Ban Chiang, Northeast Thailand, Volume 2: Metals

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-340
Author(s):  
David J. Welch
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Northeast Thailand ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
The Media ◽  
Second Millennium Bce ◽  
The University ◽  
Ban Chiang

These three volumes, along with the forthcoming Volume 2D, the catalogue of metal and metal-related finds, present the results of a thorough, detailed study of the metals recovered during archaeological investigations in 1974 and 1975 at the village of Ban Chiang and three smaller sites in the northern part of northeast Thailand. At a time when little was known of Southeast Asian prehistory, the finding of very elaborately painted earthenware pottery vessels, probably prehistoric, at Ban Chiang stirred the interest not only of archaeologists, but also, unfortunately, from the standpoint of scientific investigation of the past, that of looters, dealers, and collectors of antiquarian art. In order to recover a sample of these vessels in their original depositional context, the Thailand Fine Arts Department and the University of Pennsylvania undertook one of the largest excavations of a prehistoric site carried out in Southeast Asia at the time. What subsequently caused added excitement in the media and the scientific community was the recovery of artefacts of iron that appeared to date to the second millennium BCE and of copper or bronze associated with dates in the fourth millennium BCE, perhaps as early as 3600 BCE, seeming to confirm similar early dates for bronze working from the nearby site of Non Nok Tha. Such early dates suggested the possibility of an independent development of metallurgy in Southeast Asia. Because of the importance of the excavation at Ban Chiang as a milestone in Thai and Southeast Asian archaeology, the site was later placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Damrong Wong Uparaj (1936–2002)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Galloway
Keyword(s):  
Fine Arts ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Urban Scenes ◽  
British Council ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Art Practices ◽  
The University ◽  
Private Collections

Born in Chiang Rai, Thailand, Wong Uparaj studied Fine Arts at Silpakorn University. On completion of his degree in 1964 he received a British Council grant to study at the Slade School, London in 1964, and was later awarded a Rockefeller scholarship for an MA in Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, which he completed in 1969. Always interested in international art practices, Wong Uparaj traveled in Europe, India, Japan, and Australia, though Thailand was always his primary inspiration. Wong Uparaj’s works were fundamentally underpinned by his Buddhist beliefs and studying Buddhism helped him find peace in life and work. Following early experimentations with abstraction and Impressionism, he settled into a distinct realist style, creating rural and urban scenes from his own imagination that focused on a simple, almost idealized view of what life could be. There is a consistent sense of serenity and stillness in his compositions. This is balanced cleverly with his use of color, such as the inclusion of large areas of yellow, green, or blue in a number of works that, while bold, skillfully enhances the aura of calm. Wong Upararaj was a highly respected artist, working across a variety of media including tempera, acrylic, woodcut, pastel, watercolor, oil, and drawing. His works are well represented in public and private collections internationally.

‘Borderless’ Southeast Asia historiography: New scholarship on the interactions and exchanges between Southeast Asia and its South Asian and Chinese neighbours in the pre-1500 era

2011 ◽  
Vol 167 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-542
Author(s):  
Kenneth R. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Ohio University ◽  
Asian Studies ◽  
Southeast Asian Studies

Review of: Nola Cooke, Li Tana and James A. Anderson (eds), The Tongking Gulf through history. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, x + 223 pp. [Encounters with Asia Series.] ISBN 9780812243369. Price: USD 59.95 (hardback). Derek Heng, Sino-Malay trade and diplomacy from the tenth through the fourteenth century. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2009, xiii + 286 pp. [Research in International Studies, Southeast Asia Series 121.] ISBN 9780896802711. Price: USD 28.00 (paperback). Hermann Kulke, K. Kesavapany and Vijay Sakhuja (eds), Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009, xxv + 337 pp. [Nalanda-Sriwijaya Series.] ISBN 9789812509365, price: USD 39.90 (hardback); 9789812309372, USD 59.90 (paperback). Pierre-Yves Manguin, A. Mani and Geoff Wade (eds), Early interactions between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on cross-cultural exchange. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011, xxxi + 514 pp. [Nalanda-Sriwijaya Series.] ISBN 9789814345101, price USD 49.90 (paperback); 9789814311168, USD 59.90 (hardback). [India Hardcover Edition co-published with Manohar Publishers and Distributors, India.] Geoff Wade and Sun Laichen (eds), Southeast Asia in the fifteenth century: The China factor. Singapore: NUS Press; Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010, xii + 508 pp. ISBN 9789971694487. Price: USD 32.00.

The Development of Metallurgy in Southeast Asia: Reply to Loofs-Wissowa

1983 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donn Bayard ◽  
Pisit Charoenwongsa
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Southeast Asians ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media ◽  
Early Metallurgy

We find this a most curious attack, both in tone and in substance; Loofs-Wissowa appears to believe that we, Solheim, Gorman, and the media have been engaged in a conspiracy to cloud the minds of Westerners and Southeast Asians alike on the origins of metallurgy in the region. Loofs-Wissowa evidently feels that Southeast Asian laymen view this question as equal in importance to contemporary issues there (which is of course not the case). He also believes that it is the most burning issue in archaeology since Piltdown or Glozel, splitting the profession into “Believers” in the “long dates” and “Non Believers”. This is again rather an exaggeration; we would estimate the “Believers” to number not more than a few hundred, while the “Non Believers” may be counted on the fingers of one hand (Marschall, Sørensen, Sieveking, and of course Loofs-Wissowa himself). The remainder of the archaeological world (i.e., over 90%) has other questions to occupy it. However, Loofs-Wissowa is certainly correct in pointing out the attention paid to the question of early metallurgy over the past few years, and we welcome this opportunity to counter his arguments and distinguish between our views and those published by the media. This may best be done by first pointing out errors of omission in the facts presented by Loofs-Wissowa, by examining basic errors in his conceptual framework, and finally by answering the three specific questions he poses.

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