![[Talk] The Ancient Town of Si Thep in Thailand: A Crossroads of Indianization](https://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-ancient-town-of-si-thep-in-thailand-a-crossroads-of-indianization-502-120x86.jpg)
Readers in Bangkok may be interested in this talk about rock art at the Siam Society by Thippawan Wongadsapaiboon on 10 Feb 2022. Registration required, details below.
At present, more than 410 rock art sites have been discovered in Thailand. They can be divided into two groups:
Historical sites, built under religion like Buddhism or Hinduism, and Prehistorical sites, considered to be communal
art, created to serve the community rather than individual pleasure. Usually, the distinct scenes reflect the way of life in
the past and are related to some socio-religious rituals such as hunting, cultivating, herding, food gathering, dancing,
sex, and ritual ceremonies. However, most sites in Thailand cannot be readily identified because they only display some
symbols as graphic signs or hand and foot prints. Archaeologists try to translate these symbols and assume that they
were a part of the language to communicate between the population in the same group or to connect with the
supernatural. Although the big question about the true meaning of the symbolic interpretation of rock art still remains,
at least the different symbols and styles are a good evidence that helps us separate the diversity of prehistoric groups in
each region of Thailand.
Source: Symbols and Meaning of Prehistoric Rock Art in Thailand
