flexed position with charring on the bones of the left side, notably the left femur, tibia, and humerus.

At Ille Cave on northern Palawan, a fragmentary Human skeleton dated to the Early Holocene shows burning and cut marks which may indicate disarticulation, which has been directly dated to between 9260 and 9006 years before the present.

This consistent presence of localised burning on certain parts of the skeleton strongly implies that the intention was never full cremation. The presence of charring on areas such as the lower limbs, elbows, and frontal areas of the cranium may suggest that the remains were arranged in a seated or tightly flexed position and exposed to heat in a controlled, or semi-controlled, way. This may have been intended to smoke the remains as a way of preserving them, with burning occurring in areas with less muscle or other soft tissue covering the bone. Logically, if this was the practice, and it was as widespread as it appears to have been, many of the flexed burials which do not show visible charring may show signs of bone-recrystallisation caused by exposure to heat. 

X-ray diffraction spectroscopy is known to be particularly effective at detecting thermal alterations which occur within bone when it is heated to temperatures in excess of 500°C. Hung and Deng et al. selected 20 pre-Neolithic archaeological samples from northern Vietnam, as well as two sub-modern samples from Edo Castle in Japan. Nine of the samples showed signs of having been heated to above 525°C, with some of these having potentially been heated to temperatures greater than 645°C. Three of the samples showed no signs of having been heated. The remaining eight samples showed signs which could be associated with having been heated to about 525°C, but which could be associated with long term diagenetic processes.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy is more sensitive to lower heating of bone, which often does not involve recrystallisation. Because this method does not rely on detecting recrystallisation, it is also less prone to being confused by diagenetic effects. Hung and Deng used Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to analyse 69 bone samples from 11 pre-Neolithic sites in southern China, northern Vietnam, and Indonesia, as well as one premodern sample from Edo Castle. Five of the samples produced poor quality results, and were excluded from the study. Of the remaining 64 samples, eight showed no signs of having been heated, 33 showed signs of having been heated to low temperatures, and 23 showed signs of having been heated to high temperatures. Notably, different elements from the same skeletons did not always show the same degree of heating. For example, in skeleton M18 from Huiyaotian, the proximal end of the left ulna showed signs of having been heated to high temperatures, while the middle section of the same bone appeared to have been exposed to only moderate heating. Another skeleton, M1 from Mai Da, showed signs of strong heating to the talus (anklebone), but only moderate heating to a tooth. Such variation within a single skeleton is unlikely to have been caused by diagenetic processes. Notably, areas with minimal soft tissue covering again typically showed signs of greater heating.

Thus, evidence of heating was found in almost all of the bones in the sample, but the majority did not appear to have been heated to great temperatures, suggesting that such exposure was only sporadic and localised to certain parts of the skeleton. Interestingly, while some areas which appeared blackened also seemed to have been heated to high temperatures, this was by not always the case, suggesting that another cause, such as blackening by smoke, might be responsible.

Based upon this, Hung and Deng et al. conclude that the skeletons had undergone a form of heat treatment, prior to burial. During this process, most of the body was exposed to only moderate heat, and only certain parts were directly exposed to fire. Furthermore, much of the blackening observed might not stem from prolonged exposure to heat, but instead from prolonged exposure to smoke. This specialised mortuary practice appears to have been carried out across a wide area of South China and Southeast Asia.

Locations of nine sites with confirmed mummification by smoking identified in this study, along with two uncertain and four relevant sites. Burial samples from 11 sites were analysed, and confirmed that smoke-dried mummification occurred at nine of them: Huiyaotian, Liyupo, Hon Hai Co Tien, Cai Beo, Hang Mang Chieng, Mai Da Dieu, Hang Diem, Con Co Ngua, and Gua Harimau. Two other sites, Gaomiao and Hang Cho, remain uncertain due to their weaker Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy signals. Beyond the 11 primary study sites in China and Vietnam, the six ad￾ditional sites of Zengpiyan, Hang Muoi, Dong Can, Ille Cave, Niah West Mouth, and Song Terus, although not yet tested by X-ray diffraction or Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, present strong evidence of comparable cultural practices. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

Many prehistoric societies are best known from their burial practices, and this tends to be particularly true of those which modified bodies in some way before burying them. The Chinchorro culture of the Atacama Coast of South America are generally considered to have been the oldest practitioners of mummification. Between around 7000 and about 3700 years ago, they developed a practice in which bodies had their brains and viscera removed, and their limbs reinforced with sticks, before being deliberately desiccated by exposure to the arid climate, and having their faces coated with clay and painted. 

