• 🏺 CAVES, COMMUNITIES AND CULTURAL MEMORY⠀ ⠀ An archaeological site doesn’t stop changing once the excavation ends.⠀ ⠀ This week, we look at Ban Chiang through the memories of the people who live there, and at Sri Mahosot, where an ancient landscape remains part of contemporary worship and community identity.⠀ ⠀ Also this week:⠀ ⠀ 🇵🇭 Rescue archaeology at a cave in Romblon⠀ 🇮🇩 A possible Kadiri-era site in East Java⠀ 🇻🇳 A new forest-and-heritage trail at Mỹ Sơn⠀ 🇰🇭 Angkorian Buddhist sculpture⠀ 📢 SPAFACON 2027 call for abstracts⠀ 💼 New archaeology and heritage jobs⠀ 💰 Grants, fellowships and PhD opportunities⠀ ⠀ …plus archaeology and heritage stories from across Southeast Asia.⠀ ⠀ Caves, Communities and Cultural Memory⠀ Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsletter | 21–27 September 2026⠀ ⠀ 🔗 Link in bio / southeastasianarchaeology.substack.com⠀ ⠀ #Archaeology #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #SoutheastAsia
  • One river in northern Vietnam has yielded a remarkable record of more than 2,000 years of boatbuilding. From the bed of the Kinh Thầy River at Cầu Bình, researchers documented 23 boat remains, including eight virtually complete logboat hulls and fragments of bows, sterns and planks. Radiocarbon dates place most of them between roughly 700 BCE and 1500 CE. Many hulls showed signs of sophisticated work beyond simply hollowing out a tree trunk. The hulls could be widened during manufacture, while wooden thwarts or bulkheads helped maintain their expanded shape. Some boats also carried additional boards along their upper edges, attached through holes with fibre lashings. Around 2,000 years ago, during the late Đông Sơn and Han periods, several examples reveal another solution: mortise-and-tenon joints locked with wooden dowels. One boat even combined these joints with lashing holes. In later centuries, other Cầu Bình boats were built without this particular system. This shows that over 2,200 years, boatbuilders used, combined and abandoned different solutions while continuing a long tradition of wooden river craft in the northern Red River Delta. Reference Bellwood, Nguyễn, , Lê, Hung, & Calo. 2026. “A 2,200-Year Logboat Sequence (700 BCE–1500 CE) from the Northern Red River Delta, Vietnam.” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. DOI: 10.1080/10572414.2026.2717219 #VietnamArchaeology #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #MaritimeArchaeology #NauticalArchaeology #RedRiverDelta
  • 🏺 Palaces, Pots and Porcelain⠀ ⠀ Xin Chào! 🇻🇳 It’s a very Vietnam-heavy week in Southeast Asian archaeology: imperial palaces, ceremonial architecture, ancient brick tombs, early tile kilns, Cham heritage and the return of a Đông Sơn bronze drum.⠀ ⠀ 🔬 New research from Malaysia finds molecular evidence for dairy processing around 3,000 years ago.⠀ ⠀ 🏺 And in the Philippines, some very unusual earthenware decorated with fragments of Chinese porcelain tells a story about Manila, material culture and the early colonial encounter.⠀ ⠀ There’s plenty more from around Southeast Asia in this week’s newsletter.⠀ ⠀ Palaces, Pots and Porcelain — read via the link in bio.⠀ ⠀ #Archaeology #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #VietnamArchaeology #MalaysiaArchaeology #PhilippineArchaeology
  • A 4.38-metre-long wooden rudder from the west coast of Sumatra is providing a rare glimpse of Southeast Asian seafaring around 1,300 years ago. The rudder was recovered at the Bongal Site in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Today the site lies inland, but geomorphological research suggests that in the 7th–8th centuries CE it was part of a shallow bay or estuarine environment. The quarter rudder was carved from a single log and measures 4.38 metres long. Radiocarbon dating of the wood produced a calibrated date of 656–687 CE, making it the earliest securely dated rudder currently known from Southeast Asia. Researchers also documented hull planks with raised wooden lugs, dowels and surviving palm-fibre ropes. These suggest that parts of these boats were pegged and tied together—a construction method archaeologists call the Southeast Asian lashed-lug tradition. Differences between the surviving planks even suggest that several vessels may have been present. Bongal also produced ceramics, glass, beads and coins pointing to connections with much wider exchange networks. The researchers do not argue that the Bongal boats themselves were making long-distance voyages across the Indian Ocean, but propose that locally constructed vessels formed part of a regional maritime network, moving through rivers and along Sumatra’s coast and connecting communities there to broader systems of exchange. Reference Mochtar et al. 2026. “Lashed-Lug Boats from the Bongal Site: New Evidence for Early Maritime Networks on the West Coast of Sumatra.” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 10.1080/10572414.2026.2714901 #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Indonesia #Sumatra #MaritimeArchaeology #NauticalArchaeology
