Showing papers in "Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association in 2011"

Was there an Austroasiatic Presence in Island Southeast Asia prior to the Austronesian Expansion

Abstract: No Austroasiatic languages are spoken in island SE Asia today, although we know from the Chamic languages of Vietnam and the SA Huynh culture that contact was extensive between the mainland and the islands. However, the diversity of Neolithic materials in various island sites has led some archaeologists to question the Austronesian ‘Neolithic package’ model, without advancing a positive alternative. This paper suggests that Austroasiatic speakers had reached the islands of SE Asia (Borneo?) prior to the AB expansion and that this can be detected in both the archaeology, the languages and the synchronic material culture. The paper will focus in part on the transfer of taro cultivation as part of this process.

Have We Overlooked Something? Hafting Traces and Indications of Modern Traits in the Philippine Palaeolithic

Abstract: Behavioural modernity has been a widely neglected topic for Southeast Asia’s Prehistory. Evidence of modern packages or even traits is basically absent in the Palaeolithic assemblages. This absence has considerably influenced the discussion of hominid behaviour and their cultural and cognitive abilities. In a case study on terminal Pleistocene artefacts from Ille Cave on Palawan Island, indications of the presence of several items of the modern trait list, foremost the first evidence of hafted lithic tools and the use of adhesives in the Philippine Palaeolithic, were detected through microwear analysis. The results showed that unretouched and morphologically less characteristic flaked artefacts often considered as mere expedient tools could have served as hafted armatures of multicomponent tools. For the ongoing discussion on the development and expansion of modern behaviour, methods like microwear analysis can enhance the limitations of traditional technological and morphological analysis of lithic assemblages.

Trade and Exchange Networks in Iron Age Cambodia: Preliminary Results from a Compositional Analysis of Glass Beads

Abstract: Beads made of glass and stone found at Iron Age period sites (500 BC – AD 500) in Southeast Asia are amongst the first signs for sustained trade and sociopolitical contact with South Asia. Because of this, they have become important artifacts for scholars wishing to better understand trade networks and sociopolitical development during this period. Using compositional analysis scholars can identify the recipes used to make these glass beads and in some cases this can be tied back to specific places or time periods. Current research indicates there were multiple glass bead production centers across South and Southeast Asia during this period. However there has not yet been a comprehensive examination of glass beads from Iron Age sites in Cambodia. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting the results from a compositional analysis of glass beads from six Iron Age sites in Cambodia. Using a virtually non-destructive compositional technique (LA-ICP-MS), I was able to determine the presence of at least two glass bead-trading networks in Cambodia during the Iron Age.

Ming Gap and the Revival of Commercial Production of Blue and White Porcelain in China

Abstract: This paper lists the blue and white porcelains excavated with date inscriptions or from datable tombs in China and shows that there was a ‘Ming Gap’ of blue and white porcelain in China too. Previously, Ming Gap was thought to be restricted to Southeast Asia. This author argues that no blue and white porcelain was allowed to produce in commercial kilns in early Ming Dynasty. But, when the needed raw material, cobalt--which relied on trade in the time of Ming Ban--could be produced locally, the commercial production of blue and white porcelain restarted.

Evidence of Modern Human Behavior in the Baikal Zone during the Early Upper Paleolithic Period

Abstract: The Baikal region is viewed as the easternmost territory where the Upper Paleolithic complex appeared the earliest. Its chronology is relevant in establishing the chronologies of its adjacent regions. The Baikal Upper Paleolithic sites are numerous and well-represented. The beginning of this period is well-defined as shown by the dated profiles, detailed technical or typological characteristics of industries, elements of symbolic activity, and subsistence strategies. This paper will present some archaeological evidence, retrieved from own excavations in the region, of Modern Human behavior in the area at around 40,000 BP.

The Neolithic of the Russian Far East and Neighboring East Asia: Definition, Chronology, and Origins

Abstract: The exact definition of the term “Neolithic” is discussed and the spatio-temporal coordinates of the two main Neolithic-related phenomena in greater East Asia, pottery and cultivation of plants and animals, are presented. In this part of Eurasia, pottery-making preceded agriculture by several millennia. Pottery may be accepted as the major criterion of the Neolithic epoch in the hunter-fisher-gatherer continuum of East Asian prehistory. This situation differs from that in the Near East, where plant and animal husbandry developed before the emergence of pottery, and Europe, where pottery and agriculture appeared almost simultaneously. Thus today, three main ‘trajectories’ for Neolithisation may be defined in Eurasia. The ultimate reason for the origin of pottery in East Asia remains unclear.

Agriculture in Aboriginal Australia: Why Not?

Abstract: Material and behavioural elements associated with the term Neolithic are almost completely absent in Australia. Among the few exceptions are the domesticated dog (originating in the Near East and reaching Australia by 3,500 years ago as the dingo), together with limited evidence for permanent settlements, food storage, long-distance trade and manipulation of wild resources in some areas. While it has been suggested that the latter developments represent independent local trends toward more complex societies that might have led to an Australian Neolithic if not for the arrival of Europeans, the Neolithic is essentially conspicuous by its absence. Particularly striking is the absence of agricultural practices, despite recent claims to the contrary. Also not present is another one of the original (though generally over-looked) defining attributes of the Neolithic: the weaving of textile fibres for clothing. Claims for indigenous Australian agriculture are reviewed here, and the few purported cases are found to be weak. An unconventional model for the transition to agriculture is presented, advocating a significant formative role for clothing, specifically textiles. This suggests that a typical absence of clothing (and total absence of textile clothing) provides a clue as to why agriculture did not develop in Australia.

