Thailand. Before Siam: Essays in art and archaeology Edited by Nicholas Revire and Stephen A. Murphy Bangkok: River Books & The Siam Society, 2014. Pp. 432. Maps, Plates, Notes, Bibliographies, Index.

Thailand Before Siam: Essays in art and archaeology Edited by NICHOLAS REVIRE and STEPHEN A. MURPHY Bangkok: River Books & The Siam Society, 2014. Pp. 432. Maps, Plates, Notes, Bibliographies, Index. Before Siam is a major addition to the early history of the culture, art, and politics of the geographical area of what is present-day Thailand. Siam appears in history in the twelfth century, the first Thai state. This book is a collection of contributions from 18 scholars exploring its art and archaeology before the twelfth century; the essays are divided into four chronological parts, from prehistory up until the reign of the Khmer king Jayavarman VII (ca. 1182-1219). There is also a Prologue by Hiram Woodward. The first essay in 'Part I: Late prehistory to early history' is a rethinking of the Palaeo-shoreline of the Gulf of Thailand. Trongjai Hutangkura decisively shows with an impressive display of technical studies that the shoreline was not far inland from where it is today, an idea that has over the last three decades been accepted by many archaeologists in their interpretation of early historical states, specifically that of Dvaravati. Trongjai's correction is of great importance. The next three essays focus on recent archaeological excavations of sites in the upper Thai-Malayan Peninsula that have produced truly amazing results with a small army of researchers and a flood of publications starting in the 2000s. The excavations at Khao Sam Kaeo, a site most active from the early fourth to second or first century BCE, uncovered sophisticated urban organisation, local production of high quality luxury items in stone, metal, and glass, and extensive long-distance trade networks (particularly with India). Indeed, the suggestion is that Indian craftsmen were actually working at the site. The final essay in Part I is on the site of Phromthin Tai. It is one of five essays in the book that focuses on specific sites and their recent archaeological explorations. In addition to Phromthin Tai are essays on the sites of Phong Tuek, Kampheng Saen, Pattani province, and Sampanago (Myanmar). Some of these sites have been the subject of previous publications, but are provided with new and expanded interpretations as a result of recent archaeological and artistic finds. 'Part II: The growing emergence of Indie material culture' has five essays. Himanshu Ray's essay is a wide-ranging discussion of the cultural, economic, and artistic connections between Southeast Asia and South Asia via the Bay of Bengal. She stresses that both Indie religions of Buddhism and Brahmanism were at play in the interchange, which I don't think many would question, but makes an important point that trade was not the only motivation for the maritime crossings. This is a helpful caution. Perhaps the major theme that the book's essays share is the importance of trade in the material cultural identification of the Southeast Asian landscape. Much of the discussion in this section focuses on the identification of the trade networks: the rivers, sea coasts, oceans, and mountain crossings. …