The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia

From 10,000 B.C. To The Fall Of Angkor

by Charles Higham

Cambridge University Press, 1991, illustrated with maps, black & white photographs and other illustrations, paperback, ISBN 0521275253

Fine, Like New Copy, a very slight discoloration to pages (shelf-wear)

'This important new synthesis focuses on the social world of early mainland Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos and adjacent areas.  The book begins when the area was occupied 12,000 years ago by hunters and gatherers.  The author stresses the importance of sedentism and domestication.  These encouraged the spread of coastal communities into the interior valleys.  Particular relevance is seen in the exchange of valuables, including bronze, as symbols of status.  The origins of civilization, for long assumed to result from Indian expansion in the region, are seen as rooted in local changes, along with the selective adoption of Indian religious and political ideas within coastal chiefdoms.  In bridging the gap between prehistory and history, this book will appeal not only to archaeologists but to those interested in the general history, culture and arts of Asia.'