The theme of this session is to foreground knowledge as the central criterion for understanding culture contact in South and Southeast Asia. Conventional approaches have emphasised similarities in artefacts, rituals, or practices as evidence of diffusion and migration. Yet artefacts are not merely material objects; they embody knowledge produced in response to natural and social needs. Recognising this dimension allows us to look beyond surface resemblance and towards the ways in which knowledge is generated, adapted, and transmitted. Comparable knowledge across distinct environments has often been taken as proof of cultural interaction. However, narrow reliance on select traits has sometimes produced stereotypes, overshadowing other achievements. The overemphasis on practices such as headhunting illustrates how anthropological curiosity can obscure deeper knowledge traditions. This session invites papers that explore knowledge practices—technological, agricultural, medical, navigational, ritual, or social—as keys to interpreting culture contact. It aims to reassess how knowledge travels, how independent invention and diffusion can be distinguished, and how stereotypes can be dismantled.

Invited Themes:

• Knowledge systems as indicators of cultural interaction

• Independent invention vs. diffusion in shared practices

• Technology, environment, and adaptation in knowledge-making

• Beyond stereotypes: reframing culture contact through knowledge