INSCRIPTIONS, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND CULTURE: THE KHORAT PLATEAU AND NEIGHBORING REGIONS OF THAILAND AND CAMBODIA

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of inscriptions and archaeology in modern Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos during the early historic period, defined as the 6th‒13th centuries CE. The focus of the inquiry is the Khorat Plateau, or the region of northeastern Thailand and parts of central and southern Laos. Cultural developments on the Khorat Plateau are best framed within the context of cultural activities in the Chao Phraya and Lower Mekong Basins, as the main conduits of contact and exchange in the early historic period were through these neighboring regions. Analysis of script styles and artifact typology supports the suggestion that populations on the Khorat Plateau consisted of one or more cultural groups distinct from those labelled Dvāravatī and Angkor. The Khorat Plateau was arguably not a peripheral zone, but a distinct region in which societies participated in networks of contact and exchange across the plateau and throughout the mainland region.