The coastlines of Southeast Asia possess extensive prehistoric and historical archaeological records. Over the past 50 years, these sites have provided significant insights into specific aspects of human socio-economic and cultural/ideological behaviour, migration, colonisation, interaction and technologies. In recent years, there has been increased focus on how Southeast Asian communities were integrated into, and accessed, the extensive maritime trading routes that developed during later prehistory and expanded in the proto-historic period. These exchange networks extended inter-continentally from East to South Asia. This session proposes to bring together practitioners who have applied a broad range of multidisciplinary (archaeological, experimental and ethnographic) backgrounds to better understand Mainland Southeast Asia’s role in transoceanic cultural exchange, and to discuss current interpretations and future research directions.