Abstract: |
The "Sa Huynh-Kalanay pottery tradition" was initially fostered by Professor Wilhelm G. Solheim for a type of pottery found in Central Vietnam (Sa Huynh sites) and in the Central Philippines (the Visayas and Palawan), and characterized by outstanding decorations. Thereafter, Sa Huynh-Kalanay-inspired decorated pottery have been found over an extensive area stretching from the Philippines, Indonesia, Borneo, and the Thai-Malay Peninsula to Vietnam. These ceramics are seen as evidence for contacts between archaeological sites surrounding the South China Sea. At Khao Sam Kaeo, we distinguished two types of ceramics displaying Sa Huynh-Kalanay-inspired decorations. Type 1 (the most numerous group) was made by local potters and has probably been produced for specific though still unidentified consumers asking for exotic decorations. Type 2 corresponds to exogenous decorated pots: they are likely to come from the South China Sea area and were circulating to the Thai-Malay Peninsula. These results offer a glimpse of the complexity of Sa Huynh-Kalanay-related pottery at Khao Sam Kaeo and of some of the different populations involved into networks in the South China Sea basin.
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