Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T07:05:06.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The prehistory of a Friction Zone: first farmers and hunters-gatherers in Southeast Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

C.F.W. Higham ,
Xie Guangmao  and
Lin Qiang
C.F.W. Higham
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand (Email: [email protected])
Xie Guangmao
Affiliation:
Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, 34 Minzu Ave., Nanning 530022, Guangxi, China
Lin Qiang
Affiliation:
Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, 34 Minzu Ave., Nanning 530022, Guangxi, China
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The prime-mover for the arrival of the Neolithic in Island Southeast Asia is thought to be the expansion of rice farmers speaking an Austronesian language and coming from the north (see Spriggs, above). Much less is known of the indigenous hunter-gatherers and their interaction with the new farming communities. The mutually occupied area, in the definition of Peter Bellwood, was a ‘Friction Zone’, where two radically different cultures met. This paper emphasises how much land, and information, was lost when the rising sea drowned Sundaland, an area the size of India, and brings to bear archaeological and DNA evidence to emphasise the continuing role of hunter-gatherers in the later prehistory of Southeast Asia.

Keywords

Southeast AsiaThailandSundalandNeolithichunter-gatherersrice domesticationAustroasiatic languages
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 328 , June 2011 , pp. 529 - 543
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, D. D. 1990. Lang Rongrien rockshelter: a Pleistocene, early Holocene archaeological site from Krabi, southwestern Thailand (University Museum Monograph 71). Philadelphia (PA): University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Anon. 2003. Zengpiyan —a prehistoric site in Guilin. Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House (in Chinese with English summary).Google Scholar
Barker, G.W.W., Barton, H., Bird, M., Daly, P., Datan, I., Dykes, A., Farr, L., Gilbertson, D., Harrisson, B., Hunt, C., Higham, T., Kealhofer, L., Krigbaum, J., Lewis, H., Mclaren, S., Paz, V., Pike, A., Piper, P., Pyatt, B., Rabett, R., Reynolds, T., Rose, J., Rushworth, G., Stephens, M., Stringer, C., Thompson, J. & Turney, C. 2007. The ‘human revolution’ in lowland tropical Southeast Asia: the antiquity and behavior of anatomically modern humans at Niah Cave (Sarawak, Borneo). Journal of Human Evolution 52(3): 243–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellwood, P. 2005. First farmers: the origins of agricultural societies. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Bellwood, P. & Oxenham, M. 2008. The expansions of farming societies and the role of the Neolithic demographic transition, in Bocquet-Appel, J.-P. & Bar-Yosef, O. (ed.) The Neolithic demographic transition and its consequences: 13–34. Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentley, A., Tayles, N., Higham, C.F.W., Macpherson, C. & Atkinson, T. C. 2007. Shifting gender relations at Khok Phanom Di, Thailand: isotopic evidence from the skeletons. Current Anthropology 48(2): 301–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyd, W. E. 1998. The palaeoenvironment of the archaeological site at Nong Nor, in Higham, C.F.W. & Thosarat, R. (ed.) The excavation of Nong Nor: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand (University of Otago studies in prehistoric anthropology 18): 27–86. Dunedin: University of Otago; Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Blust, R. 1996. Beyond the Austronesian homeland: the Austric hypothesis and its implications for archaeology, in Goodenough, W. H. (ed.) Prehistoric settlement of the Pacific (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 86): 117–40. Philadelphia (PA): American Philosophical Society.Google Scholar
Cameron, J. 2002. Textile technology in the prehistory of Southeast Asia. Unpublished PhD dissertation, The Australian National University.Google Scholar
Colani, M. 1927. L'âge de la pierre dans la province de Hoa Binh. Mémoires du Service Géologique de l'Indochine 13:1.Google Scholar