  • Betel, Boats and Border Stones is this week’s Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsletter.⠀ ⠀ This issue starts with a fascinating new paper on ancient teeth from South Sulawesi, where unusual dental wear may point to the habitual sucking of whole areca nuts by pre-agricultural foragers.⠀ ⠀ Then we move from teeth to timbers: lashed-lug boat remains from Bongal on Sumatra’s west coast, including a 7th-century quarter rudder, add new detail to Southeast Asia’s early maritime networks.⠀ ⠀ And yes, there are more boats: Phanom Surin in Thailand and the Butuan boat sites in the Philippines both make appearances this week.⠀ ⠀ Plus: Preah Vihear, Koh Ker, Prambanan, Đông Sơn drums, repatriation, digital heritage, and more.⠀ ⠀ Read the full issue at the link in bio.⠀ ⠀ #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Archaeology #MaritimeArchaeology
  • People in Sulawesi may have been habitually using a neuroactive plant as far back as 25,000–16,000 years ago. A new study in Science Advances examines two preagricultural foragers from South Sulawesi, Indonesia, separated by thousands of years but sharing an unusual dental pattern: deep, rounded, circumferential wear that does not match ordinary chewing. The researchers argue that the wear formed through repeatedly holding, sucking or gently gnawing a small, hard object in different parts of the mouth. Using LC-MS, the team detected arecoline—a characteristic alkaloid of areca, or “betel”, nut—in dental samples from both individuals. One came from Leang Bulu Bettue and dates to 25–16 ka; the other, from Leang Cappalombo 1, is associated with deposits dating to around 7.6–6.3 ka. This was probably not betel chewing in the form familiar today. Modern betel quid typically combines processed areca nut with slaked lime and other ingredients. To test whether a simpler practice was plausible, the researchers soaked intact areca nuts and applied the resulting solutions to cells expressing human receptors. The experiments showed that intact nuts could release physiologically active arecoline without slaked lime. Combined with the dental wear, chemical residues and experiments support the authors’ interpretation that these foragers habitually sucked whole areca nuts. For now, the sample is just two individuals, and psuggestions that the nuts were used for stimulation, pain relief or medicinal purposes remain hypotheses. What the study does show is that habitual neuroactive plant use may reach far deeper into the hunter-gatherer past than the archaeological record had previously demonstrated. Reference Brumm et al. 2026. “Betel nut sucking is the earliest recorded evidence for the habitual use of a neuroactive plant drug.” Science Advances. 10.1126/sciadv.aei1901 #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Sulawesi #IndonesiaArchaeology #Prehistory #BetelNut
  • Twenty-two small beads can preserve the traces of a much larger world of movement and exchange. A new archaeometric study examines beads excavated in 2023 at Khok Phithak, within the ancient city of Khu Bua in Ratchaburi, central Thailand. Khu Bua was an important urban centre associated with the Dvaravatī cultural sphere, enclosed by earthen ramparts and moats and situated within the Mae Klong river system. The researchers analysed 21 glass beads and one chalcedony/agate bead, combining microscopic observations with VP-SEM-EDS, LA-ICP-MS and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Manufacturing traces—including axial colour streaks and elongated bubbles—indicate that most of the glass beads were made by drawing glass into tubes or canes before cutting them into individual beads. Their chemistry indicates that nineteen beads belong to the m-Na-Al-1 glass subgroup, consistent with glassmaking traditions documented in South Asia, particularly the wider technological sphere of southern India and Sri Lanka. Together with their manufacturing technique, the authors associate these beads with the large-scale Indo-Pacific beadmaking tradition. However, one blue bead, B014, is made from plant-ash soda–lime glass with a broad western Asian affinity—although the study cannot identify a specific production centre. Another remarkable bead, B007, appears to have been wound from recycled iron-smelting slag, suggesting an entirely different production history. Rather than evidence for primary glassmaking at Khu Bua itself, the authors interpret the assemblage as reflecting an inland centre of consumption and possibly redistribution, connected through maritime and riverine networks to much wider systems of Indian Ocean exchange. Reference Risteka et al. 2026. “Production Technology and Provenance of Dvaravatī Glass Beads from Khu Bua, Central Thailand: An Archaeometric Study.” Heritage 9, 347. 10.3390/heritage9090347 #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #ThailandArchaeology #Dvaravati #KhuBua #ancienttrade
