Kingdom on the Beach Ridges: A Landscape Archaeology of Tambralinga in Peninsular Siam (original) (raw)

Abstract

Peninsular Siam, or Southern Thailand, the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, is an isthmian tract between the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal (Fig. 1). It has been an important crossroad of civilizations since the mid-first millennium b.c. Unlike the lower part of the Malay Peninsula, which was heavily forested and almost impossible to cross, the isthmian tract was a thin ribbon with relatively narrow mountain ranges in the middle. A series of transisthmian routes comprised of rivers and walking trails provided passageways between the west and east coasts. There is significant evidence that coastal communities in peninsular Siam were part of an intraregional long-distance exchange network in maritime Southeast Asia. Local communities circulated their resources and goods prior to the integration of this region into the greater trans-Asiatic trade network. For example, a number of Dong Son bronze drums and lingling-o earrings dated to around the first half of the first millennium b.c. and emanating from coastal Viet Nam were found in peninsular Siam, indicating that an intraregional exchange network centered in peninsular Siam may have provided a key geographic focus for the emerging broader maritime trans-Asiatic trade network more than two millennia ago. Since at least the mid-first millennium b.c., a maritime trans-Asiatic trade network developed and expanded, linking vast regions of the ancient world, including, but not limited to, the Mediterranean world, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and China. This network seems to have been comprised of a number of regional but overlapping interaction spheres. The one that was most influential to communities in peninsular Siam was the sphere in the Bay of Bengal wherein the cultural connections between the isthmian tract and the east coast of India were intensified. The archaeological sites of Phukhao Thong (Chaisuwan 2011) and khao Sam keao in the northern reaches of the isthmian tract have provided evidence of possibly the earliest phase of social interactions between the two regions in the mid-first millennium b.c. (Fig. 2). These sites yielded a considerable number of semipreciousstone and glass beads, as well as ornaments, gold objects, and pottery. Some of them

Figures (25)

Fig. 2. Peninsular Siam, provinces, possible transpeninsular routes, and archaeological sites.

Fig. 3. Geography of coastal Nakhon Si Thammarat, the heartland of Tambralinga.

Fig. 4. Prehistoric and other related sites in coastal Nakhon.

Sources: FAD 2003: 192-196, 200-211, 215-219; Noonsuk 1997 : 153-161. TaBLe t. IRON AGE SITES IN NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Fig. 5. Bronze drums found at peninsular Siam sites: a. from Khlong Ro or Sra Kaeo (FAD 2003 : 200); b. from Kiakkai (FAD 2003: 192), Nakhon Si Thammarat. (Photographs courtesy of the Fine Arts De- partment.)

Fig. 6. Glass beads from Trenches KK.09.1 and KK.09.2, Kiakkai Site, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

‘TABLE 2. RESULTS OF EXCAVATION IN TRENCH KK.o09.1, KIAKKAI SITE, NAKHON S1 THAMMARAT *Beads pictured in Figure 6 above.

TABLE 3. RESULTS OF EXCAVATION IN TRENCH KK.09.2, KIAKKAI SITE, NAKHON S1 THAMMARAT * Beads pictured in Figure 6 above.

Fig. 7. Visnu images from peninsular Siam sites: a. from Chaiya (photograph courtesy of Stanley O’Connor); b. from Ho Phra Narai, Nakhon Si Thammarat; c. from Wat Phrang, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Fig. 8. Visnu image from Wat'Ta Nen, Nakhon Si Thammarat: a. front of image; b. back of image.

Fig. 9. Image of early Visnu head from peninsular Siam. Si Thammarat National Museum. It depicts a standing Visnu with bare chest, four arms, and a miter (Fig. 10b). It is 31 cm in height, though broken from the thighs downward. The costume is a simple dhoti with no sash and scarf. It is totally three- dimentional, although not very dynamic. These characteristics point to Dupont’s group C, similar to the small Visnu image found at Wat Chom Thong, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, which may be dated to the seventh century (Jacq- Hergoualc’h 2002: 123, fig. 12). However, the miter of this statue is decorated with floral patterns unlike that of the Chom Thong statue (Noonsuk 20134:79). RE ee Ey yey ET ce Sy ee EE EM ES ee eee Lee ey eg eRe ene) Se mm Ooi We sutra EATS eee crema

Fig. 10. a. Possible Visnu image from the Singkhon cave, Khirirat Nikhom district, Surat Thani Province; b. Visnu image from Wat Chiangphong in Ranot district, Songkhla Province.

Fig. 11. Monument No. 2 at Khao Kha, Sichon district.

Fig. 12. Siva linga from Ban Na Khom, Sichon district.

Fig. 13. Yoni from Wat Boek, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Fig. 14. Various architectural parts from Ban Hua Thon, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat

Fig. 15. Decorated granite door frame in Wat Phra Mongkut, Mueang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Fig. 16. Brick foundation at Wat Thao Khot (Trench TK.09.1), Mueang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Fig. 17. Stone pillar base at Wat Thao Khot, Mueang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Fig. 18. Lowest brick floor at Wat Phrang (Trench WP.09.3), Phra Phrom district, Nakhon SiThammarat.

Fig. 19. One of the small brick structures surrounding the lingas in the cave in the Phli Mueang hill, Sichon district, Nakhon $i Thammarat. (Photo courtesy of Chutharat Chuachin.)

Fig. 20. a. The gold linga fixed on a silver base in a fragmented metal container and stone deposit box from the cave in the Phli Mueang hill, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat; b. gold linga inside metal container and terracotta deposit box and surrounded with bricks, from cave in Phli Mueang, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat. (Photographs courtesy of Chutharat Chuachin.)

Fig. 21. Lingas from cave in Phli Mueang hill, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat: a. gold linga fixed on silver base, gold foil originally inserted between the linga and the base; b. two gold lingas acquired by the Fine Arts Department. (Photographs courtesy of Chutharat Chuachin.)

Fig. 22. Distribution of Hindu shrines in the early Tambralinga period (c. fifth to eleventh centuries).

Fig. 23. Northern Svayambhuva-linga at Khao Kha, Sichon district, Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Key takeaways

AI

1. Tambralinga emerged as a key maritime trade center in Southeast Asia by the mid-first millennium a.d.
2. The heartland of Tambralinga spans 1,275 km², significantly influencing its socio-economic dynamics.
3. Early Visnu images and bronze drums highlight Tambralinga's role in regional cultural innovation.
4. Cultural geography connects the land, sea, and human lifeways in the development of Tambralinga.
5. This text aims to explore the cultural landscape and historical significance of Tambralinga.

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