The Gold Coast: Suvannabhumi? Lower Myanmar Walled Sites of the First Millenium A.D.

dc.date.accessioned 2010-08-04T19:55:28Z
dc.date.available 2010-08-04T19:55:28Z
dc.date.issued 2007 en_US
dc.description.abstract 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. KEYWORDS: Myanmar (Burma), ecology, laterite, water control, hydrology, Iron Age, Buddhism. en_US
dc.identifier.citation Moore, E., and S. Win. 2007. The Gold Coast: Suvannabhumi? Lower Myanmar Walled Sites of the First Millenium A.D. Asian Perspectives 46 (1): 202-32. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1535-8283 (E-ISSN) en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0066-8435 (Print) en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10125/17263
dc.publisher University of Hawai'i Press (Honolulu) en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries Volume 46 en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries Number 1 en_US
dc.subject Myanmar (Burma) en_US
dc.subject ecology en_US
dc.subject laterite en_US
dc.subject water control en_US
dc.subject hydrology en_US
dc.subject Iron Age en_US
dc.subject Buddhism en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Prehistoric peoples--Asia--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Prehistoric peoples--Oceania--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Asia--Antiquities--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Oceania--Antiquities--Periodicals. en_US
dc.subject.lcsh East Asia--Antiquities--Periodicals. en_US
dc.title The Gold Coast: Suvannabhumi? Lower Myanmar Walled Sites of the First Millenium A.D. en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dc.type.dcmi Text en_US
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