Current Research on the Rock Art at Gua Tambun, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract: The rock art site of Gua Tambun in Perak, Malaysia was first reported by J. M. Matthews in 1959, following the discovery of the rock paintings by a British military officer. An estimate of more than 80 forms of animals, humans, geometric designs and many other indistinct and vague forms of paintings were reported to be found on the walls of the rock shelter. Since then, no further in-depth research of the rock art has been reported, while time and weather have eroded and faded the paintings even more. In early January 2009, the site was revisited by the authors to document and to study the rock art in detail. The rock art was documented using a combination of close-range, high-resolution digital photography and digital image analysis was used to reconstruct and recompose the faded images. Samples of the material used for painting the rock art were also collected for chemical analysis and dating. This paper presents the preliminary findings of the research, which include more than 500 forms of rock art found at the site.

Explanations for patterning in the ‘package of traits’ of modern human behaviour within Sahul

Abstract: Late Pleistocene Sahul has provided a test for the debate surrounding the appearance of the ‘package’ of modern human behaviour within the archaeological record. A detailed review of the late Pleistocene archaeological record of Sahul (Franklin and Habgood 2007; Habgood and Franklin 2008) found both chronological and geographical patterning for the appearance of the individual traits - four broad Phases and seven ‘Zones of Innovation’. We consider potential causes for this patterning including taphonomy and artefact function, but conclude that it reflects material culture differences and cultural preferences.

The brick structures of Go Thap – tombs or temples?

Abstract: The 1980s and 1990s excavations of the archaeological site of Go Thap in the Mekong Delta resulted in unearthing a number of brick structures. In association with the structures precious objects were found, including over three hundred gold leaves. More than half of the gold leaves were decorated with pictures of men, gods, animals, weapons and auspicious objects, and some of them were inscribed. In addition to the precious objects, the structures were also reported to contain human ashes. In the first part of this paper, I will examine the objects closely, especially the gold leaves, discovered at Go Thap. I will then compare them with similar objects originating from other archaeological sites of Southeast Asia and with objects described in traditional Indian manuals written in Sanskrit and dealing with temple architecture and temple building rituals. On the basis of this comparison, I will propose the hypothesis that the ‘brick structures’ unearthed in Go Thap are not tombs but remains of Hindu shrines, and the associated materials are not crematory remains but traces of consecration ceremonies performed for shrines and temples.

Dvaravati, Si Thep, and Wendan.

Abstract: The aim of this article is to better define the historical position of Wendan (Land Zhenla), an 8th-century kingdom known from Chinese sources, which had a capital in northeastern Thailand. The material evidence from Thailand, primarily in the form of Buddhist boundary stones, will not yield a coherent story until it is studied more deeply, with careful attention to issues of chronology. Architectural ruins in the Angkor region show that temple building (in contrast to what some have previously thought) fell off dramatically in about the second quarter of the 8th century, consistent with the hypothesis that the area fell under the domination of Wendan. For evidence that Angkor-region craftsmen were taken north by Wendan, it is necessary to look at sculpture and monumental remains taken from or remaining in Si Thep, a city likely to have stood west of Wendan’s political center. Evidence from the Delta region (“Water Zhenla”), finally, dating from the second half of the 8th century, reveals contact with Si Thep in this period and also indicates that at least some of the craftsmen who worked on Mt. Kulen (probably beginning prior to Jayavarman II’s coronation in 802) were likely to have been brought from this region.

The Dvaravati Gap - Linking Prehistory and History in Early Thailand

Abstract: The author’s principal research has mainly been in the field of Southeast Asian prehistoric archaeology rather than art history but one topic that has preoccupied me since I first excavated between 1980–1985 at the site of Ban Don Ta Phet in west-central Thailand is the relationships between the late prehistoric Iron Age cultures of Southeast Asia and the Indian influenced Buddhist and Hindu civilizations of the early first millennium of the present era and especially the Dvaravati Civilization of Central Thailand which occupied the same region as the late prehistoric Iron Age communities– albeit after an interval of several hundred years.

Ways of Seeing a Pyu, Mon and Dvaravati Artistic Continuum

Abstract: During the last 100 years artistic relationships between the Pyu and Mon of Burma and the Dvāravatī Mon of Thailand have been frequently hinted at yet until recently these ideas had not been explored further. In light of contemporary research, and in particular, relatively stable access to Burma, there is renewed interest in the cultures which inhabited the region extending from Upper Burma through Lower Burma and into central and south-west Thailand during the first millennium CE. Conventionally viewed as distinct cultural groups, on reappraising archaeological and historical research associated with the Pyu, Mon and Dvāravatī it is now suggested that these communities were more closely linked than traditionally thought. The art from these regions supports this. Buddhism was the common catalyst for visual culture and the artistic repertoires of the Pyu, Mon and Dvāravatī share many similarities. Examination of themes and styles which appear in the art of these cultures indicates there was a flow of ideas back and forth across the region, and likely beyond. The apparent openness of these groups to the integration of new ideas offers insight into the patterns of knowledge exchange and challenges preconceived notions of cultural division throughout this large region of mainland Southeast Asia.

