Dvaravati; Early Buddhism in Southeast Asia; Buddhist Art History; