Archaeobotany in Southeast Asia: What have we learned so far

Summary

Archaeobotany as a specialisation in Southeast Asia began in the late 1960s. Archaeobotanical methods (e.g. flotation, phytolith and pollen sampling) are still not routinely used in archaeological fieldwork in SEA, although in the past ten years, archaeobotany has gained momentum. For example, several sites in Thailand (Ban Non Wat, Khao Sam Kaeo, Khao Sek, Non Ban Jak, Phu Khao Thong), Vietnam (Lo Gach, Loch Giang, Rach Nui) and Cambodia (Ta Phrom) have included archaeobotanical analyses as part of the excavation agenda. This paper will present some of the latest research derived from macroremains analysis from sites in mainland SEA, with an emphasis on how the inhabitants made use of their habitats in their subsistence regime. Settled peoples have exploited their surroundings and adopted suitable crops for cultivation, but have also found limiting factors that constrained agriculture and cultivation practices. Discussions revolve around the crops and weeds found in the archaeobotanical assemblages, which help define diets, farming systems and habitats.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Recent Advances in the Settlement and Landscape Archaeology of Southwest China and Southeast Asia Part I: The Macro Perspective: Spatial Analysis and Subsistence Systems

Keywords

Spatial Coverage