  • Small finds, big stories this week.⠀ ⠀ The latest Southeast Asian Archaeology newsletter focuses on Thailand, with newly reported rock art, worrying news of looting, and two new papers showing what archaeological science can reveal from humble materials.⠀ ⠀ One study looks at prehistoric pottery from Don Up Mung in Nong Bua Lamphu, tracing differences in clay composition, firing and production choices. Another follows glass beads from Khu Bua in Ratchaburi into the wider world of South Asian glassmaking and Indian Ocean exchange.⠀ ⠀ Also: a LOT of opportunities this week — jobs, scholarships, courses and calls for papers.⠀ ⠀ Link in bio⠀ ⠀ #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Archaeology #CulturalHeritage #ArchaeologicalScience
  • Can inscriptions help reconstruct how a kingdom expanded across a landscape? King Citrasena (Chitrasen, later known as Mahendravarman) ruled Chenla in the late 6th to early 7th centuries, during a period when Chenla’s influence was extending across parts of what are now Cambodia, Laos and northeastern Thailand. His reign is known partly through inscriptions recording religious foundations, royal achievements and other acts of authority. Pailoplee and Khatshima map 21 inscriptions from at least 19 locations associated with Citrasena, and asked if people were moving between these places, which routes would they have taken? To explore this, they use Least Cost Path (LCP) modelling in a GIS. LCP calculates routes that minimise the “cost” of movement across terrain. In archaeology, this can help identify plausible corridors shaped by features such as slopes, river valleys and mountain barriers. These models show how movement could have been structured by the landscape under the assumptions of the model. Across several scenarios, the reconstructed paths repeatedly concentrate around major river systems—especially the Mun River—and particular passes through the Phnom Dong Rek (Dangrek) mountain range. The authors also compare the modelled network with archaeological sites attributed to Citrasena’s period, many of which fall along these reconstructed corridors. Where river navigation would have been difficult (such as the Khone Phapheng Falls), the authors propose that Citrasena’s forces may instead have moved overland along riverbanks, using waterways as natural guides through the landscape. The placement of several inscriptions near river confluences also suggests that these locations may have been important for controlling movement, communication and exchange, not simply access to water. Reference Pailoplee, S. & Khatshima, K. 2026. “The role of King Chitrasen (Mahendravarman) in the expansion of the Chenla Kingdom: A study of inscriptions and historical geography.” Social Sciences & Humanities Open 14, 103503. 10.1016/j.ssaho.2026.103503 #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Cambodia #Thailand #Laos #Chenla
  • Sometimes the biggest archaeological questions depend on evidence we cannot see during excavation. Microarchaeology investigates archaeological deposits at microscopic and microstratigraphic scales. In Southeast Asia, this can be especially valuable because monsoonal wetness, tropical weathering, intensive land use and complex depositional histories can affect how archaeological evidence survives. Researchers can examine the surrounding sediment for traces of past activity and later disturbance. Methods discussed in this new paper include sediment micromorphology, laboratory micro-excavation, high-resolution imaging, FTIR microscopy and SEM-EDS. Depending on the context, microscopic evidence can help identify burning, trampling, plant processing, sediment movement and environmental change. The importance of that context is illustrated by work in northern Laos. At Tam Ngu Hao 2, microstratigraphy was used alongside lithological observations and dating to establish the stratigraphic context of Denisovan fossil evidence. At Tam Pà Ling, it has shown potential for investigating environmental seasonality and possible patterns of early modern human presence. These methods help archaeologists understand what happened to a deposit before drawing conclusions from what it contains. The paper also introduces the Australian Microarchaeology and Palaeosciences Facility (AusMAP) and argues for greater collaboration, training and locally based microarchaeological expertise across Southeast Asia. Reference: Hernandez et al. 2026. Scaling down to look further back: Southeast Asia, deep-time science and microarchaeology. SPAFA Journal 10. 10.26721/spafajournal.651369a4y8 #SoutheastAsianArchaeology #Archaeology #Microarchaeology #Geoarchaeology #ArchaeologicalScience
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The most influential books on Southeast Asian Archaeology (a crowdsourced list)

