Mainland Southeast Asian Worlds: River Valleys, Cities, and Connected Landscapes - Interactive Historical Atlas

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Mainland Southeast Asian Worlds: River Valleys, Cities, and Connected Landscapes

Chronology, households, sacred landscapes, work, and changing court cities.

Explore twenty selective contexts from prehistoric settlements to medieval river cities. Follow evidence for dating, construction, water, religious patronage and regional connections without turning changing polities into timeless peoples.

20
profiles in this release
16
regional contexts
1
language families
Interactive collection

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Showing all 20 profiles

Point markers show approximate public towns or distant institutional orientation only, sometimes far from the archaeological context. They never define territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, trade-route, hunting, grazing, farming, fishing or water-rights boundaries. They do not pinpoint burials, ancestral remains, sacred places, private land or vulnerable deposits; grant no access, digging, collecting, hunting or travel permission; and do not decide ownership or current safety. Shared orientation points are intentional, not multiple sites at one coordinate.

Chao Phraya river landscapes

Ayutthaya: river city, labor, and exchange

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record links Ayutthaya's location with river connections toward the sea; a map point cannot reconstruct all routes or their control. The evaluation places the capital's foundation around 1350. Later temples, diplomacy and commerce require their own dates rather than an undifferentiated golden age.

Riverine court and urban political networks Approximately 1350–1500 CE in this profile; later global connections and 1767 destruction separately dated City landscape, monumental remains and attributed heritage evaluation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Bangkok, Thailand, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Ayeyarwady landscapes

Bagan: temples, households, and religious economies

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record places Bagan's major building period in the eleventh–thirteenth centuries and treats it as a landscape, not merely a collection of isolated temples. The evaluation discusses merit-making and patronage alongside the material requirements of monuments; visible elite donations do not recover all household work or labor status.

Court, religious institutions, and urban landscape Main eleventh–thirteenth centuries CE; subsequent worship and heritage history distinguished Monuments, inscriptions, settlement landscape and conservation assessment
Reference town or distant institutional context
Mandalay, Myanmar, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Upper Mun Valley

Ban Non Wat: settlement, chronology, and households

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The dating study combines stratigraphic order with radiocarbon measurements to investigate transitions among Neolithic, bronze-using and iron-using phases. Higham's later discussion situates the site within continuing arguments about dating, farming and social change rather than treating chronology as a settled regional template.

Prehistoric settlement and chronological research Approximately second millennium BCE–early first millennium CE; modeled phases and modern research distinguished Stratigraphy, radiocarbon models, excavated objects and community-linked research
Reference town or distant institutional context
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Ma and Buoi river landscapes

Hồ dynasty citadel: landscape and political change

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage account interprets the citadel's arrangement through contemporary landscape principles; this is a planning interpretation, not a religious census. The evaluation dates construction to 1397 and distinguishes the short Hồ ruling period from the longer history of occupation and later reception.

Short-lived court center and monumental construction Main 1397–early fifteenth century CE; later use and conservation distinguished Stone fortifications, spatial planning, archaeology and attributed heritage evaluation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Thanh Hóa, Viet Nam, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Ping Valley landscapes

Kamphaeng Phet: regional town and religious work

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage account includes Kamphaeng Phet alongside Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai rather than collapsing their histories into a single city. The evaluation discusses fortification and religious architecture; construction reflects organized work but does not establish that every worker had the same legal status.

Medieval fortified town and religious landscape Main fourteenth–fifteenth centuries CE; earlier proposals and later reception separated Town layout, walls, building materials and heritage evaluation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand, public-town orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Northern Cambodian landscapes

Koh Ker: court, builders, and changing power

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage account associates Koh Ker's principal court role with 928–944 CE, distinguishing it from Angkor rather than duplicating Angkor's history. The evaluation examines construction and urban infrastructure; monumental investment required material procurement and labor not fully represented by royal records.

