Ceramic Assemblage and Temporal Mobility: A Polygon Spatial Modelling Approach in the Gulf of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia, 1350-1550 CE [S25]

Amir Husaini Saiffuddin*, Wendy van Duivenvoorde, and Hasrizal Shaari

This poster presents the application of polygon spatial modelling (PSM) to reconstruct patterns of

maritime mobility in Southeast Asia between 1350 to 1550 CE, utilizing shipwreck ceramic assemblages located in the Gulf of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. Building on Harpster and Chapman’s polygonal methodology developed for the Mediterranean context, this study adopts the approach to the monsoon-driven, archipelagic and politically fragmented seascapes of Southeast Asia. Known shipwrecks with dated cargoes were selected based on ceramic provenance and temporal alignment with Roxanna Brown’s six-phase of Thai ceramic chronology and the Imperial Ming maritime restriction (1371-1567). Using origin kiln sites and wreck deposition locations as polygon vertices, the research provides a network visualization of temporally stratified movement zones to visualize shifting trade patterns, regional reorientation and adaptive maritime behaviour. The resulting polygons reveal changing spatial configurations of exchanges, from early southern China coastal networks anchored by Chinese ceramic wares to expanded regional zones dominated by Thai and Vietnamese ceramics during the Ming maritime restriction and eventually hybrid cargo patterns in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. By layering ceramic data over historical and environmental contexts, this study offers a materially grounded interpretive model of mobility that highlights the dynamic adaptation and resilience of regional actors in maritime Southeast Asia. The outcome of this article aims to provides a replicable polygon model framework for visualizing historical maritime structures through archaeological evidence, establishing a new spatial perspective for interpreting movement in Southeast Asia.