27 August 2018
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The most influential books on Southeast Asian Archaeology (a crowdsourced list)

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This list about the most influential books on Southeast Asian archaeology originated with a paper I am preparing for the conference on Decolonising Southeast Asia’s Past. Very simply put, I am trying to understand if there is a difference in archaeological sources in English, compared to what is written in a non-English language (eg. Thai, Myanma, Bahasa). Part of this work was inspired by my experiences with rock art and the difference between what was written in English and what I could find in other languages. For example, the 2001 Handbook of Rock Art Research summarises Southeast Asia in three pages and mentions the presence of about 120 sites – of which only five are named. In contrast, my ongoing research has identified 1,200 sites (see here and here) by incorporating data from non-English sources and papers from less prominent journals. Perhaps once I have my thoughts sorted out I will share it in another post. To understand this disparity better, I put out an informal survey to ask about the most influential books about the archaeology of Southeast Asia:

Crowdsourcing the Most Influential Books on Southeats Asian Archaeology
Crowdsourcing the Most Influential Books on Southeast Asian Archaeology

This is by no means a scientific survey, but the majority of respondents in my network were archaeologists working in Southeast Asia. While it is not comprehensive, I think there is a good breadth of what is considered to be the  ‘classic’ books on Southeast Asian archaeology. A few books were recommended more than once (notably Southeast Asia from Prehistory to History by Bellwood and Glover).

This list is organised by region, then country (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) and then by thematic subject. Some suggestions that were not directly relevant to Southeast Asia were omitted. I’ve also included links to Amazon and/or the publisher if they are available for purchase (Disclosure: I make a commission if you buy the books through the Amazon links below). I’ll update this list regularly, so if you have a suggestion for other books leave a comment below.