Short-lived court center and urban landscape Main tenth century CE; later landscape and modern heritage history distinguished Buildings, inscriptions, water infrastructure and archaeological heritage evaluation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Siem Reap, Cambodia, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Rakhine river and coastal landscapes

Mrauk-U: fifteenth-century water and court networks

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The tentative submission describes monuments mainly of the fifteenth–sixteenth centuries; this profile concentrates on the earlier portion and labels later fabric explicitly. The guide examines fortification and water management in a landscape connected to the coast. Such infrastructure does not establish that every resident belonged to one religion or ethnicity.

Late medieval court and water landscape Main fifteenth century CE, beginning with the attributed 1430 foundation; later monuments separately identified Archaeological landscape, retrospective historical synthesis and attributed heritage submissions
Reference town or distant institutional context
Sittwe, Myanmar, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Lower central plain

Nakhon Pathom: buildings, texts, and reception

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The museum essay associates Nakhon Pathom with Dvaravati-period patronage and sculpture, while its broad language labels need evidence-specific use. Khunsong's excavation study reports terracotta roof tiles from investigations in 2009–2010, revising an earlier absence of such finds at Nakhon Pathom.

Early urban and religious archaeology Main sixth–eleventh centuries CE; nineteenth-century rebuilding and modern excavation distinguished Religious sculpture, inscriptions, excavated roof tiles and rebuilding history
Reference town or distant institutional context
Bangkok, Thailand, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Upper Mun Valley

Noen U-Loke: water, work, and social change

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The 2022 study adds dated rice grains to an earlier charcoal chronology, allowing the timing of Iron Age phases to be reconsidered. Higham's regional household study warns that settlement plans and domestic activities are much less visible than selected mortuary evidence; neighboring Non Ban Jak is a comparison, not the same site.

Iron Age settlement and landscape research Main Iron Age context approximately 450 BCE–500 CE; earlier occupation separately identified Stratified rice dates, settlement deposits and regional household comparisons
Reference town or distant institutional context
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Northeastern plateau

Non Nok Tha: metallurgy and dating debates

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The 2014 study proposes a later Neolithic-to-bronze sequence than the fourth-millennium bronze dates reported during early research. Solheim's 1972 essay records exploratory fieldwork and ambitious regional-priority claims. Those claims are historical interpretations, not this atlas's verdict.

Prehistoric metallurgy and research history Approximately fourteenth–first millennium BCE in revised models; older claims separately attributed Excavation stratigraphy, casting evidence and successive radiocarbon interpretations
Reference town or distant institutional context
Khon Kaen, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Khorat Plateau margins

Phanom Rung: hill sanctuary and patronage

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The institutional architecture record treats Narendraditya's patronage as a plausible interpretation rather than an unambiguous surviving commission. The 2019 submission groups Phanom Rung with other sanctuaries, emphasizing landscape and connections rather than a single isolated monument.

Sacred landscape and regional patronage Approximately tenth–thirteenth centuries CE; modern restoration and designation separated Architecture, inscriptions, stylistic analysis and tentative-list documentation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Buriram, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Upper Mun Valley

Phimai: sanctuary, local work, and regional connections

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The architectural record reports earlier brick remains beneath later stone construction and dates principal forms broadly to the eleventh–twelfth centuries. The sculpture record regards a naga-sheltered Buddha as later than the principal sanctuary, illustrating why an object's present setting cannot date the entire building.

Regional sanctuary and artistic networks Main eleventh–thirteenth centuries CE; earlier building and modern restoration distinguished Architectural stratigraphy, inscriptions, sculpture comparison and national museum interpretation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Xiengkhuang plateau

Plain of Jars: chronology and living landscapes

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The 2021 study combines dating and geological methods; an age for stone provenance is not automatically the date of carving or use. The heritage record groups several jar localities rather than a single city or royal capital.

Megalithic landscape and chronological research Proposed jar placement in the late second–first millennium BCE; later first–second millennium CE activity distinguished Stone-working contexts, luminescence, radiocarbon, geological analysis and collaborative fieldwork
Reference town or distant institutional context
Phonsavan, Lao PDR: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Dângrêk landscape context

Preah Vihear: sanctuary, patronage, and landscape

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record distinguishes an earlier ninth-century context from major eleventh-century architecture instead of assigning the whole complex one construction date. The evaluation relates architectural arrangement to the plateau setting and religious function; it does not describe every surrounding community.

