| Abstract: |
Khuan Lukpad, a site of the mid-first millennium A.D. in Southern Thailand, appears to be an industrial centre that specialised in the working of tin, semi-precious stone and glass. As such, the site is unique in Southeast Asia. No other early site in the region shows evidence for such a diversity of technologically advanced manufacturing processes. Why these should have developed where they did, in an isolated and thinly populated area, constitutes an important archaeological problem. The glass working techniques used at Khuan Lukpad are of particular interest in that they represent the earliest example of that technology yet known in Southeast Asia. The numerous glass beads found there promise to become important chronological markers for other Southeast Asian sites. Although the technical study of these beads has barely begun, they seem to be distinctive in several ways, including their mode of manufacture.
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