Regional Interest


  • Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History (2004)
    Peter Bellwood and Ian Glover | Routledge | 9780415391177
    Bur from Amazon.com: Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History

  • First Islanders: Prehistory and Human Migration in Island Southeast Asia (2017)
    Peter Bellwood | Wiley-Blackwell | ISBN:9781119251552
    Buy from Amazon.com: First Islanders: Prehistory and Human Migration in Island Southeast Asia

  • Money, Markets, and Trade in Early Southeast Asia: The Development of Indigenous Monetary Systems to AD 1400 (1992)
    Robert S. Wicks | Southeast Asia Program Publications | ISBN:9780877277101
    Buy from Amazon.com: Money, Markets, and Trade in Early Southeast Asia: The Development of Indigenous Monetary Systems to AD 1400 (Studies on Southeast Asia)

  • Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries (1990)
    David G. Marr and A. C. Milner (Eds.) | Institute of Southeast Asian Studies | 978-9971988395
    Buy from Amazon.com: Southeast Asia in the 9th to 14th Centuries

  • Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era: Trade, Power, and Belief (1993)
    Anthony Reid | Cornell University Press | 9780801480935
    Buy from Amazon.com: Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era: Trade, Power, and Belief (Asia East by South)

  • The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (1996)
    Charles Higham | Cambridge University Press | 9780521565059
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia

  • Man’s conquest of the Pacific: The prehistory of Southeast Asia and Oceania (1979)
    Peter Bellwood | Oxford University Press | 9780195201031
    Buy from Amazon.com: Man’s conquest of the Pacific: The prehistory of Southeast Asia and Oceania

  • Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago (2011)
    Peter Bellwood | ANU E-press | 9781921313110
    My senior passed me a copy of Prof. Peter Bellwood’s “Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago” which inspired me to look into whether new data can be had from shell middens.
    Free download from ANU: Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago
    Buy from Amazon.com: Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago

  • India and South East Asia (1979)
    R. C. Majumdar | B.R. Publishing Corp
    Buy from Amazon.com: India and South East Asia

  • The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia (2010)
    James C. Scott | Yale University Press | 9780300169171
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia

Cambodia


  • Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkor Cambodia: The 7th-8th centuries (1998)
    Michael Vickery | The Center for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco | 9784896561104
    Buy from Amazon.com: Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkor Cambodia: The 7th-8th centuries

  • ‘Archaeologizing’ Heritage?: Transcultural Entanglements between Local Social Practices and Global Virtual Realities (2013)
    Michael Falser and Monica Juneja (Eds.) | Springer | 9783642358692
    Buy from Amazon.com: ‘Archaeologizing’ Heritage?: Transcultural Entanglements between Local Social Practices and Global Virtual Realities

Indonesia


  • Ancient Indonesian Art (1959)
    A. J. Bernet Kempers | Harvard University Press | 978-0674033504
    This is the “gateway drug” for Indonesian Archaeology. First year of college, memorizing the photographs in order to identify which archaeological sites we’re going to discuss/being questioned. That was part of the final test. So although we have never been to the sites, once we’re there, we can identify them. Pretty kewl.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Ancient Indonesian Art

  • Lobu Tua: Sejarah Awal Barus
    Claude Guillot
    Buy from Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia: Lobu Tua: Sejarah Awal Barus

  • Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas (2107)
    John N. Miksic | Tuttle Publishing | 9780804848565
    I read this in my middle school library as part of my book club when I was a kid, made me interested in archaeology
    Buy from Amazon.com: Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas

  • Hindoe-Javaansche Muziek-Instrumenten (1927) / Hindu- Javanese Musical Instruments (1968)
    Jaap Kunst | Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten an Wetenschappen (Dutch)
    Jaap Kunst’s “Hindoe-Javaansche Muziek-Instrumenten” (1927) translated into English as “Hindu- Javanese Musical Instruments” (1968). This book introduced me to the history, music archaeology of temples in Java, the inscriptions and the classical literature in Old Javanese and Old Balinese.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Hindoe-Javaansche Muziek-Instrumenten and Hindu- Javanese Musical Instruments
  • The Prahu
    The Prahu: Traditional Sailing Boat of Indonesia (1986)
    Adrian Horridge | Oxford University Press | 9780195826371
    [T]his one is ethnography, but a very good source if you’re into archaeology of traditional ships/boats in Indonesia and Southeast Asia..
    Buy from Amazon: The Prahu: Traditional Sailing Boat of Indonesia

