| Abstract: |
The excavations at Ban Chiang have opened a new chapter in our understanding of Southeast Asian prehistory, not only because of the richness of the material culture, but also because of the wealth of data on the environment and economy. Over five millennia of human occupation on the Khorat Plateau have transformed the landscape. Plant and animal communities as well as the flow of water and even the nature of some soils bear little resemblance to the situation when prehistoric man first settled there. Some species are now locally extinct, others have been successively introduced. Natural marshland has been converted to rice fields, and extensive tracts of woodland have been cut down.
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