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Late prehistoric archaeological research in Myanmar is in a phase of rapid expansion. Recent work by the Mission Archeologique Francaise au Myanmar aims to establish a reliable Neolithic to Iron Age culture-historical sequence, which can then be compared to surrounding regions of Southeast Asia. Excavations at Nyaung'gan and Oakaie in central Myanmar have provided 52 new AMS dates, which allow the creation of Myanmars first reliable prehistoric radiometric chronology. They have also identified the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition in central Myanmar, which is of critical importance in understanding long-range interactions at the national, regional and inter-regional level. This research provides the first significant step towards placing late prehistoric Myanmar in its global context. Keywords: Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Late Neolithic, Bronze Age, Introduction Myanmars location makes it pivotal to tracing cultural, genetic, linguistic and technological links between South, East and Southeast Asia. Investigations of its prehistory, however, are in their infancy, with [...]

Plant macrofossils from the sites of Khao Sam Kaeo and Phu Khao Thong on the Thai-Malay Peninsula show evidence of cross-cultural interactions, particularly between India to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. Archaeobotanical analysis of various cereals, beans and other crops from these assemblages sheds light on the spread and adoption of these species for local agriculture. There is also early evidence for the trade of key commodities such as cotton. The plant remains illustrate a variety of influences and networks of contact across South and Southeast Asia during the late first millennium BC. Keywords: Southeast Asia, Silk Route, first millennium BC, archaeobotany, cereals, pulses, entrepot, trade, Introduction Exchange routes and coastal sites that form part of a trade network have been the subject of much academic scholarship, especially those pertaining to the Indo-Roman trade (Miller 1969; [...]

The author shows how technical studies of beads made of agate and carnelian are informative indicators of social conditions and contacts between regions. The beads in question throw new light on the relations between India and South-east Asia in the first millennium BC. Keywords: Iron Age, South-east Asia, acculturation, diffusion, Indianisation., The Indianisation of the east--a changing concept A major task for archaeological and anthropological research is to reconstruct and understand patterns of cultural exchange. For more than a century, the [...]