The Ancient Egyptians are probably the most famous example of a culture using mummification, due to the complex preservation methods they used, combined with monumental architecture and often lavish grave goods. Here too, mummification predates the dynastic period first appearing around 4500 years ago, where again a form of desiccation mummification was used in the Nile Valley.

The smoke mummification described by Hung and Deng et al. predates either of these examples by thousands of years, and apparently originating in an area with a humid monsoon climate. These mummies were produced by a hunter-gatherer society living in South China and Southeast Asia from the Late Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene, who predominantly buried articulated remains in caves, rock shelters, and shell middens. Many of these burials are associated with sites which are associated with the Hoabinhian Epipalaeolithic cultural assemblage of Southeast Asia, which includes pebble, core and flake tools, but which lacks blades and bifaces. Other sites in South China and northern Vietnam are associated with a 'para-Neolithic' culture, which had earthenware pottery and ground pebble axes, but which did not appear to practice any form of agriculture or Animal husbandry, and which left no stylistic remains. Unlike later burials from the true Neolithic, none of these burials were associated with any form of grave goods.

In order to try to better understand the mummification practice used in ancient South China and Southeast Asia, Hung and Deng et al. carried out an ethnographic visit to the Dani and Pumo peoples of Indonesian Papua, who live in the Bellem Valley of Jayawijaya Regency. The Dani traditionally made mummies by smoking a body until it turned entirely black, often in a tightly compressed position with the limbs bound to the trunk. This process is presumed to have been carried out soon after death, before rigor mortis set in, although there does appear to have been some flexibility about the process, with some bodies being preserved without binding. These mummified bodies were then stored in special rooms within the houses of the living, and brought out on special occasions. Importantly, the bodies were often bound in a very compact way, as was observed in Southeast Asia, and preserved by what appears to be a similar method of smoke mummification. 

Examples of smoked mummies kept in private households in Papua, Indonesia, photographed in January 2019. (A) A Dani hyper-flexed mummy; (B) A flexed mummy from Pumo Village. Both locations are in Wamena, Jayawijaya Regency, Papua. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

The Anga (or Kukukuku) people of the Aseki region of Morobe Province in eastern Papua New Guinea, also practice a form of mummification, with revered figures such as warriors, shamans, and village leaders, being placed in a seated position on a frame over a constantly smoking fire, typically for about three months. Once the process is completed, the mummies are placed in a protected ledge or niche on a cliff.

Both of these examples appear to show a mummification practice similar to that used in ancient South China and Southeast Asia. However, in neither case is there any record of bodies being buried, or any indication as to what the ultimate fate of the mummies is.

Based upon these observations, Hung and Deng et al. suggest that many (but not all) of the individuals from South China and Southeast Asia which they examined are likely to have been tightly bound shortly after death, then suspended over low-temperature, smokey, fires for long periods of time. The occasional blackened and burned bones are probably the result of occasional loss of control over the fires during this lengthy process. It had previously been suggested that individuals may have been burned by fires set inside graves at Niah West Mouth and other sites, but Hung and Deng et al. could find no evidence to support this. Comparison to modern examples of similar practices in Papau suggest that this was carried out under a roof, potentially within a house or specially constructed hut. They also feel that it is likely that after being smoked, the body was transferred to a special site, such as a residence, cave, or rock shelter, where they would have remained on display for some time, potentially many years, before finally being buried. 

 Proposed scenario for prehistoric smoke-drying mummification, drawing on both archaeological findings and ethnographic parallels from Papua. The illustration shows the multi-step process of smoke-drying mummification, as ascertained through our study. (A) Preparation for the smoking ritual—corpses were bound to varying degrees, often in a hyper-flexed position; (B) Processing – the corpse could be bound, as shown in (A), or unbound, as shown in (B), based on a modern example in Papua New Guinea, while placed above a low-temperature fire. In the Late Pleistocene–Middle Holocene examples, all individuals were bound; (C) Post-smoking treatment – after the smoking was completed, then the smoked mummy was transferred to a residence, a specially constructed hut, a rock shelter, or a cave. In some cases, however, the mummy decayed due to prolonged exposure to open air. As seen in the example presented here, the head and body became separated; (D) Final burial – the smoked mummy eventually was buried. Most were intact at the time of burial. Some cases had decayed by this time in the process, and those remains were rearranged in the burial pit, sometimes appearing as suspected intentionally dismembered burials in the archaeological record. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

