| Abstract: |
This thesis undertakes the analysis of all aspects of the material culture as well as the faunal remains of the first of two occupation episodes at Nong Nor, Thailand. The results of the analysis are utilised to determine the duration of occupation and whether it was seasonal/intermittent or permanent. The range of subsistence activities and the internal use of space are examined and the site is considered in a broad regional context as well as in relation to a propinquent archaeological site, Khok Phanom Di. This site was settled c. 500 years after the abandonment of Nong Nor and is pertinent due to the presence of rice in its basal layers, a substance not encountered at phase one Nong Nor. The relationship between these two sites is explored and the possibility that Nong Nor was ancestral to Khok Phanom Di is assessed. The results of the comparative analysis are considered with respect to current theories of linguistic expansion and the origins of agriculture in Southeast Asia. During the first occupation phase, Nong Nor was located near a marine embayment. It was probably occupied only once, during the dry season. The archaeological evidence indicates that the inhabitants exploited both the marine and terrestrial environment. The artefactual assemblages from Nong Nor and Khok Phanom Di demonstrate similarities which indicate a cultural continuity in the region. The implications of this are far reaching, in that the large scale exploitation of rice appears to have local origins and may not have been introduced by intrusive Austroasiatic speaking populations directly.
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