Regional sanctuary and patronage context Approximately ninth–twelfth centuries CE; later conservation separated Architectural phases, inscriptions, landscape setting and attributed heritage assessments
Reference town or distant institutional context
Tbeng Meanchey, Cambodia, distant public-town orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Central Cambodian landscapes

Sambor Prei Kuk: Ishanapura and regional power

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage account connects the temple groups with Ishanapura; the identification should not erase the wider settlement and its workers. The evaluation considers brick sanctuary forms and sculpted stone elements, including octagonal buildings, as evidence of regional architectural experimentation.

Early urban and religious political context Main late sixth–seventh centuries CE; later phases and modern conservation distinguished Brick sanctuaries, architectural comparison, inscriptions and heritage assessment
Reference town or distant institutional context
Kampong Thom, Cambodia: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Yom Valley and associated towns

Si Satchanalai: town, craft, and religious landscapes

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage property includes Si Satchanalai as a distinct town, requiring its own local settlement and religious context. The evaluation discusses the associated town within a broader history of monuments and manufacture; objects alone cannot name every producer or recipient.

Associated medieval town and production networks Main thirteenth–fifteenth centuries CE; wider ceramic chronology and later reception distinguished City remains, religious architecture, production context and heritage evaluation
Reference town or distant institutional context
Sawankhalok, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Yom Valley and associated towns

Sukhothai: city, water, and patronage

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage record treats Sukhothai with two other towns rather than as the only important community of its period. The evaluation considers the city's sacred buildings and urban works within a royal history; its older origin narrative is attributed, not adopted as neutral national history.

Medieval city and religious political networks Main thirteenth–fifteenth centuries CE; later reception distinguished Urban layout, religious buildings, water infrastructure and attributed heritage assessment
Reference town or distant institutional context
Phitsanulok, Thailand, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Red River landscapes

Thăng Long: layers of court and city

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The heritage account places the eleventh-century citadel over an earlier administrative context rather than presenting the city as a wholly new settlement. The evaluation considers excavated structures and objects alongside transmitted history; later standing fabric and earlier layers are not interchangeable.

Layered court city and imperial institutions Seventh-century background; main eleventh–fifteenth centuries CE; later fabric separately identified Excavated architectural layers, objects, written chronology and heritage assessment
Reference town or distant institutional context
Hanoi, Viet Nam, public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Lower central plain

U Thong: settlement, exchange, and interpretation

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

Boisselier's report describes work on archaeological material and building techniques at U Thong within wider surveys of the central plain. Revire's review examines the interpretation of gold and the site's historical reputation. A book's evocative title is not evidence for a golden-age city.

Early urban and exchange context Main first-millennium CE context; earlier material and later names distinguished Excavation reports, objects, construction evidence and critical historiography
Reference town or distant institutional context
Suphan Buri, Thailand: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Mekong and Champasak

Vat Phou and Champasak: water and sacred landscapes

Reviewed place and institutional names are retained; no otherwise unknown ancient self-designation is invented.

The property includes settlement and water infrastructure as well as sanctuaries, allowing landscape work to be considered alongside elite patronage. The ICOMOS assessment distinguishes earlier Shaiva associations from later Buddhist use and the site's place in contemporary communal life.

Sacred landscape and changing settlement networks Approximately fifth–fifteenth centuries CE, with separate phases and later living worship Temple architecture, settlement traces, waterworks and heritage assessment
Reference town or distant institutional context
Pakse, Lao PDR, distant public-city orientation: approximate public-town or distant institutional orientation, not an excavation, burial, sacred-site, cave-entrance, private compound, underwater or vulnerable-deposit location; never a territorial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, sovereignty, fishing, water-rights or route boundary. The orientation may be far from the archaeological context. No access, collecting, ritual or travel permission is implied.
Language family
Language, script, material classification, political allegiance, religion and living identity are distinct; no classification of every resident is inferred.
3 reviewed sources Read profile
Evidence-first orientation

Chronology, language, labor, and living landscapes

Six cited evidence notes explain modern regional frames, material classifications, partial archives, river landscapes and work, connected worlds, and living heritage.

