De-Centering Highland Archaeology: Re-Examining Highland-Lowland Interaction in Salween-Ping River Basins, Northern Thailand During the 13th-16th Century CE
The upland region to the east of the Salween River basin has been acknowledged as part of the marginal zone and has been frequently claimed as their territory by the lowland states, particularly Lanna and Ava. As a result, the independent social and political development of this region has been obscured by these states, and the lowland has been described as the centre and the highland as the periphery in the majority of narratives. The objective of this study is to examine the highland-lowland relationship from perspectives other than the theme of centre and periphery and to propose archaeological interpretations of the highland-lowland relationship based on archaeological evidence such as mound burial sites, settlements, and compound sites discovered from the upland Salween and Ping river basins.
Udomluck Hoontrakul
Ms. Udomluck Hoontrakul obtained a BA in Archaeology from Silpakorn University (Thailand), an MA in Social Development from Chiang Mai University in Thailand, followed by an MA in History of Art and Archaeology from SOAS University of London in the United Kingdom. Her research centres on the ethnoarchaeological study of settlement patterns in the highland communities of the Salween River Basin. She also conducted both archaeological field survey and excavations in the highland regions of northwestern Thailand. Udomluck is now a PhD candidate in History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS University of London. Her PhD research focuses on the highland region between the Salween and Ping river basins, and aims to understand the political dynamics, social and cultural interactions between the highlands and lowlands, and the development of highland socio-political structures, and political entities between the 1st millennium CE and 15th centuries CE. She also teaches at the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University, Thailand.