Research & Article

The article outlines the archaeological research conducted by the University of Hawaii Fine Arts Department Expedition with the support of the United States of America National Science Foundation in the northeastern provinces of Thailand during the 1963-1964 field season. The salvage archaeology program was conducted prior to construction of five dams; two of which are connected to the larger Lower Mekong Valley Project, while the other three were under the supervision of the Royal Irrigation Department of Thailand. A total of 21 sites were found in the three reservoir areas Lam Pla Plerng, Lam Pao, and Nam Pong. A general survey of these areas suggests that all sites were historic on the surface, however two sites from Lam Pla Plerng and two to four sites from Nam Pong appear to be prehistoric. Furthermore, it is possible that select sites in the Lam Pao area have prehistoric origins. The article carefully records and analyzes the artifacts found in each location, the most common of which being pottery, particularly earthenware. No sites were located in the Nam Phung area, while the Lam Oon area had not been covered at the time of publication, so neither region is discussed in this paper. While major conclusions could not be formed as the discovered sites were not extensively excavated prior to publication, this article argues that there may have been a widely scattered prehistoric population of a long duration. Additionally, two sites in the Lam Pla Plerng reservoir area appear to be related to Neolithic and Early Iron Age sites in Kanchanaburi, suggesting that further excavation may clarify the distribution of a seemingly distinctive prehistoric culture in Thailand and Southeast Asia.