Identifying Behavioural Modernity: Lessons from Sahul

Abstract: This contribution is aimed at drawing attention to the fact that the current most widely accepted understanding of the origins of modern behaviour is very much dominated by Western concepts of the character of humanity. Here, it is briefly discussed that this understanding not only produces less than convincing results in the current discussion on ‘modern human origins’, but it is still plagued by problems that were already evident in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is suggested that these issues are connected to a simplistic and essentialist understanding of human historical development. The concept of ‘modernity’ inevitably produces a version of human history that is unilinear, Eurocentric and concentrates on the development and history of state societies. It is therefore suggested that 'modernity' in all its versions is very much counterproductive for our aim to understand the human past and present. It needs to be replaced by an understanding of organisms, humans and their environments as mutually constituting each other and as products of their situated becoming and not of essential (cognitive and/or genetic) and time-less qualities.

Clothing and Modern Human Behaviour in Australia

Abstract: Recent reviews have highlighted the challenges posed by the Australian archaeological record for the concept of modern human behaviour. The archaeologically-visible components make only a limited, sporadic and generally delayed appearance in Australia, despite the presence of modern humans on the continent from 45,000 years ago. It is suggested here that some key aspects of modern human behaviour relate to the use and manufacture of clothing for thermal reasons, and that by connecting some components to the manufacture and repercussions of clothing, their fluctuating occurrence can be linked to varying environmental conditions throughout the late Pleistocene, and earlier. One region of special interest for the debate is Tasmania, where certain signs of behavioural modernity ( bone tools, resource specialization, novel lithic technology and, briefly, cave art) emerged during the Last Glacial Maximum, only to diminish or disappear during the Holocene. It is argued that a clothing-based model of modern human behaviour is more viable than existing formulations not only in Australia but perhaps globally.

Seals, Amulets and Coinages of Dvaravati Cultural Sites: Understanding their Social Environment and Religious Network.

Abstract: This paper examines the presence of seals, sealings, amulets and coinages at the Dvaravati cultural sites in the context of their relation with objects unearthed across the shores of the Bay of Bengal in India. The social environment of the voyaging objects is also looked into apart from situating them in the religious network of the period. The presentation, while discussing the network of relations, also addresses the question of agency in the whole process of interaction spanning across the Bay of Bengal.

Technology of Dvaravati Pottery: A View from Petrographic Analysis.

Abstract: This study focuses on the examination of aspects of the carinated pottery of the Dvaravati period. This type of pottery is one of the most prominent types found in a large number of Dvaravati sites in Thailand. Samples used for this study were collected from excavations at archaeological sites located in several regions of Thailand including Northern, Northeastern and Central Thailand. The carinated potteries were analyzed using petrographic analysis. The objective of this work was to examine the pottery fabric. This method is used to establish sources of raw materials, and whether production techniques, decorations, and firing temperature show patterns associated with the raw material source distributions. It is also possible to reconstruct the production technology of the vessels. Knowing the source of raw materials (source of clay and temper) and understanding the patterns of manufacturing and decorative processes help better understand material distribution patterns of the Dvaravati period. Analysis shows that Dvaravati earthenware pottery raw materials include both primary and secondary clays, and that temper used was both organic matter (rice chaff) and grogs (fired clay mixed with iron oxide). Evidence for wheel-thrown production was associated with all decoration styles, and finishing techniques included plain, polishing, incising, cord marking, red slip and black burnishing. The firing temperatures were as low as 400-550° C. These samples indicate there was general homogeneity over a wide area, but also the presence of regional groups of pottery. This suggests the widespread circulation of pottery styles among various production centers during the Dvaravati period.

A Characterisation of Mortuary Ceramics from Ban Non Wat, Northeast Thailand

Abstract: After numerous seasons of excavation, a long sequence of occupation has been revealed at Ban Non Wat in Northeast Thailand from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. In this paper, the results of a characterisation of ceramic vessels identified in burial contexts are provided. The studied sample included Bronze and Iron Age ceramics. The analysis involved a characterisation of morphology, surface treatment and the fabrics to uncover the technology for pottery manufacture at Ban Non Wat in prehistory. The fabric analysis of the clays and tempers was conducted with the electron microprobe. The results revealed two distinct manufacturing methods. The Bronze Age phase 2 and 3 burials were tempered with sand in almost all of the studied sherds, while fibre tempered ceramics were dominant in the assemblage in burials from Bronze Age phase 4 to the Iron Age phases. The adoption of fibre tempering appears to have taken place between Bronze Age 3 and 4 at Ban Non Wat, positing the earliest known use of this method on the Khorat Plateau at c.800 BC.