Escoffier, L., Ray, N. & Currat, M. 2008. Where was paradise? A simulation study of the spread of early modern humans in heterogeneous environments, in Matsumura, S., Forster, P. & Renfrew, C. (ed.) Simulations, genetics and human prehistory: 9–18. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.Google Scholar
Fuller, D. Q., Qin, L., Zheng, Y., Zhao, Z., Chen, X., Hosoya, L. A. & Sun, G.-P. 2009. The domestication process and domestication rate in rice: spikelet bases from the Lower Yangtze. Science 323(5921): 1607–1610. doi: 10.1126/science.1166605.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gray, R.D., Drummond, A. J. & Greenhill, S. J. 2009. Language phylogenies reveal expansion pulses and pauses in Pacific settlement. Science 323(5913): 479–83. doi: 10.1126/science.1166858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, D.M. 1993. Aspects of the pottery decoration, in Higham, C. F.W. & Thosarat, R. (ed.) The excavation of Khok Phanom Di: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. Volume 3, material culture part 1 (Reports of the Research committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 50): 239–74. London: Society of Antiquaries of London.Google Scholar
He, A. & Chen, X. 2008. New discovery from the excavation of Chongtang site in Chongzuo, Guangxi. China Cultural Relics News 1621 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Higham, C.F.W. 2002. Languages and farming dispersals: Austroasiatic languages and rice cultivation, in Bellwood, P. & Renfrew, C. (ed.) Examining the farming/language dispersal hypothesis: 223–32. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.Google Scholar
Higham, C.F.W. 2004. The opposed human figure at Khok Phanom Di. Journal of the Siam Society 92:15–36.Google Scholar
Higham, C.F.W. & Higham, T.F.G. 2009. A new chronological framework for prehistoric Southeast Asia based on a Bayesian model from Ban Non Wat. Antiquity 83:125–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higham, C.F.W. & Kijngam, A. 2009. The origins of the civilization of Angkor. Volume 3, the excavation of Ban Non Wat: introduction. Bangkok: The Fine Arts Department of Thailand.Google Scholar
Higham, C.F.W. & Thosarat, R. 2004. The excavation of Khok Phanom Di: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. Volume 7, summary and conclusions (Reports of the Research committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 62): 239–74. London: Society of Antiquaries of London.Google Scholar
Hill, C., Soares, P., Mormina, M., Macaulay, V., Meehan, W., Blackburn, J., Clarke, D., Maripa Raja, J., Ismail, P., Bulbeck, D., Oppenheimer, S. & Richards, M. 2006. Phylogeography and ethnogenesis of Aboriginal Southeast Asians. Molecular Biology and Evolution 23:2480–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hill, C., Soares, P., Mormina, M., Macaulay, V., Clarke, D., Blumbach, P. B., Vizuete-Forster, M., Forster, P., Bulbeck, D., Oppenheimer, S. & Richards, M. 2007. A mitochondrial stratigraphy for Island Southeast Asia. American Journal of Human Genetics 80(1): 29–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoang, X. C. & Nguyen, N. B. 1978. The excavation of the archaeological site of Phung Nguyen. Ha Noi: Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc Xa Hoi (in Vietnamese).Google Scholar
Lampert, C. D., Glover, I. C., Hedges, R.E.M., Heron, C. P., Higham, T.F.G., Stern, B., Shoocondej, R. & Thompson, G. B. 2003. Dating resin coating on pottery: the Spirit Cave early ceramic dates revised. Antiquity 77:126–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Q. & Xie, G. 2005. An important discovery from the excavation of Beidaling site in Duan, Guangxi. China Cultural Relics News 1374 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Lin, Q., Xie, G. & Zhu, L. 2007. An important discovery from the excavation of Dangtangcheng site in Guiping, Guangxi. China Cultural Relics News: 1534 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Mansuy, H. 1924. Stations préhistoriques dans les cavernes du massif calcaire de Bac-Son (Tonkin). Mémoires du Service Géologique de l'Indochine 11(2).Google Scholar
