The Holocene Palaeogeography of the Southeast Margin of the Bangkok Plain, Thailand, and Its Archaeological Implications

Abstract

The archaeological implications of a palaeogeographical model of the region surrounding an archaeological site, Nong Nor, on the southeastern margin of the Bangkok Plain are presented. The regional stratigraphic sequence provides the basis for a regional palaeogeographical model extending from Pleistocene to late Holocene times. The model comprises three major phases of landscape development reflecting the evolution of the region's landscape from an inland undulating plain completely unlike the present floodplain, through a phase of marine inundation and coastal conditions, to the present freshwater floodplain environment.' This sequence provides a geographical framework for the prehistoric occupation of the midden at Nong Nor. In particular, it is possible to describe the landscape in which the prehistoric occupants lived and the distribution of environmental resources available to these people. The palaeogeographical model also provides a chronological framework for the prehistoric occupation of the site and the construction of the midden by reference to the timing of changes in environmental processes and conditions throughout the Holocene. Finally, the palaeogeographical model provides a basis for predicting the location and ages of other prehistoric sites within the landscape; in this respect, a geoarchaeological model partitions the landscape according to the potential for presence and preservation of archaeological sites of various types and ages. KEYWORDS: palaeogeography, geoarchaeology, site distribution, Holocene, Thailand, Southeast Asian archaeology.