South-East Asian Archaeology: Island and Mainland South-East Asian Cultures

 Topics: 1. Introducing South east Asia as a complex geographical entity—Mainland and Island South east Asia--diverse cultural history—the importance of studying South east Asia from a South Asian perspective, a brief historiography—the role of Greater Indian Society. 2. The prehistoric profile of Mainland and Island South east Asia—Hominin settlement, chronology and distribution of Homo erectus sites in Java, Sangiran, Trinil, etc—northern Thailand—northern Vietnam-Malaysia. The status of Homo floresiensis as seen from remains in the island of Flores, Java—Denisovan genes in South east Asian population? The presence of Anatomically Modern Humans, skeletal remains and associated archaeological assemblages 3. The beginnings of Neolithic, old debates and new questions—recent studies in Khorat Plateau of Northeast Thailand, the site of Ban Non Wat—the Chao Phraya plains. The coming of Bronze age—archaeological evidence from Khorat Plateau, Thailand; Central Thailand; Northern Vietnam; the Lower Mekong Valley and its hinterland; Central and coastal Vietnam—mortuary remains and social implications—discussion on subsistence, social structure—a chiefdom form of polity? 4. The dawn of Iron age in South east Asia—archaeological pointers to early interactions between Indian coast and South east Asia—the Dong Son Chiefdoms— Problems and prospect of seeing Chiefdom from archaeological evidence—case study, Sa Huynh culture of Central and Southern Vietnam—Chiefdoms and ‘Indianization’ in Mainland Thailand and Central Vietnam—polities in the Lower Mekong Valley, Angkor Borei in Cambodia, Oc Eo in Vietnam--precursors to State formation? Other archaeological evidence from northwest Cambodia, Thorat Plateau, Laos 5. State formation in Mainland and island South east Asia, debates—Classen and Skalnik; Wittfogel’s model; Marxian theories; Heine-Geldern’s thesis of religious basis of early state and kingship; Trade as a trigger in state formation, Glover, Hall; impact of ‘Indianization’ and its protagonists; Reaction to this, J.C.Van Leur; Herman Kulke’s ‘convergence’ thesis; Negara and Mandala theories of state formation; archaeological studies 6. Case studies—Chenla in Mekong valley; the later Angkorean state. 7. The Champa polity in central and Southern Vietnam 8. Dvaravati in Central Thailand 9. The Island states—Srivijaya 10. The issue of connectivity, Early India and South east Asia—the present status.

Select Readings:

Dennell, Robin. 2008. The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge World Archaeology: Cambridge. Brumm, Adam and Mark W.Moore. 2012. Biface Distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective. Research Online. Roy Larick and Russell L. Ciochon.2015. Early Hominin Biogeography in Island Southeast Asia. Evolutionary Anthropology 24:185–213