| Abstract: |
While at least some knowledge is available of prehistoric iron implements from Island Southeast Asia and from Malaysia, very little is known on this topic from the mainland. There are numerous reasons for this deficiency of information on such items of vital importance for the understanding of the early historical periods. A probable major reason is that most iron implements are usually found in a context of bronzes, and the latter have attracted more attention among scholars. To some extent this also seems to be true for Thailand, from where reports so far only briefly mention iron implements (Solheim and Gorman 1966: Pls. VIIIb, XXIVd-g, and XXV
Sørensen 1967: 15, 105, and Pl. 122n-o
Watson and Loofs 1967: 262). With this article it is not, however, the intention to make a compilation of all prehistoric iron implements from Thailand, but rather, as a simple beginning, to give a brief description and evaluation of two small collections which were excavated by the Thai-Danish Prehistoric Expeditions in 1960-62 and 1965-66. Both collections are from Kanchanaburi Province, one from Tam Ongbah on Khwae Yai and the other from the Bang site, Ban Kao, on Khwae Noi (Fig. 1).
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