Asian Perspectives, 2021 - Volume 60, Number 1 (Spring)
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Item In Memoriam: REMEMBERING ANNE PIKE-TAY (10 JUNE 1956 – 16 APRIL 2020)(2021-05-28) Peterson, Veronica; Burke, Ariane; Katz, Heidi; Lin, Minghao; Cosgrove, Richard; Garvey, JillianItem In Memoriam: A Tribute to Sarah M. Nelson(2021-05-28) Barnes, Gina L; Ikawa-Smith, Fumiko; Linduff, Katheryn M.Item Lene Kici Cave Art: Possible Symbolic Evidence Associated with Palaeolithic Human Occupation in Timor-Leste(2021-05-28) Garcia_Diez, Marcos; Standish, Chrisopher D; Oliviera, Nuno Vasco; O'Connor, SueHand stencils are the oldest manifestations of Palaeolithic cave art. Recent archaeological field research in the Tutuala region of Timor-Leste has documented new archaeological sites at the Lene Kici caves that include Palaeolithic hand motifs and other nonfigurative motifs including a disk, dots, a triangle, and possible other geometric shapes. This study characterizes the production techniques, shapes, composition, and spatial locations of these motifs. Based on the available information and regional context, a Pleistocene chronology is considered highly probable. The context of the hand stencils suggests they were not occasional motifs; rather, they seem to have dominated the early graphic repertoire of the earliest settler groups in Southeast Asia and the islands of Wallacea.Item Gendered Households and Ceramic Assemblage Formation in the Mariana Islands, Western Pacific from Pacific Region Experience(2021-05-28) Miller, Jacy M; Moore, Darlene R; Bayman, James MThe archaeological investigation of gendered labor is vital for interpreting households in the Mariana Islands because Spanish documentary accounts are largely silent regarding their spatial organization. Preliminary analyses of excavated materials from a household on the island of Guam revealed that it comprised two adjacent buildings (latte) that were economically integrated and within which craft activities by women and men were spatially segregated. More detailed analyses of ceramic assemblages confirm that household labor was gendered in other respects. Women prepared and stored food in large ceramic vessels at the building where they also conducted craftwork, whereas men consumed food from smaller serving vessels at the adjacent building where they crafted. This household arrangement illustrates gender complementarity in a matrilineal society that also exhibited aspects of a gender hierarchy wherein women had significant power during the Late Latte and early Spanish Contact periods (ca. A.D. 1500–1700Item Two Traditions: A Comparison of Roof Tile Manufacture and Usage in Angkor and China(2021-05-28) Wong, Wai Yee Sharon; Ea, Darith; Chhay, Rachna; Tan, Boun SuyThe production of Khmer roof tiles underwent dramatic technical and stylistic changes during the pre-Angkorian (ca. C.E. 500–802) and Angkorian (C.E. 802–1431) periods. It has long been assumed that the regional expansion of Khmer political power and its intensive interregional trade and interactions with China during the Angkorian period were crucial factors in this transformation. This article presents the first integrated study on the production sequence and usage of Khmer roof tiles in Angkor (Cambodia) and its provincial centers in Northeast Thailand. Furthermore, it evaluates the extent to which the Khmer people made technological and social choices as they embraced new ceramic manufacturing technologies. Combining archaeological excavation findings with comparative analyses of two regions, this study argues that the contact the Khmer had with China motivated Khmer to begin roof tile production for elite residences and temples. The subsequent Khmer local architectural tradition is defined by distinctive production techniques of Khmer roof tiles and ancient ranking systems for roof tile usage in the greater Angkorian region. This article makes important observations about the specific choices that were made in the process of emulating the roof tile tradition. Roof tile manufacture and usage were ways for Khmer rulers to establish the legitimacy of their polities in mainland Southeast Asia.