Thai Malay Peninsula and South China Sea networks (500 BC AD 200) based on a reappraisal of `Sa Huynh Kalanay' related ceramics
From 500 BC to AD 200, cultural exchanges in the South China Sea were emphasized by the expansion and intensification of long distance interaction networks. Various archaeological objects, exchanged or imitated, provide evidence of multiple contacts. Interactions in relation to ceramics are attested through the so called Sa Huynh Kalanay related ceramics, whose decorations allow significant stylistic comparisons between sites of the Thai Malay Peninsula, Vietnam, the Philippines, Borneo and Eastern Indonesia. This paper aims to explore the various modes of circulation of Sa Huynh Kalanay related pottery and to define whether they involved the movement of goods and/or of people such as merchants or craftsmen. The analysis focuses on pottery assemblages from fifteen sites recently excavated by the Thai French archaeological mission in the Thai Malay Peninsula. The reconstruction of various chaines operatoires and the identification of pottery traditions reveal some Sa Huynh Kalanay related pottery were produced by local groups while others have an exogenous origin. Results highlight the socio cultural and political complexity of groups in line with the production, circulation, and use of the pottery.