scholarly journals DATING THE BRONZE AGE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA. WHY DOES IT MATTER?

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Franklin Higham ◽  
Thomas Franklin Higham ◽  
Katerina Douka
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Rice Grains ◽  
Key Sites ◽  
Ban Chiang ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Mainland Southeast Asia

<p class="BasicParagraph"><em>We have dated human bone, freshwater shell, charcoal and rice grains from key sites in mainland Southeast Asia in order to establish the chronological scaffolding for later prehistory (ca 2500 BC-AD 500). In a recent report on the metal remains from the site of Ban Chiang, however, this chronology has been challenged. Here, we respond to these claims and show that they are unfounded and misleading. We maintain the integrity of the Bayesian-modelled radiocarbon results that identify the arrival of the first rice and millet farmers in mainland Southeast Asia towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC, with the first evidence for the casting of bronze by about 1100 BC. Social change that followed the establishment of metallurgy was rapid and profound.  </em></p>

scholarly journals The Biocultural Context of Dental Modification in Prehistoric Southeast Asia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Newton ◽  
Kate Domett
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Mainland Southeast Asia ◽  
Regional Perspective

This chapter synthesizes documented evidence of intentional dental modification in prehistoric mainland Southeast Asia. Through previously published work, potential reasons for the practice of ablation and filing are explored, examining archaeological sites spanning the Neolithic to late Iron Age. Cases of intentional ablation have been documented throughout prehistoric Southeast Asia, however, evidence to date indicates cases have been limited to Neolithic and Iron Age sites with only four tentative cases of intentional ablation in the Bronze Age. The increasing number of samples from newly documented sites in Cambodia, including the first evidence of filing in this region, and previously documented evidence from other parts of Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam, allows the opportunity to systematically examine ablation and filing patterns from a regional perspective and put it into worldwide context.

scholarly journals THE CHRONOLOGY AND STATUS OF NON NOK THA, NORTHEAST THAILAND

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Franklin Higham ◽  
Thomas F. G. Higham ◽  
Katerina Douka
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Northeast Thailand ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
First Time ◽  
Bronze Casting ◽  
Ban Chiang ◽  
The Bronze Age

<p> </p> <p><em>Excavations at Non Nok Tha, in Northeast Thailand in 1965-1968 revealed for the first time in Southeast Asia, a stratigraphic transition from the Neolithic into the Bronze Age. Based on conventional charcoal radiocarbon determinations, early reports identified fourth millennium bronze casting. The proposed length of the prehistoric sequence, and the division of the Neolithic to Bronze age mortuary sequence into at least 11 phases, has stimulated a series of social interpretations all of which have in common, a social order based on ascriptive ranking into at least two groups which saw increased hierarchical divisions emerge with the initial Bronze Age. This paper presents the results of a new dating initiative, based on the ultrafiltration of human bones. The results indicate that the initial Neolithic occupation took place during the 14th century BC. The earliest Bronze Age has been placed in the 10th centuries BC. These dates are virtually identical with those obtained for the sites of Ban Chiang and Ban Non Wat. Compared with the elite early Bronze Age graves of Ban Non Wat, Non Nok Tha burials display little evidence for significant divisions in society.</em></p>

The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia: New Insight on Social Change from Ban Non Wat

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Higham
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Copper Base ◽  
French Colonial ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Bronze Age

The expansion of copper-base metallurgy in the mainland of Eurasia began in the Near East and ended in Southeast Asia. The recognition of this Southeast Asian metallurgical province followed in the wake of French colonial occupation of Cambodia and Laos in the nineteenth century. Subsequently, most research has concentrated in Thailand, beginning in the 1960s. A sound chronology is the prerequisite to identifying both the origins of the Bronze Age, and the social impact that metallurgy may have had on society. This article presents the revolutionary results of excavations at the site of Ban Non Wat in northeast Thailand within the broader cultural context of Southeast Asian prehistory, concluding that the adoption of copper-base metallurgy from the eleventh century BC coincided with the rise of wealthy social aggrandizers.

