but some coffins are placed beneath man-made overhangs. They are guarded by carved wooden representations of the dead known as tau-tau. Older tau-tau are more abstract, but more modern tau-tau can be quite lifelike. The reasoning for their placement is to discourage looters who might steal the items interred with the dead. Like the hanging coffins of the Philippines, liang tokek accounts for only a minority of the region's funerary practices. Liang tokek were reserved for the "founders" of the village and thus are among the oldest dated coffins, dating to around 780 AD. They were part of burial complexes which include other kinds of interment practices, usually differing based on the social class and age of the dead. These complexes are believed by the Torajans to be abodes of spirits of the dead in the afterlife. The more common types of ancient burial were the liang sillik and liang erong which were cave burials; with the latter utilizing coffins (erong), while the former does not. Other more recent burial customs include liang pak (tombs carved into walls), tangdan (house-shaped tombs for noblemen, usually placed on hilltops), and liang patane (house-shaped tombs for commoners). See also Jar burial References External links China Mysterious Hanging Coffins of the Bo Hanging Coffins a Clue to Ba Mystery Hanging coffins in Yunnan Mysterious Hanging Coffins of China (documentary) Philippines Sagada Igorot Online – Hanging Coffins Hanging Coffins of Sagada Picture of hanging coffins in Sagada Visit Sagada Hanging Coffins of Sagada : A dying Igorot Tradition Indonesia Hanging coffins in Indonesia Picture of hanging coffins in Sulawesi Archaeology of death Archaeology of China Coffins