| Abstract: |
This thesis explores the diversity of late prehistoric West-Central Thailand as part of the dynamic social development in Southeast Asia. During that period the societies witnessed significant changes in socio-economics, adopting foreign cultures and new technologies and enjoyed prosperous trade. Certain societies developed ultimately into states. Long-distance trade is generally considered to be the mechanism of the social transformation. The stimulus from long-distance trade alone, however, is not sufficient to explain the emergence of the early states because not all societies associated with long-distance trade evolved beyond chiefdoms. A model adopted from Tourtellot and Sabloffs (1972), proposing that environmental condition and exchange patterns related to the socio-economic development, is considered to be applicable to the development of the secondary states in Southeast Asia. This research examines the environmental and cultural landscapes of Metal Age West-Central Thailand to test the model. It may be true that the speed of the development of social complexity can be undermined by a fortunate environment because economic monopolies hardly occur. However, state societies have been identified in Southeast Asia at least since the second century AD and they appear to have emerged rather rapidly from the last few centuries BC. Hence it can be said that the advantage of having a rich environment may also have contributed in the development of social complexity. This thesis demonstrates that the environment has had a major contributory role in the development of the secondary states in Southeast Asia. Field surveys and test excavations were undertaken in the areas of the archaeological sites concentrations, U-Thong and Chom Bueng. The results contribute to the understanding of the settlement patterns and the relationships among archaeological sites in the region as well as their role in the international context.
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