


Paperback
Published: 10th July 1989
ISBN: 9780521275255
Number Of Pages: 404
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 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 cheifdoms. 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.
'We now, at last, have a balanced and authoritative view of the prehistory of the mainland of Southeast Asia, presented by an author who must be regarded as one of the most experienced archaeologists now working in the region ... Higham has done the discipline a great service, and this book deserves a wide readership. It would be very hard, using current knowledge, to improve upon it.' Dr Peter Bellwood, Quarterly Review of Archaeology
List of illustrations | p. vii |
Acknowledgements | p. xiii |
Chronological table | p. xv |
Introduction | p. 1 |
Aspects of diversity | p. 1 |
The personality of Southeast Asia | p. 5 |
The history of archaeology in Southeast Asia | p. 15 |
Themes and approaches | p. 28 |
Hunter-gatherer communities and early domestication | p. 31 |
The coast and hills of Bac Bo | p. 33 |
Coastal groups in Viet Nam | p. 43 |
A hunting and gathering tradition in the North Thai uplands | p. 45 |
The Northern Thai uplands: summary | p. 59 |
The hunter-gatherer occupation of the Chao Phraya plains | p. 61 |
Coastal settlement round the Gulf of Siam | p. 65 |
Domestication | p. 80 |
The expansion of domestic communities | p. 90 |
The Khorat plateau | p. 92 |
A general cultural framework | p. 99 |
Non Nok Tha | p. 99 |
Ban Chiang | p. 106 |
Ban Na Di | p. 113 |
Other excavated sites in the northern Khorat plateau | p. 117 |
The southern Khorat plateau: Ban Chiang Hian and related sites | p. 121 |
Dating General Periods A and B | p. 123 |
The subsistence basis of General Periods A and B | p. 130 |
The human remains | p. 139 |
The material culture of General Periods A and B | p. 141 |
The social organisation | p. 153 |
The lower Chao Phraya valley | p. 157 |
The lower Mekong and its hinterland | p. 169 |
The coastal plains of Central Viet Nam | p. 173 |
The Bac Bo Region | p. 175 |
The expansion of domestic communities and the adoption of bronze-working | p. 185 |
The end of autonomy and emergence of chiefdoms | p. 190 |
Bac Bo: the Dong Son phase | p. 192 |
The Chao Phraya plains | p. 204 |
The Khorat plateau | p. 209 |
The uplands of Laos | p. 228 |
The Vietnamese coastal plains | p. 230 |
The transition from autonomy to centrality | p. 233 |
The development of mandalas | p. 239 |
India and China | p. 242 |
Geographic regions which sustained mandalas | p. 245 |
The lower Mekong and the delta: A.D. c 100-550 | p. 245 |
The delta mandalas: summary | p. 254 |
Mandalas of the middle Mekong and the Tonle Sap plains: A.D. 550-802 | p. 254 |
Zhenla mandalas: summary | p. 268 |
The Dvaravati mandalas of the Chao Phraya plains and their antecedants: A.D. 200-950 | p. 269 |
The Mun and Chi valleys in Northeast Thailand | p. 279 |
The Han: three border commanderies | p. 287 |
Bac Bo | p. 287 |
The mandalas of Champa | p. 297 |
The dynastic history of Linyi | p. 298 |
The archaeological remains of Linyi: the Cham mandalas | p. 302 |
Champa: summary | p. 306 |
The formative stages of Southeast Asian civilisation: a review | p. 306 |
Summary | p. 318 |
The Angkorian Mandala | p. 321 |
The dynastic history and main historic events | p. 324 |
Taxation | p. 344 |
The means of destruction | p. 346 |
Agriculture | p. 348 |
The pursuit of perfection | p. 352 |
Summary and conclusions | p. 353 |
Concluding remarks | p. 356 |
References | p. 363 |
Index | p. 379 |
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780521275255
ISBN-10: 0521275253
Series: Cambridge World Archaeology
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 404
Published: 10th July 1989
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 24.13 x 19.68
x 1.91
Weight (kg): 0.69