| Abstract: |
Regarding the jade and jade-like artefacts unearthed from Khao Sam Kaeo, new research has explored the use of different raw materials and relations with inter-regional trade networks. Geochemical analysis offers a way to identify the geological sources of the stone materials, potentially involving long-distance movements. In conjunction with those findings, studies of workshop debris provide information about how the artefacts were produced and how the evident crafting styles may have been linked across the regions of Mainland and Island Southeast Asia. Local craft production is evident in workshop debris at the site. The unearthed artefacts include complete objects and related worked fragments such as drilled-out cores, cut square blanks, and small cut fragments. Most of these materials were used for manufacturing ornaments such as the <i> lingling-o </i> penannular earrings, the double animal-headed ear pendants, bracelets, and pendants. In order to learn the geological sources of the green stones used to make these ornaments at Khao Sam Kaeo, 28 artefacts were examined through a series of non-invasive analyses by a low-vacuum scanning electron microscope (LVSEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) spectrometer. The results show those objects and worked fragments can be grouped into three major categories of nephrite jade (17 samples), green mica (8 samples), and quartzite (2 samples). The geological sources included nephrite from Taiwan, mica from the Philippines, and quartzite from an unknown source. Among 17 specimens of nephrite, 12 of them are comparable to the Fengtian nephrite source in Eastern Taiwan. However, another 5 nephrite specimens were too weather to analyze for making a final conclusion of their geological source. In addition to the nephrite from Taiwan, some of the artefacts were made of mica similar in chemistry to that from Mindoro Island in the Philippines. Khao Sam Kaeo became the first prehistoric jewellery workshop in Southeast Asia with a significant amount of mica-ornament production. Moreover, quartzite was used to produce a bracelet here. This study indicated that the stone jewellery production at Khao Sam Kaeo can be situated in a larger regional network or perhaps a number of such networks. Multiple overseas sources are evident in the raw materials. Additionally, the similar production method and ornament style of jade and mica link these findings to the contemporaneous traditions as documented at production sites distributed all around the South China Sea, such as in Southern Taiwan, the Philippines, and Southern Vietnam. Based on the new findings, two hypotheses are developed about the origins of the responsible craftsmen and production techniques. The first hypothesis proposes different bakgrounds in origin or training for the craftsmen of jade versus of mica objects. Each group owned the raw materials or could access the raw material. For nephrite, perhaps a group of specialised craftsmen from Easter Taiwan, Southern Vietnam, or the Philippines migrated into Khao Sam Kaeo. The second hypothesis proposes that local craftsmen at Khao Sam Kaeo knew the necessary skills for nephrite and mica production from other regions, but several points remain uncertain, such as how the skills were learned and how people obtained the raw materials from overseas. According to the archaeological findings at Khao Sam Kaeo, the site was strongly connected in extensive maritime trade networks, linking with Taiwan, the Philippines, Borneo, coastal Southern Vietnam, Cambodia, and beyond at approximately 400 through 100 BC. Future studies will be needed to understand how those overseas raw materials, techniques, and perhaps craftsmen reached Khao Sam Kaeo.
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