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The Archaeology of Singapore

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Abstract

Singapore (known as Temasek in fourteenth-century sources) was formed around 1300. The majority of the population was probably Malay, but Chinese were residing there by the 1330s. Archaeology has revealed traces of a prosperous trading settlement, which had to pay tribute to both Majapahit in Java and Ayutthaya in Thailand. The settlement covered about 85 ha, with a royal palace on a hill overlooking the Singapore River estuary. The most numerous artifacts are sherds of Malay-style earthenware and Chinese porcelain and stoneware. In addition to commerce, the population pursued various small-scale industries. The settlement was abandoned around 1600.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    John N. Miksic

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  1. John N. Miksic
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Correspondence to John N. Miksic .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

    Junko Habu

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Peter V. Lape

  3. School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    John W. Olsen

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Miksic, J.N. (2017). The Archaeology of Singapore. In: Habu, J., Lape, P., Olsen, J. (eds) Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6521-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6521-2_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6519-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6521-2

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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