Some of the individuals found at sites such as Dingsishan, Huiyaotian, and Liyupo in Guangxi, had anatomical anomalies, with parts of the bodies placed out of their natural, anatomical position, such as having the head placed within the thoracic cavity, of the legs in the place of the arms. These have previously been interpreted as evidence of intentional dismemberment, but Hung and Deng et al. suggest an alternative explanation, that these bodies may have been exposed so long that they began to decay, or that they became disarticulated while being transported from their display position to their final burial site. In this scenario, attempts at reconnecting the body may have been hurried, as the ultimate burial was not the purpose of the mummification, but the intervening period when the body was on display being more important.

Burials M6, M7, and M8 at the Huiyaotian site, Guangxi, southern China. This image shows a corner of the excavation area at Huiyaotian, excavated in 2011. The three burials - M6 (female aged 40 to 60 years), M7 (a middle-aged adult female), and M8 (an adult male) - were all found in a squatting position. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

Having established the practice of mummification by smoking in ancient Southeast Asia, Hung and Deng et al. next consider the presence of cur marks on some skeletons, something which has been reported at many sites in Southeast Asia and Guanxi. These have previously been interpreted as signs of ritual dismemberment, but Hung and Deng et al. note that they are often concentrated around the epiphyses of major limb bones such as the humerus and femur, and suggest that they may represent interventions to enable joint release in bodies which had started to undergo rigor mortis prior to the beginning of the mummification process, which would have enabled tighter binding of the limbs. It is also possible that some may represent incisions made to enable the draining of body fluids during the smoking process.

Diagram showing the percentages of cut marks recorded different joints from theHuiyaotian sample of 19 individuals (excavated in 2016), Guangxi, southern China. The small rectangles indicate additional cut marks on long bones that are considered to be from flesh removal, mostly from the femur and tibia. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

There are also a smaller group of marks, predominantly on the femora and tibiae, which appear consistent with some form of defleshing, probably carried out after the body had been mummified. Hung and Deng et al. note an ethnographic account of smoke mummification in South Australia, in which relatives sometimes removed small pieces of flesh from the thighs of bodies to offer to sorcerers, in exchange for magical protection or retribution. Such marks have been reported on burials from Huiyaotian in Guangxi, Ille Cave in Palawan, and other sites.

This all suggests a complex mortuary tradition dating back to over 10 000 years ago, involving smoke mummification, delayed burial, and, at least in some cases, ritual interactions with the preserved remains.

This practice appears to have been carried out over a huge geographical area, including South China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. It is likely that in many of these areas, which have predominantly wet tropical climates, smoking would have been the most effective way of preserving bodies. Nevertheless, the large geographical area and long period of time over which these practices persisted suggests that the activity had more significance than the simple preservation of bodies. Hung and Deng et al. note that the Anga people believe that the spirits of the deceased are able to roam freely during the day, but return to their bodies at night, while among the Taramindjeri people of South Australia, mummification has been linked to the possibility of immortality. They suggest that similar beliefs are likely to have been present in ancient South China and Southeast Asia, and that this is probably the cause of the long persistence of smoke mummification as a practice.

The final question that Hung and Deng et al. ask is whether there is direct continuity between the ancient smoke mummification practices of South China and Southeast Asia and similar practices in recent New Guinea and Australia. If there is, then this would represent a cultural practice dating back into the Pleistocene, which tracked the expansion of ancient Homo sapiens through the tropical latitudes of southern Asia, and which might potentially be tracked back to our first emergence from Africa. Alternatively, it might all just be a coincidence. 

Studies of genomic, craniofacial, and archaeological evidence have all suggested that the ancient, pre-Neolithic peoples of South China and Southeast Asia, and the ancestors of the modern indigenous populations of Papua and Australia, were related to the earliest Modern Humans to migrate out of Africa, and that they represent a distinct population from the later Neolithic farmers of the same region, who migrated from further north in Asia during the Holocene, eventually giving rise to the speakers of the modern Austroasiatic, Kra-Dai, and Austronesian language groups, amongst others. 

This more ancient population, sometimes referred to as 'first layer' occupiers, are considered to be ancestral to the modern Negrito peoples of the Andaman Islands, Peninsular Malaysia, and the Philippines, as well as  Indigenous Australians, New Guinea Papuans, and the ancient Jomon people of Japan. All of the mummified remains examined had craniofacial features consistent with belonging to this ancient 'first layer' population.

