| Abstract: |
In the early first millennium BC, asbestos was amongst the exotic commodities transported along the trade routes that linked China with Southeast Asia, central Asia and the borders of India and Iran. research also shows that there was an established relationship between asbestos and power. While asbestos is contrary to modern sensibilities, two thousand years ago asbestos fibres were highly prized by emerging elites for their lustre and incombustibility. Asbestos fibres have been identified at Neolithic, Bronze Age and early historical sites in Thailand, including Khok Phanom Di, Ban Chiang, Ban Prasat and Moh Khiew. This paper attempts to explicate the meaning of these exotic materials in prehistoric burials in Southeast Asia using data from historical sources on early Southeast Asian commerce. The presence of such exotic fibres in cultural contexts in Thailand suggests that prehistoric groups in Southeast Asia either contributed to the early asbestos trade or, alternatively, were involved in extensive trade networks much earlier in the prehistoric period than has previously been accepted.
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