Abstract
Ancient seeds from archaeological sites can provide clues that are crucial for understanding and characterizing subsistence strategies. This in turn contributes to our understanding of, and explanations for, the relationship between socioeconomic systems and organization of craft production. This article will examine the relationship between rice and millets at three prehistoric sites from a regional copper-producing center in central Thailand to provide new insights into the subsistence strategy of these communities and to better understand the relationship between these crops and their introduction and use in Southeast Asia.
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Notes
For new and closely related evidence from Lopburi Regional Archaeology Project excavations at the sites in Khao Sai On near the modern town of Lopburi, see Ciarla (2007, 2008). The archaeobotanical remains from these excavations are being studied by Cristina Castillo, Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
For a preliminary review of the issues surrounding the complex nature of the chronological revision of the KWP Valley sequence, see Pryce (2008). A more definitive statement on valley chronology was presented at the meetings of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association in Hanoi, Vietnam, in December 2009 (Rispoli et al. 2009). The Hanoi paper is currently in preparation for publication and was not available to the authors.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank TAP codirectors Vincent C. Pigott and Surapol Natapintu, as well as Fiorella Rispoli and Roberto Ciarla (Lopburi Regional Archaeology Project) and the entire TAP team, for excavating the sites, helping collect soil samples, and supporting our archaeobotanical studies. We would like to especially thank Vincent Pigott for his time and effort in making valuable suggestions during the writing of this article. TAP research had the support of the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The Research Institute for Humanity and Nature helped support the archaeobotanical analysis, including the AMS dating. We would also like to acknowledge Yo-Ichiro Sato (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature) and Ryuji Ishikawa (at Hirosaki University). We benefited greatly from our discussions and their detailed knowledge and interest in early agriculture in Southeast Asia. Finally, we would like to recognize Juliet Amos and all our laboratory students who put time and energy into the analysis and interpretation of the TAP data.
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Weber, S., Lehman, H., Barela, T. et al. Rice or millets: early farming strategies in prehistoric central Thailand. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 2, 79–88 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-010-0030-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-010-0030-3