The two-layer model for Anatomically Modern Human (AMH) population movements across eastern Eurasia.The southern and northern major migration contexts for early Homo sapiens dispersal towards eastern Asia may have been separated by mountain ranges and deserts in central Asia. The southern route followed the coastal rim of the Indian subcontinent and continued onwards into the ancient Pleistocene continent of Sahul by at least 50 000 years ago. This southern migration was associated with a continuation of the Epipalaeolithic Hoabinhian pebble and flake tool complex, presumably a direct descendant of the Middle Palaeolithic industries introduced by the initial modern human inhabitants of this region. The northern route of early Homo sapiens dispersal is less clear, but in this scenario, it involved migration from western Eurasia across Siberia around 45 000 years ago. The descendants of this northern migration domesticated millet and rice after 9000 years ago in the Yellow and Yangtze valleys, and migrated south with their food producing economies to reach northern Mainland Southeast Asia by about 5000 years ago. Hung & Deng et al. (2025).

Given this scenario, it is possible that smoked mummification may have originated even earlier, and have been even more widespread, than currently identified. Several sites with flexed burials and partial burning have been documented at a number of Southeast Asian sites more than 12 000 years old. Examples from South China include Dayan, thought to be between 15 000 and 12 000 years old, Miaoyan, thought to be between 19 000 and 12 000 years old, Fengyan, potentially between 42 000 and 33 000 years old, Zhaoguodong, between 12 000 and 9000 years old, Huangmenyan, between 14 000 and 10 000 years old, while in Vietnam, a Human clavicle from such a burial has been directly dated to between 14 027 and 13 798 years before the present. 

Similar mortuary practices have also been recorded further north in Asia. These include the Initial Jomon Period in Japan, between 10 500 and 7000 years ago, the pre-farming period on Gadokto Island, Korea, between 6600 and 6300 years before the present, as well as some parts of the southern Korean Peninsula. Some sites in northern China have flexed burials, dating to between 13 000 and 10 000 years ago. Finally, the Sakhalin Ainu of the Russian Far East are recorded to have practised mummification by sun-drying as recently as the early 19th century.

Flexed burials have also been recorded from archaeological sites in Australia, such as the Broadbench Burial Ground of Queensland, which was excavated in the 1960s, although this has never been formally dated, instead being considered to be from 'Late Prehistory'.

Thus, there is clearly a biological and cultural continuity between the ancient 'first layer' peoples of South China and Southeast Asia, and the modern indigenous populations of Australia and New Guinea. This creates a compelling (but ultimately unprovable) case for the retention of smoke mummification as a custom among hunter-gatherer populations over a wide area and a vast span of time.

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Passage of Typhoon Yagi kills at least 39 people across the Philippines, South China, and Vietnam.

Typhoon Yagi is now known to have killed at least 39 people as it swept across the  Philippines, South China, and Vietnam between 2 and 7 September 2024. The storm was initially detected as a low pressure system to the northwest of Palau by the Japan Meteorological Agency on 30 August 2024. By 1 September it has moved to the northeast, gaining in strength to become a tropical depression as it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (an area of the northwest Pacific monitored by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. The system was identified as Tropical Depression 12W by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, and named Enteng by red by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, then as it intensified to become a tropical storm, formally named Tropical Storm Yagi by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Typhoon Yagi made landfall in Aurora Province on Luzon Island, the Philippines, at about 2.00 pm local time on Monday 2 September, taking fifteen hours to move across the island before emerging over the South China Sea at about 3.00 am on Tuesday 3 September. During this time the storm lost considerable energy, particularly as it passed over the Cordillera Central mountain range, but still causing significant disruption. The storm raised the waters of the Marikana River, which flows through eastern Manila, to rise by 16 m, leading to flooding in the Metro Manila area, as well as in the provinces of Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Laguna, Northern Samar, Pangasinan, and Rizal. A number of ships were driven aground in Manila Bay, with two colliding and catching fire. Twenty people are currently known to have died as a result of the storm on Luzon, nine of them in Rizal Province, with at least more 26 missing and at least eighteen injured. Around 28 000 people in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Bulacan, lost their electricity supplies during the storm, schools were closed for two days, and most flights to and from Luzon Island cancelled. About 80 000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas, with 459 homes destroyed and another 6128 damaged. Several dams had to be opened to prevent them being damaged by high waters, adding to the flooding in areas beneath them.

