Crossroads of the Kra Isthmus: Archaeometallurgical Insights into the High-Tin Bronze Vessel from the Khao Kob Burial

Pira Venunan*, Chawalit Khaokhiew, Borisut Boripon

The excavation in 2025 at the hinterland site of Khao Kob in the upper Thai-Malay Peninsula offers a significant point of enquiry into early contacts with the Indian subcontinent and the roles of inland intermediaries who served as agents connecting two coasts as well as locals and others from South Asia and the South China Sea. Of the four burials recovered, burial #2 provides a compelling case study. Dating to the mid-first millennium BC, the preliminary osteoarchaeological examination suggested a non-local origin for the deceased, interred with a knobbed or central-cone high-tin bronze vessel covering the face, a diagnostic marker for the period of the proliferation of pan-regional interaction connecting South Asia, Southeast Asia, and, potentially, South China. Situated along key trans-peninsular routes, it raises critical questions about the mobility of individuals, the interactions between locals and newcomers, and the technological origins of this ware. This study focuses on the integration of multiple archaeometallurgically analytical proxies to investigate the technological origins, including sources of materials and manufacturing techniques and compare the findings with other high-tin bronze vessels across Southeast Asia. By doing so, the research aims to position this bronze vessel within the broader narrative of the Maritime Silk Road, examining the presence of Indian artisans, the potential for settled craftsmen, and the role of such vessels as exchanged commodities that facilitated socio-political alliances. This exploration contributes to understanding cultural hybridisation and artisanal transfers that shaped the inception of the Maritime Silk Road.