The archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia : from 10,000 B.C. to the fall of Angkor / Charles Higham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Higham, Charles.

Series:

Cambridge world archeology.

Cambridge world archeology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prehistoric peoples--Southeast Asia.

Prehistoric peoples.

Southeast Asia--Antiquities.

Southeast Asia.

Antiquities.

Physical Description:

xvi, 387 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Summary:

Southeast Asia was the scene of one of the world's major civilisations, that of Angkor, until it was sacked in the early fifteenth century. The origins of Angkor were barely known until recent archaeological excavation and field research began to reveal the region's dynamic prehistoric development and to raise new questions to serve in its understanding.

This important new synthesis focuses on the social world of early mainland Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos and adjacent areas. The book begins when the area was occupied 12,000 years ago by hunters and gatherers. The author stresses the importance of sedentism and domestication. These encouraged the spread of coastal communities into the interior valleys. Particular relevance is seen in the exchange of valuables, including bronze, as symbols of status.

The origins of civilisation, for long assumed to result from Indian expansion in the region, are seen as rooted in local changes, along with the selective adoption of Indian religious and political ideas within coastal chiefdoms. In bridging the gap between prehistory and history, this book will appeal not only to archaeologists but to those interested in the general history, culture and arts of Asia.

Contents:

Aspects of diversity 1

The personality of Southeast Asia 5

The history of archaeology in Southeast Asia 15

Themes and approaches 28

2 Hunter-gatherer communities and early domestication 31

The coast and hills of Bac Bo 33

Coastal groups in Viet Nam 43

A hunting and gathering tradition in the North Thai uplands 45

The Northern Thai uplands: summary 59

The hunter-gatherer occupation of the Chao Phraya plains 61

Coastal settlement round the Gulf of Siam 65

Domestication 80

3 The expansion of domestic communities 90

The Khorat plateau 92

A general cultural framework 99

Non Nok Tha 99

Ban Chiang 106

Ban Na Di 113

Other excavated sites in the northern Khorat plateau 117

The southern Khorat plateau: Ban Chiang Hian and related sites 121

Dating General Periods A and B 123

The subsistence basis of General Periods A and B 130

The human remains 139

The material culture of General Periods A and B 141

The social organisation 153

The lower Chao Phraya valley 157

The lower Mekong and its hinterland 169

The coastal plains of Central Viet Nam 173

The Bac Bo Region 175

The expansion of domestic communities and the adoption of bronze-working 185

4 The end of autonomy and emergence of chiefdoms 190

Bac Bo: the Dong Son phase 192

The Chao Phraya plains 204

The Khorat plateau 209

The uplands of Laos 228

The Vietnamese coastal plains 230

The transition from autonomy to centrality 233

5 The development of mandalas 239

India and China 242

Geographic regions which sustained mandalas 245

The lower Mekong and the delta: A.D. c 100-550 245

The delta mandalas: summary 254

Mandalas of the middle Mekong and the Tonle Sap plains: A.D. 550-802 254

Zhenla mandalas: summary 268

The Dvaravati mandalas of the Chao Phraya plains and their antecedants: A.D. 200-950 269

The Mun and Chi valleys in Northeast Thailand 279

The Han: three border commanderies 287

Bac Bo 287

The mandalas of Champa 297

The dynastic history of Linyi 298

The archaeological remains of Linyi: the Cham mandalas 302

Champa: summary 306

The formative stages of Southeast Asian civilisation: a review 306

6 The Angkorian Mandala 321

The dynastic history and main historic events 324

Taxation 344

The means of destruction 346

Agriculture 348

The pursuit of perfection 352.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages [363]-377.

ISBN:

0521255236

0521275253

OCLC:

18164335