Flooding in Rizal Province, the Philippines, on 2 September 2024. AP. 

After passing over Luzon Tropical Storm passed across the South China Sea, merging with a smaller depression and gaining significantly in strength as it moved west towards China. By 5 September the storm had gained suficient energy that the Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded it to a Super Typhoon, which is to say a typhoon with windspeeds of 240 km per hour or above, the equivalent to a Category 4 or 5 storm on the Saffir–Simpson scale.

In preparation for this 420 000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas on Hainan Island, and 500 000 from low-lying areas in Guangdong Province, with widespread cancelation of flights, non-essential travel, and coastal activities in both provinces as well as Hong Kong.

Typhoon Yagi made landfall near the city of Wenchang on Hainan at about 4.20 pm local time on Friday 6 September, bringing with it sustained windspeeds of 195 km per hour, making it the strongest storm to hit the island since Typhoon Ramassun in 2014. It passed across the island making, and over the provincial capital, Haikou, before briefly making landfall in Xuwen County, Guangdong Province, then passing out over the Gulf of Tonkin. Four people are reported to have lost their lives on Hainan Island, with another 95 injured, and 1.2 million people losing electricity supplies. Aa further nine people were injured in Hong Kong.

Heavy rainfall and fallen trees in Wenchang City on 6 September 2024. Luo Yunfei/China News Service/VCG/Getty Images.

Typhoon Yaagi gained in strength again as it passed over the Gulf of Tonkin, reaching Vietnam as a Category 4 Typhoon (i.e. a storm with sustained winds in excess of 209 km per hour), making it one of the strongest storms ever to hit northern Vietnam. In preparation for the storm schools were closed and fishing and outdoor gatherings advised against, as well as most flights, ferry services, and sporting events cancelled. The storm made landfall over the city of Haiphong, binging high winds and extensive flooding to the Red River Valley. fifteen people are known to have died in Vietnam, including four people hit by flying debris, another four, described as a family, by a landslide in Hoa Binh, and another man in Hai Dong hit by a falling tree.

High winds caused by Typhoon Yagi on the shore of Phuong Luu Lake in Haiphong. Nhac Nguyen/AFP.

Tropical storms are caused by the warming effect of the Sun over tropical seas. As the air warms it expands, causing a drop in air pressure, and rises, causing air from outside the area to rush in to replace it. If this happens over a sufficiently wide area, then the inrushing winds will be affected by centrifugal forces caused by the Earth's rotation (the Coriolis effect). This means that winds will be deflected clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere, eventually creating a large, rotating Tropical Storm. They have different names in different parts of the world, with those in the northwest Pacific being referred to as typhoons.

The structure of a tropical cyclone. Wikimedia Commons.

Despite the obvious danger of winds of this speed, which can physically blow people, and other large objects, away as well as damaging buildings and uprooting trees, the real danger from these storms comes from the flooding they bring. Each drop millibar drop in air-pressure leads to an approximate 1 cm rise in sea level, with big tropical storms capable of causing a storm surge of several meters. This is always accompanied by heavy rainfall, since warm air over the ocean leads to evaporation of sea water, which is then carried with the storm. These combined often lead to catastrophic flooding in areas hit by tropical storms. 

The formation and impact of a storm surge. eSchoolToday.

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Đầu Rằm: A Neolithic jewellery-making workshop in northern Vietnam.

The Neolithic culture of the Red River Delta has been studied since the 1960s, when a series of excavations at Tràng Kênh in n Haiphong Province on the northern edge of the delta uncovered a large amount of distinctive pottery, stone tools, and animal bones, as well as many nephrite body ornaments that include bangles with various cross-sections (including T-shaped sections), small rings, penannular earrings with four circumferential protuberances, and tubular beads, and evidence of the industry responsible for these items. The nephrite was apparently shaped, worked and polished using stone knives, stone drill points, grinders, and polishers, to form a range of jewellery which was traded from the Chinese border to central Vietnam. 

In the 1970s a cluster of archaeological sites was discovered at Đầu Rằm on Tân Island in Quảng Ninh Province, about 16 km to the southeast of Tràng Kênh. Subsequent excavations at these sites revealed two periods of occupation, one by the Bronze Age Đông Sơn people, between about 300 BC and 100 AD, and one by a Neolithic community apparently from the same culture as that at Tràng Kênh, with similar production of nephrite jewellery.

