Research & Article

This article presents the results from the study of 254 glass beads obtained from late prehistoric to early historic sites in central Thailand project 2017-2018. The project aimed to characterize the beads physically and chemically, for which the results were used to create a database and elucidate past lifeways.

The study observed that the variation of the beads had increased through times, which may have coincided with the gradual increase of glass bead consumption as well as increasing contact with external glass producers. The glass products found in central Thailand are likely to have been a result of extensive interregional trade networks linking the Indian subcontinent, China, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia which was part of the Maritime Silk Road during later prehistory to early history.