The Gold Coast

Suvannabhumi? Lower Myanmar Walled Sites of the First Millennium A.D

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7262178
AutoresElizabeth Moore (0000-0002-9976-6991), San San Win (0000-0002-7396-2206), San Win
Año2007
Volumen46
Número1
Páginas202-232
Fecha de publicación2007-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAsian perspectives (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0066-8435 • E-ISSN: 1535-8283
EditorialProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/asi.2007.0007
OpenAlexW2165740288
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas16

The high rainfall of the Lower Myanmar coast is balanced by the aridity of the country's inland plains. The article profiles three sites in a laterite-rich area located in the northern part of the Lower Myanmar peninsula. The walls and moats of these sites underline their role in water management, one where control of water was the decisive catalyst. The sites of Kyaikkatha, Kelasa, and Winka illustrate how slight changes in topography signal critical junctures, the points where walls and moats were constructed. As a result, up to seven walls flank the higher edges of these sites; these protected the interior by diverting excess water to lower areas. Using large finger-marked bricks and terra-cotta artifacts such as votive tablets, plaques, and architectural elements, a broad chronology of c. the sixth to ninth centuries A.D. is proposed, although a majority of the pieces dated to the seventh century A.D. Attention is also drawn to evidence of Lower Myanmar prehistoric habitation in lowland areas close to the coast, where natural and man-made changes continue to alter the ecology and affect archaeological interpretation. The survey is used to encourage comparative studies, drawing in environmentally diverse but culturally related areas of South and Southeast Asia

Ancient history · Archaeology · Arid · Chronology · Geography · Natural (archaeology · Ninth · Peninsula · Physical geography · Prehistory · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Paleontology