Debating a great site: Ban Non Wat and the wider prehistory of Southeast Asia

Antiquity ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (347) ◽  
pp. 1211-1220 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F.W. Higham
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
The Other ◽  
Rice Farming ◽  
Copper Base ◽  
The Past ◽  
North East ◽  
Key Sites ◽  
Bronze Casting

Almost half a century has elapsed since the first area excavation of a prehistoric site in north-east Thailand at Non Nok Tha (Bayard & Solheim 2010) (Figure 1). A long and still unresolved debate has ensued, centred on the chronology of the establishment of rice farming and bronze casting, that has dovetailed with further controversies on the pace and nature of social change. Results obtained during the past 20 years of fieldwork focused on the upper Mun Valley of north-east Thailand, together with a new series of AMS radiocarbon determinations from key sites, have thrown into sharp relief contrasting interpretations of two issues: one centres on the timing and origin of the Neolithic settlement; the other on the date and impact of copper-base metallurgy. A consensus through debate would bring us to a tipping point that would see Southeast Asian prehistory turn to more interesting issues of cultural change.

Bridging the time gap in the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia and Southwest China

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 100189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Yao ◽  
Valentín Darré ◽  
Jiang Zhilong ◽  
Wengcheong Lam ◽  
Yang Wei
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Southwest China ◽  
Time Gap ◽  
The Bronze Age

Subsistence and social change in central Eurasia: stable isotope analysis of populations spanning the Bronze Age transition

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 525-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Ventresca Miller ◽  
Emma Usmanova ◽  
Viktor Logvin ◽  
Saule Kalieva ◽  
Irina Shevnina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Central Eurasia ◽  
The Bronze Age

scholarly journals The Prevailing Art and Tradition of Intentional Dental Modification in Prehistoric Southeast Asia | Ang Namamayaning Sining at Tradisyon ng Intensyonal na Modipikasyon ng Ngipin sa Sinaunang Timog-Silangang Asya

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kathryn N. Purnell ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Data Representation ◽  
Body Modification ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rite Of Passage ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
The Bronze Age

Since prehistoric times, humans have changed select characteristics of their bodies, such as tattooing, hair-dyeing, cranial and feet deforming, and teeth modifying. Teeth are some of the most well-preserved remains in the archaeological record, with which we can study past cultural and ritualistic beliefs. Previous publications on dental modifications in Southeast Asia are mostly limited to the mainland, thus this paper reviews modifications observed in prehistoric sites across Southeast Asia, identifying common techniques and motivations. Findings show occurrence of dental ablation, filing, plating, and coloration, which began in the Neolithic, disappeared in the Bronze Age, but reappeared in the Iron Age, although the absence may be due to sampling shortage. Modifications have been associated to aestheticism, group identity, rite of passage, practicality, and medical benefit, but whether these all ring true remains uncertain. It is recommended that future research expand scope for better data representation, analyze modifications with context of community profiles, and investigate the significance of migration in the prevalence of certain techniques and patterns as part of understanding the cultural aspects of past humans’ lives, and assess the cultural (dis)continuity of these traditions into modern-day forms of body modification, art, healing, self-expression, and identity. Magmula sinaunang panahon, maitatala ang mga pagbabagong pisikal sa katawan, tulad ng pagtatato, pagkukulay ng buhok, at pag-iiba-anyo ng ulo, paa, at ngipin. Nabibilang ang ngipin sa mga lubos na napepreserbang artepakto sa arkiyoloji, at sa gayo’y magagamit pang-aral ng mga nakalipas na kultura at ritwal. Kasalukuyang limitado sa mainland ng Timog-Silangang Asya ang saliksik sa intensyonal na modipikasyon ng ngipin, kaya tatalakayin dito ang mga sinaunang modipikasyong nabanggit sa buong rehiyon, at tutukuyin ang pagkakatulad sa mga teknik at motibasyon. Nagsimula ang paglaganap ng sadyang pagtatanggal, pagliliha, pagkakalupkop, at pagkukulay ng ngipin noong Panahong Neolitiko, naglaho noong Panahong Tanso, at bumalik muli pagsapit ng Panahong Bakal, ngunit maaaring iukol ang paglaho sa kakulangan ng datos. Hindi pa tiyak, pero pwedeng ang mga modipkasyon sa estetisismo, pakikisama, pagriritwal, praktikalidad, at benepisyong-medikal. Inirerekomendang palawakin sa susunod na saliksik ang sakop para sa mas mabuting representasyon ng datos, suriin ang mga modipikasyon sa konteksto ng komunidad, at imbestigahan ang kahalagahan ng migrasyon sa paglaganap ng mga partikular na teknik at padron habang inuunawa ang mga aspetong kultural ng sinaunang panahon, at tasahan ang pagpapatuloy (o hindi) ng mga tradisyong nabanggit sa kasalukuyang modipikasyon ng katawan, sining, paggagamot, pagpapahayag ng sarili, at identidad.

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