Mason, G. M. 1998. The shellfish, fish and crab remains, in Higham, C.F.W. & Thosarat, R. (ed.) The excavation of Nong Nor: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand (University of Otago studies in prehistoric anthropology 18): 173–224. Dunedin: University of Otago; Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Moore, M. 1993. The burnishing stones, in Higham, C.F.W. & Thosarat, R. (ed.) The excavation of Khok Phanom Di: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. Volume 3, the material culture part 1 (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 50): 105–118. London: Society of Antiquaries of London.Google Scholar
Oota, H., Kurosaki, K., Pookajorn, S., Ishida, T. & Ueda, S. 2001. Genetic study of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Southeast Asians. Human Biology 73:225–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Reilly, D.J.W. 1998. Nong Nor phase one in a regional context, in Higham, C.F.W. & Thosarat, R. (ed.) The excavation of Nong Nor: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand (University of Otago studies in prehistoric anthropology 18): 509–522. Dunedin: University of Otago; Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Pilditch, J. M. 1993. The personal ornaments, in Higham, C.F.W. & Thosarat, R. (ed.) The excavation of Khok Phanom Di: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. Volume 3, the material culture part 1 (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 50): 119–76. London: Society of Antiquaries of London.Google Scholar
Pureepatpong, N. 2006. Recent investigations of early people (late Pleistocene to early Holocene) from Ban Rai and Tham Lod rock shelter sites, Pang Mapha district, Mae Hongson province, northwestern Thailand, in Bacus, A. E., Glover, I. C. & Pigott, V. C. (ed.) Uncovering Southeast Asia's past: 38–45. Singapore: NUS Press.Google Scholar
Reid, L. A. 1994. Morphological evidence for Austric. Oceanic Linguistics 33:323–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rispoli, F. 2008. The incised and impressed pottery style of mainland Southeast Asia: following the paths of Neolithization. East & West 57(1-4): 235–304.Google Scholar
Schmidt, W. 1906. Die Mon-Khmer Volker: ein Bindeglied Zwischen Volkern Zentralasiens und Austronesiens. Braunschweig: F. Vieweg und sohn.Google Scholar
Shoocondej, R. 2006. Late Pleistocene activities at the Tham Lod rockshelter in highland Bang Mapha, Mae Hongson province, northwestern Thailand, in Bacus, E. A., Glover, I. C. & Pigott, V. C. (ed.) Uncovering Southeast Asia's past: 22–37. Singapore: NUS Press.Google Scholar
Soares, P., Trejaut, J.-A., Loo, J., Hill, C., Mormina, M., Lee, C.-L., Chen, Y.-M., Hudjashov, G., Forster, P., Macaulay, V., Bulbeck, D., Oppenheimer, S., Lin, M. & Richards, M. B. 2008. Climate change and postglacial human dispersals in Southeast Asia. Molecular Biology and Evolution 25(6): 1209–1218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Solheim, W. G. II 1972. An earlier agricultural revolution. Scientific American 226(4): 34–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sørensen, P. & Hatting, T., 1967. Archaeological investigations in Thailand. Volume 2, Ban Kao. Part 1: the archaeological materials from the burials. Copenhagen: Munksgard.Google Scholar
Tayles, N. G. 1999. The excavation of Khok Phanom Di: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. Volume 5, the people(Research Reports of the Society of Antiquaries of London 61). London: Society of Antiquaries of London.Google Scholar
Vincent, B. A. 2003. The excavation of Khok Phanom Di: a prehistoric site in Central Thailand. Volume 6, the pottery (Research Reports of the Society of Antiquaries of London 70). London: Society of Antiquaries of London.Google Scholar
Wiriyaromp, W. 2007. The Neolithic period in Thailand. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Otago.Google Scholar
Xie, G., Lin, Q. & Peng, C. 2003. Gexinqiao Neolithic site in Baise city, Guangxi. Archaeology 12:3–6 (with English abstract).Google Scholar
Yen, D. E. 1977. Hoabinhian horticulture: the evidence and the questions from northwest Thailand, in Allen, J., Golson, J. & Jones, R. (ed.) Sunda and Sahul. Prehistoric studies in Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Australia: 567–99. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Zhang, C. & Hung, H.-C. 2010. The emergence of agriculture in southern China. Antiquity 84:11–25.Google Scholar