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A new chronological framework for prehistoric Southeast Asia, based on a Bayesian model from Ban Non Wat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Charles Higham  and
Thomas Higham
Charles Higham
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
Thomas Higham
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Research Laboratory of Archaeology and the History of Art, Dyson Perrins Building, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
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Abstract

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The authors offer a new chronological framework for prehistoric Southeast Asia, based mainly on the Bayesian modelling of 75 radiocarbon dates from well-stratified excavations at Ban Non Wat. The results are revolutionary. Neolithic practice now begins in the second millennium and hierarchical state-forming activity is dated to a ‘starburst’ around 1000 BC. The authors reflect on the social implications of the new model – and on the criteria for an ever stronger chronology.

Keywords

Southeast AsiaThailandNeolithicBronze AgeIron AgeradiocarbonBayesian modelling
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 83 , Issue 319 , March 2009 , pp. 125 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2009

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