In a paper published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia on 16 November 2023, Isabella Shaw of the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University, Nguyễn Thị Thúy of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, Bùi Xuân Tùng of the Department of Archaeology at the VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Elle Grono, also of the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University, Rachel Wood, again of the School of Archaeology and Anthropology, and of the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University, Cristina Castillo Cobo of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, Peter Bellwood and Philip Piper, once again of the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University, and Lâm Thị Mỹ Dung, also of the Department of Archaeology at the VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, describe the results of a new series of excavations carried out at Đầu Rằm in 2018, and the conclusions drawn about the methods of the Neolithic nephrite jewellery-makers of the  Red River Delta.

Đầu Rằm is located on the on the southwest side of Tân Island, at the western edge of Ha Long Bay. The island is cut off from the mainland by the Hàm Rồng and Giang rivers. The site comprises two outcrops of kart limestone, Núi Đầu Rằm Lớn to the southeast and Núi Đầu Rằm Nhỏ to the northwest, and an area of sand between the two. It is likely that significant archaeological material was lost from the area during quarrying, which removed most of the karst from both outcrops before the significance of the site was realised. Previous excavations of the site revealed an occupation by the Đông Sơn people, between about 300 BC and 100 AD, overlying an older, Neolithic occupation with evidence for the manufacturing of nephrite jewellery. Shaw et al. excavated two new trenches on the sandy area, one close to the southern face of the Núi Đầu Rằm Nhỏ karst outcrop, and the second on the eastern end of the previous excavations.

Locations of the archaeological excavation trenches at Đầu Rằm (Black lines are unpaved tracks). Shaw et al. (2023).

The excavations yielded only Neolithic material, with no sign of the Đông Sơn culture. The soil here was sandy, with a surface layer of dark brown through ash-grey loamy material. A high concentration of shells was found in the sediment, reaching about 1.5 m deep at the karst outcrop, and extending about 10 m southwards. No signs of post holes or pits were found, suggesting that no construction had occurred here, and the distribution of the shells suggests that they may have been discarded from the top of the limestone outcrop. Cultural items were found within this shelly layer, and had probably been discarded in the same way.

The discarded material includes a large number of shells, as well as Animal bones, charred Plant remains, fragments of pottery, stone implements and debitage (left over fragments) from the making of nephrite rings. Two types of pottery were found. The most common type, comprising 98.2% of the assemblage, or 20 152 individual pieces, has a crushed shell temper, and a rim type known as 'miệng mai' (meaning 'house roof') which is only known from the northern Red River Delta, having been found at Đầu Rằm, Tràng Kênh, and Bồ Chuyến, all of which suggests it was made locally. The second type of pottery is a finely manufactured, sand tempered ceramic, otherwise known from the Phùng Nguyên settlements of the upper Red River, in Vĩnh Phúc and Phú Thọ provinces. Twenty two carbon dates were obtained from material from the midden, which indicated that use of the site began between 1782 and 1645 BC, and ended between 1576 and 1441 BC, giving a period of use of between 94 and 293 years.

The most distinctive feature of the Đầu Rằm locality is, however, the nephrite jewellery which appears to have been manufactured there. The most common forms are rings and bangles, although some cylindrical beads have also been recovered from the site.

Based upon the debitage and tool fragments recovered from Đầu Rằm in 2018, Shaw et al. propose a chaîne opératoire (chain of operations) for the production of nephrite rings and bangles. 

The material used in the manufacture is a s tremolitic nephrite, which is usually white or a pale orange colour, sometimes with grey mottling or veins. Where this nephrite came from is not precisely known, but nephrite pebbles can be collected from rivers and streams in Sơn La and Phú Thọ provinces, and nephrite inclusions are also known within the limestones of Thủy Nguyên, Hoành Bồ, and Đông Triều districts of Quảng Ninh province), and elsewhere in the mountains of northern Vietnam. The only evidence for the source material used at Đầu Rằm is a water-worn white nephrite cobble which shows signs of having been worked.

Once obtained the nephrite was cut into blanks (slices which could be further worked) using rasp-like saws made from sedimentary rock, which would have been drawn back and forth across the softer nephrite, probably with the addition of water and sand. These saws were small tools, designed to fit in the palm of the hand. Many had curved backs, which would have enabled them to be controlled by the index finger. Once the rock was cut into squared slices in this way it could then be ground to the desired thickness using a piece of rough sandstone. The corners of the squared slices could then be removed by sawing into the blanks from both sides, then snapping them off, to give a more rounded piece.