  • Through Eugène Dubois’ eyes (2009)
    Vos Albers | Brill | 9789004183001
    Buy from Amazon: Through Eugène Dubois’ eyes

  • Menemukan peradaban: Jejak arkeologis dan historis Islam Indonesia (1998)
    Hasan Muarif Ambary | Logos Wacana Ilmu | 9789796260515
    Buy from Amazon: Menemukan peradaban: Jejak arkeologis dan historis Islam Indonesia

  • Studies in Indonesian Archaeology (1956)
    W.F. STUTTERHEIM | Martinus Nijhoff
    Buy from Amazon: Studies in Indonesian Archaeology

Laos


  • Voyage dans le Lao (multiple volumes) (1895-1897)
    Etienne Aymonier
    Excellent resource on the landscape & people of Isan prior to majority of Central Thai intrusion – for ethnographic archaeology.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Voyage dans le Lao

Malaysia


  • Archaeology in Malaysia (2003)
    Zuraina Majid | 978-9832514350
    Buy from Amazon.com: Archaeology in Malaysia

  • The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500 (1973)
    Paul Wheatley | Praeger | 9780837168081
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500
  • Arkeologi Bukit Tengkorak
    Arkeologi Bukit Tengkorak, Sabah (2015)
    Stephen Chia | USM Press | 9789838619110
    Buy from Karya USM: Arkeologi Bukit Tengkorak, Sabah

  • Mansuli Valley Lahad Datu, Sabah In The Prehistory of Southeast Asia [2017]
    Jeffrey Abdullah | USM Press | 9789674611354
    Buy from USM Press: Mansuli Valley Lahad Datu, Sabah In The Prehistory of Southeast Asia
  • Wood Coffin Burial of Kinabatangan, Sabah
    Wood Coffin Burial of Kinabatangan, Sabah [2013]
    Stephen Chia | USM Press | 9789838615938
    Buy from Karya USM: Wood Coffin Burial of Kinabatangan, Sabah
  • Keturunan Pemburu Pemungut Lanoh Terakhir di Malaysia
    Keturunan Pemburu Pemungut Lanoh Terakhir di Malaysia [2014]
    Hamid Mohd Isa | Penerbit USM | 9789838618205
    The Last Descendants of The Lanoh Hunter and Gatherers in Malaysia
    Buy from Karya USM: Keturunan Pemburu Pemungut Lanoh Terakhir di Malaysia

  • Perak Man and Other Prehistoric Skeletons of Malaysia [2005]
    Zuraina Majid (Ed.) | USM Press | 9789833391127
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Perak Man and Other Prehistoric Skeletons of Malaysia

  • Archaeological Work in Sarawak w/ special references to Niah Caves (1980)
    Lucas Chin | Sarawak Museum
    Buy from Amazon.com: Archaeological Work in Sarawak w/ special references to Niah Caves

Myanmar


  • Early Landscapes of Myanmar (2007)
    Elizabeth Moore | River Books | 9789749863312
    Buy from Amazon.com: Early Landscapes of Myanmar

  • Excavations at Beikthano (1968)
    Aung Thaw | Revolutionary Government of the Union of Burma
    Buy from Amazon.com: Excavations at Beikthano

  • Ancient Pyu of Burma: Early Pyu Cities in a Man-made Landscape (1991)
    Janice Stargardt | PACSEA | 9781873178010
    Buy from Amazon.com: Ancient Pyu of Burma: Early Pyu Cities in a Man-made Landscape

Philippines


  • Houses Built on Scattered Poles: Prehistory and Ecology in Negros Oriental, Philippines (1982)
    Karl L. Hutterer and William K. Macdonald (Eds.) | University of San Carlos | 9789711000417
    Great interdisciplinary work that set a high standard for SE Asian archaeology.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Houses Built on Scattered Poles: Prehistory and Ecology in Negros Oriental