Regional names do not reconstruct borders

The Champasak and Hanoi records concern different landscapes, periods and political scales. Mainland Southeast Asia and its present countries help locate evidence; they do not reconstruct ancient nationality, ownership or allegiance.

[C4] [C7]

Material labels and spoken identities differ

The Ban Non Wat chronology classifies layers and dated events; Dvaravati art history compares religious objects. Neither method identifies an unchanged people. Bronze use, sculpture style, language and political authority must remain separate questions.

[C1] [C2]

Archives and monuments are partial

Sambor Prei Kuk's royal and religious evidence and Mrauk-U's retrospective guide have different purposes. Inscriptions and chronicles favor particular institutions. Attribute foundation stories and transmitted names by their date and genre instead of treating them as social censuses.

[C5] [C6]

Households, landscapes, and work

The regional household study highlights gaps in domestic evidence, while the Champasak record connects settlement with water and building. Discuss farming, fishing, craft, gender, maintenance and patronage; dependent labor or slavery requires evidence, not an assumed status for every builder.

[C3] [C4]

Connections without one-way civilization

Religious sculpture and layered urban evidence reveal active local choices within wider exchanges. Language, patronage and material similarities do not prove one migration, a direct route, universal conversion, or passive Indianization or Sinicization.

[C2] [C7]

Living heritage, not identity adjudication

Mrauk-U's guide and Preah Vihear's inscription decision are attributed heritage records, not endorsements of this atlas. Modern borders, recognition and community membership are not decided here. Coarse points grant no access; evidence cannot establish personal ancestry or descent.

[C6] [C8]
  1. C1 A new chronological framework for prehistoric Southeast Asia, based on a Bayesian model from Ban Non Wat · Charles Higham and Thomas Higham; Antiquity 83
  2. C2 The Mon-Dvaravati Tradition of Early North-Central Thailand · Kurt Behrendt; Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. C3 The Prehistoric House: A Missing Factor in Southeast Asia · Charles Higham; New Perspectives in Southeast Asian and Pacific Prehistory, chapter 21; ANU Press
  4. C4 Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  5. C5 Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  6. C6 Mrauk-U: A Guide to the Heritage of the Ancient Kingdom · Robert Leslie Hudson, Daw Khin Than, U Win Kyaing and other contributors; Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, Myanmar; author-uploaded copy
  7. C7 Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  8. C8 Temple of Preah Vihear: inscription decision · UNESCO World Heritage Committee
Connected coverage

Topics already reviewed elsewhere in the atlas are linked instead of duplicated.

Ban Chiang: farming and metalworking Compare the existing chronology-sensitive overview; bronze dates do not establish an unchanged people. Pyu Ancient Cities Explore earlier regional urban contexts, not a simple ethnic precursor or replacement population for Bagan. Si Thep and Dvaravati-era communities Compare another regional context without treating Dvaravati as one fixed nation or religious community. Angkor: urban and political communities Use the established Angkor context alongside new regional sanctuaries and court centers, not a duplicate imperial history. Mỹ Sơn and Champa regional networks Compare neighboring historical networks without conflating them with living Cham identities or a fixed national frontier. Óc Eo-Ba Thê and Mekong Delta networks Open the existing exchange context; a Funan association is not proof of a universal capital or ethnicity. Đông Sơn contexts and Cổ Loa Compare an earlier northern context without turning bronze styles into a timeless people or automatic Đại Việt ancestry.
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Read the data carefully

A selective regional collection, not a people census

This editorial release contains 20 profiles. This is a selective collection, not a census or complete mainland history. Existing Ban Chiang, Pyu cities, Si Thep, Angkor, Mỹ Sơn, Óc Eo and Cổ Loa contexts are linked rather than duplicated. Less visible rural households and communities are not absent from the past.

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