Once a near-round shape was achieved, the blank was further shaped by smoothing the edges with a piece of sandstone to achieve a circular disk. Examples of such disks have been found at Đầu Rằm with multiple grinding grooves, indicating that they were used to shape rings of different widths. This shaping of the outer surface of the ring was always completed before the inner core was drilled out, presumably because the rings were less delicate at this stage.

The inner part of the ring is theorised to have been drilled out by mounting the circular blank on a turntable which could be rotated with a wooden bow mechanism, then grinding the moving ring with a stone drill bit attached to a horizontal fixed arm. This would have enabled a circular grove to have been cut into the blank, with adjustment of the position of the fixed arm enabling different sized circles to be cut. The blank would have been worked by carving paired grooves on each side. A wooden bow drill has been found at the Dong Du site, and debitage indicating this modus operandi at Tràng Kênh, while a number of drill bits consistent with this method have been recovered at Đầu Rằm.

Finally, once the grooves on each side of the blank were deemed sufficiently deep, the core would have been removed by striking it with a hammerstone to form a ring. This last part of the operation appears to have been quite tricky, with a risk of breaking the thin ring in the process. At least one ring apparently broken at this stage has been found at Đầu Rằm, as well as ten hammerstones, with percussion marks on multiple facets, probably indicating they were used for a variety of tasks; one of these was notably small, and could have been easily held in one hand for precision tasks such as striking out the core of a ring.

This process would have left a sharp, uneven, flange around the inside of the ring, so the next task would have been to remove this by inserting a cylindrical grinder which could be used to smooth this inner surface by manual rotation. Four such cylindrical grinders have been found at Đầu Rằm, three of which appear to have been used at both ends. 

Finally, the ring would have been polished to a smooth surface using a dense, fine-grained stone polisher (one example of which has been found at Đầu Rằm), and then probably a piece organic material such as Bamboo, wood, or leather.

The chaîne opératoire of manufacture for nephrite rings at Đầu Rằm: (a) Initial raw material cutting and sawing; (b) grinding a preform to a desired thickness; (c) cutting a preform to an appropriate size; (d) removing corners; (e) grinding to a circular shape; (f) drilling out a core (from both sides); (g) using a ‘punch’ to remove a core; (h) grinding the inside of a ring; (i) grinding the exterior; (j) polishing to produce a surface gloss. Shaw et al. (2023).

Previous excavations at Đầu Rằm produced material from two phases of occupation, with the majority of the material coming from the younger Bronze Age Đông Sơn culture. However, Shaw et al.;s 2018 excavations found no trace of this younger material. Both dating evidence and the material recovered suggest that the earlier phase of occupation at Đầu Rằm was Neolithic, and the common style of pottery and nephrite working strongly indicates that the culture here was the same as the one at the nearby Đầu Rằm, Tràng Kênh, and Bồ Chuyến sites, with archaeologists referring to this common culture as the Tràng Kênh culture, as this site was discovered first. 

Radiometric dates obtained from both Tràng Kênh and Đầu Rằm suggest that this culture was active during the early-to-middle second millennium BC, although the results were not considered accurate enough for a more detailed chronology. Occupation at the Tràng Kênh site continued into the Bronze Age, which has been dated here to the end of the second millennium BC.

The artisans at Đầu Rằm used a standardised tool kit and methodology to manufacture rings, which would have required both a high degree of skill and a level of technical understanding which enabled the manufacturing and maintenance of the equipment needed for this process. This process also appears to have been used at Tràng Kênh, where evidence for a range of other manufacturing processes, not seem at Đầu Rằm has also been discovered. Items seen at Tràng Kênh but not Đầu Rằm include earrings with four protuberances, penannular earrings and T-sectioned bangles. T-sectioned bangles have also been found at sites in the upper Red River Valley associated with the Phùng Nguyên Neolithic culture, and at Mán Bạc in Ninh Bình Province, a site confidently dated to between 2000 and 1300 BC, indicating manufacture clearly pre-dating the onset of the local Bronze Age.

The difference between the wider range of manufactured items found at Tràng Kênh than Đầu Rằm poses questions about the nature of the two sites. It is possible that Tràng Kênh was simply larger than Đầu Rằm, and could therefore support a greater range of craftsmen, but it is also possible that some of the skills used at Tràng Kênh were effectively trade secrets which the people of Đầu Rằm did not possess.