  • Philippine saga: A pictorial history of the archipelago since time began (1953)
    Henry Otley Beyer and Jaime de Veyra
    When I was in high school at the University of the Philippines on Padre Faura, Manila Campus, Prof. Twano, our teacher in Philippine History class, first year, required us to buy and read this illustrated book. The first 38 pages dealt with prehistory with many pictures and illustrations of artefacts, maps of migration routes and maritime trade routes in Asia, Hindu and Buddhist images, indigenous scripts, pottery, ceramics, and much farther on, pictures of musical instruments and dances.
    Online viewable version here.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Philippine saga: A pictorial history of the archipelago since time began

  • Raiding, Trading and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms (1999)
    Laura Lee Junker | University of Hawaii Press | 9780824820350
    Buy from Ateneo de Manila University Press: Raiding, Trading and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms
    Buy from Amazon.com: Raiding, Trading and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms

  • The Tabon Caves: Archaeological Explorations and Excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines (1970)
    Robert B. Fox | National Museum of the Philippines
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Tabon Caves: Archaeological Explorations and Excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines

Thailand


  • Prehistoric Thailand: From Early Settlement to Sukhothai (1998)
    Charles Higham and Rachanie Thosarat | River Books | 9789748225302
    Buy from Amazon.com: Prehistoric Thailand: From Early Settlement to Sukhothai

  • Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology (2014)
    Nicolas Revire and Stephen A. Murphy (Eds.) | River Books | 9786167339412
    This book inspired me to study about Proto – Dvaravati in Thailand.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology

  • Hill of Prosperity: Excavations at Khok Charoen, Thailand: A Burial Site at the Stone-Metal Junction (2017)
    Helmut Loofs-Wissowa | British Archaeological Reports Oxford | 9781407315065
    Just finished reading this volume and found that it is a comprehensive record of archaeological remains and data on early prehistoric human burials and occupation in central Thailand before the intensive contacts with far&remote worlds. The site name as it appears in the volume is misleading; no nearby villages or communities were or are called Khok Charoen. The site is located in Chaibadan district of Lopburi province, east-central Thailand.
    Buy from Amazon.com: Hill of Prosperity: Excavations at Khok Charoen, Thailand

Vietnam


  • The People between the Rivers: The Rise and Fall of a Bronze Drum Culture, 200–750 CE (2016)
    Catherine Churchman | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | 9781442258600
    This one is not totally archaeological, but its author, a historian, has used the discipline’s findings as one of the 2 essential sources for giving birth her masterpiece. The book talks about the uplands around VN-China borderlands during the 1st millennium AD
    Buy from Amazon.com: The People between the Rivers: The Rise and Fall of a Bronze Drum Culture, 200–750 CE

  • The Origins of Ancient Vietnam (2015)
    Nam C. Kim | Oxford University Press | 9780199980888
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Origins of Ancient Vietnam
  • Sa Huynh Linyi Champa
    Sa Huynh Linyi Champa
    Lam Thi Mi Dung | Nha Xuat Ban The Gioi
  • Khảo cỏ̂ học Việt Nam (2002)
    Ha Van Tan | Nhà xuá̂t bản Khoa học xã hội

  • Thanh Hoa Bronze Drums
    Thanh Hoa Province Museum | Nhà xuá̂t bản Khoa học xã hội

  • Appearance of beginning states in the North Vietnam
    Trinh Sinh | Nhà xuá̂t bản Khoa học xã hội

  • KHẢO CỔ HỌC BÌNH DÂN VÙNG NAM BỘ – VIỆT NAM TỪ THỰC NGHIỆM ĐẾN LÝ THUYẾT (2010)
    Nguyễn Thị Hậu and Lê Thanh Hải | Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House
    This book inspired me to learn about archaeology in heritage sites and in the national or local cultural sites. It is useful for me who is not in archaeology field to start.
    Buy from Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House: KHẢO CỔ HỌC BÌNH DÂN VÙNG NAM BỘ – VIỆT NAM TỪ THỰC NGHIỆM ĐẾN LÝ THUYẾT

