Flexed and extended burials
At Gua Cha, extended burials were accompanied by a variety of grave goods, including cord-marked earthenware vessels, mussel shell spoons, polished stone adzes and a stone bark cloth beater. Some of the deceased also wore ornaments, such as stone and shell beads and polished stone bracelets.
In the absence of written records, burials are an important source of information on the culture and belief systems of early societies. Burial methods and funerary rites vary according to the beliefs of particular communities or ethnic groups. In Malaysian prehistoric sites, the most common modes of interment are flexed and extended burials. More elaborate burials were usually reserved for the élite, and sometimes completely different burial modes were employed.
- Information in the full article includes
- Flexed burials
- Extended burials