Examples of the various artefacts, debitage and implements used in the production of nephrite rings at Đầu Rằm; (a) nephrite raw material, the black arrow indicates where attempts have been made to shape the piece; (b) sandstone saw (working edge at bottom); c. corner offcuts with saw lines and flanges along their edges; (d). and (e) external grinders; (f) polished drill bit; (g) inner cores of various sizes, note misalignment in the coring of the two smallest specimens on the right (arrow: internal flange); (h) one working end of an internal ring grinder of sandstone; (i) hard, fine-grained sandstone grinder; (j) almost completed ring. Shaw et al. (2023).

The wide area over which jewellery apparently manufactured at Tràng Kênh and Đầu Rằm have been found implies that these settlements were embedded in an extensive trade network. It has been suggested that the raw materials from which this jewellery was made was itself imported, which if true, would suggest that the location of the settlements was chosen for access to waterways, and therefore trade networks. 

Items made from nephrite have been found at more than 70 Neolithic Phùng Nguyên culture sites on the plains around the lower Red River. Some of these sites, such as Hồng Đa, show evidence of local manufacture of this jewellery, presumably from imported materials, but it is quite likely that many were importing finished jewellery from Tràng Kênh and Đầu Rằm. Pottery thought to have been manufactured in the lower Red River Valley has been found at both Tràng Kênh and Đầu Rằm, implying that this was another item traded between communities.

The Neolithic trade networks in nephrite jewellery and other goods were, nevertheless, quite restricted compared to the Iron Age trade networks which emerged in the region with goods being traded from Thailand and Cambodia to Taiwan and the Philippines. The Neolithic trade network appears to have extended at least as far south as Cồn Nền, a Bàu Tró culture site on the coast of Quảng Bình Province. This is consistent with other evidence, which suggests that by about 4000 years ago, two distinct and separate trade networks had emerged in northern and southern Vietnam.

Elsewhere, there appears to have been trade between Taiwan and southeast China during the Neolithic, where workshops appear to have made similar cylindrical beads, rings and penannular earrings at Fengtian in eastern Taiwan, around the Zhujiang Delta, and at Yunglong in Hong Kong. Some of the techniques used at these Chinese workshops resemble those used at Tràng Kênh and Đầu Rằm, possibly implying a both groups shared a common ancestry, possibly from the lower Yangtze region of central China, where Neolithic workshops are known from around 4000 BC onwards.

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At least five dead amid flooding and landslides in Vietnam.

At least five people have died and several more are missing in a series of flooding and landslide events in south and central Vietnam, after several days of continuous heavy rain associated with the southwest (summer) monsoon, which has affected Lam Dong, Bình Thuận, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu, Bạc Liêu, Cà Mau, An Giang, Hậu Giang, and Kiên Giang provinces. On Saturday 29 July 2023, a 47-year-old woman was swept away by flood waters in Bình Thuận Province, and was later found dead. On the same day a fishing boat off the same province's coast capsized in high winds, with one of the four crew, a 41-year-old man, missing since the event. A house collapsed amid high winds and heavy rain in Bạc Liêu Province, killing 36-year-old Dang Kim Men, and injuring her 37-year-old husband, Dang Van Dung and their eight-year-old son. A total of 59 nine houses are reported to have been destroyed in the province, and a further 52 to have lost their rooves. Three traffic police officers have been confirmed dead after a landslide hit the station at which they were based at in the Bảo Lộc Pass in Lam Dong Province, at about 2.30 pm local time on Sunday 30 July; a member of the public is still missing following the incident.

Rescue teams searching the site of a landslide in which three people are now known to have died and one is still missing in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, on Sunday 30 July 2023. Vietnam Global.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season, the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

Much of Southeast Asia has two distinct Monsoon Seasons, with a Northeast Monsoon driven by winds from the South China Sea that lasts from November to February and a Southwest Monsoon driven by winds from the southern Indian Ocean from March to October. Such a double Monsoon Season is common close to the equator, where the Sun is highest overhead around the equinoxes and lowest on the horizons around the solstices, making the solstices the coolest part of the year and the equinoxes the hottest.

The winds that drive the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons in Southeast Asia. Mynewshub.

This years rains have been unusually heavy across Southeast Asia, despite there being an El Niño system over the South Pacific, which would usually bring drier conditions. This is probably linked to the rising global temperature, with the record for the Earth's highest average temperature over a 24 hour period being broken three times in July, which has led to higher rates of evaporation from all oceans, leading to unusually high rainfall in many parts of the world.

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