Other themes


  • Wooden Ship Building and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks (2012)
    J. Richard Steffy | Texas A&M University Press | 9781603445207
    Wooden ship building and the interpretation of shipwrecks by Richard Steffy. This one is not about Southeast Asia, but this is defo one of my bibles..!
    Buy from Amazon.com: Wooden Ship Building and the Interpretation of Shipwrecks

  • The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals (2007)
    Peter J. Ucko and G. W. Dimbleby (Eds.) | Aldine Transaction | 9780202361697
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals

  • Palynology: Principles and Applications (2002)
    Jan Jansonius and D. Colin McGregor | AASP – The Palynological Society | 9780931871078
    Buy from Amazon.com: Palynology: Principles and Applications

  • Reading Material Culture: Structuralism, Hermeneutics and Post-Structuralism (1991)
    Christopher Tilley (Ed.) | Wiley-Blackwell | 9780631172857
    Buy from Amazon.com: Reading Material Culture: Structuralism, Hermeneutics and Post-Structuralism

  • The Wonder That Was India (1959)
    A. L. Basham | Grove Press
    Buy from Amazon.com: The Wonder That Was India

  • After Heritage: Critical Perspectives on Heritage from Below (2018)
    Hamzah Muzaini and Claudio Minca (Eds.) | Edward Elgar Pub | 9781788110730
    Buy from Amazon.com: After Heritage: Critical Perspectives on Heritage from Below

  • Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice (2016)
    Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn | Thames & Hudson; Seventh edition | 9780500292105
    Buy from Amazon.com: Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice

  • A Dictionary of Chinese Ceramics (2003)
    Wang Qingzheng | Sun Tree Publishing | 9789810460235
    This is very useful for any countries which found Chinese ceramics and also for dating. It becomes rare item with expensive but good enough to have.
    Buy from Amazon.com: A Dictionary of Chinese Ceramics

This list would not be possible without the wonderful suggestions and comments from the original post. Special thanks to (in no particular order): Atthasit Sukkham, Lia Genovese, Sitanun Suwunnasin, Đỗ Thùy Lan, Le-Na Dinh, Nasha Khaw, Thanik Lertcharnrit, Veronica Walker-Vadillo, Anita Bose, Reinhart Zieger, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Alison Carter, Damien Huffer, S. T. Foo, Yadi Mulyadi, Tanachy Bruhns, Annissa Gultom, Miriam Stark, Arsenio Nicolas, Sofwan Noerwidi, James Flexner, Louise A. Hitchcock, Nicholas Voulu, Rusyad Adi Suriyanto, Gulapish Pookaiyaudom, Leedom Lefferts, Andreas Hörstemeier, Taj Vitales, Grace Barretto, Nguyen Thi Mai Huong, Natasha Kintanar, Suresh Narayanen, Abhirada Komoot,  Ruly Fauzi, Agni Mochtar and Nurul Ain Aili

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Comments 5

  1. Amanda says:
    8 years ago

    Don’t forget about Myanmar! Something like ‘Early landscapes of Myanmar’ by Elizabeth H. Moore is a good starting point

  2. Noel Tan says:
    8 years ago

    Thanks! I’ll add that recommendation shortly.

  3. Myo Thant says:
    8 years ago

    Thanks for this list but you have left out Burma largely which is a shame since the first major urban settlements in Southeast Asia are there. The following publications should be included
    Excavations at Beikthano by Aung Thaw ,1968
    The Ancient Pyu of Burma, Janice Stargardt,1990
    Documentation of Excavation at Beikthano, 2016

    The last is in both Burmese and English

  4. Noel Tan says:
    8 years ago

    Happy to accept the suggestion – I will update the list shortly!

  5. Noel Tan says:
    8 years ago

    I can’t seem to find any bibliographic information about the 2016 Documentation of Excavation at Beikthano. If you can send me the details, I’ll put it up.

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