Wednesday Rojak #28

New museums, Hobbit commentaries and views of some of Southeast Asia’s archaeological sites - all this for today’s edition of rojak!

After last week’s controversial claim that the Hobbit had been to the dentist (see here, here and here), John Hawks weighs in on the weaknesses of the claim
One of the most influential scientific works of all time are online - check out the Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online
Jiewa writes about the Majapahit Heritage Trail in Trowulan (in Indonesian)
With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opening next month, this podcast looks at the cultural effects of our favourite archaeologist-adventurer on the field of archaeology. Check out Indiana Jones: Saving History or Stealing It?
Anyone interested in Silat, or the Malay form of martial arts might be interested in Silat Mekayu The Blog
Steven Vincent poses the question, Do antique dealers preserve the past or steal it?
There’s a new museum in Singapore - The Peranakan Museum opened last weekend and is dedicated to a special Southeast Asian subculture called the Peranakans, who were descended from the early Chinese settlers who married with local Malays and created a unique synthesis of both cultures. Eastcoastlife blogs about the ongoing opening festival
On an official trip for the Networking of ASEAN Cultural Heritage, Walter visits the Sukhothai Historic Park
The Preah Vihear dispute between Cambodia and Thailand has been getting a lot of news lately, and Khmer blogger Sovannaphume shows us some old photos of Preah Vihear and how the border has been affected
Richard Barrow blogs about the new Museum of Siam