Ref ID:	25352
Ref Type:	Book Section in a Series
Authors:	Dussubieux, Laure Bellina, Bérénice
Title:	Glass from an early Southeast Asian producing and trading centre
Date:	2017
Source:	Khao Sam Kaeo: An Early Port-City between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea
Place of Publication:	Paris
Publisher:	École Française d'Extrême-Orient
Abstract:	The site of Khao Sam Kaeo has yielded close to 2,500 glass artifacts. Not only beads and bracelets were found there but also waste material indicating that glass was transformed into finished objects at the site. Most of the waste material along with bracelet fragments and a few beads manufactures using lapidary techniques are transparent green suggesting that a specialised glass workshop was established at Khao Sam Kaeo as early as the 4th century BC. This workshop could be located at or in the immediate vicinity of Hill 2 in the south part of the site, as suggested by the higher concentration of glass waste excavated in this area. Glass compositions obtained using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry revealed the presence of two main types of glass: a mineral soda alumina glass and a potash glass. Trace elements suggest a Northeastern Indian region for the mineral soda glass. Potash glass might come from Southern China but no production center has been identified so far. The presence of glass from Northeastern India combined with the use of Indian lapidary techniques for the shaping of some beads reinforces other archaeological evidence suggesting the presence of Indian craftsmen at the site. Artifacts similar in terms of composition and style to those found in Khao Sam Kaeo were found in different regions of Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and the Philippines showing that this material was not limited to local consumption but distributed over fairly long distances. This study is placing Khao Sam Kaeo at early date in a well-established exchange network encompassing the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. (sic) The excavation conducted at Khao Sam Kaeo has also changed the long-held view of South Asia being the sole bead supplier for Southeast Asia and is showing instead that bead technology transfer earlier that initially thought. (sic)
Date Created:	9/13/2017
Editors:	Bellina, Bérénice
Volume:	28
Page Start:	547
Page End:	585
Series Title:	Mémoires Archéologiques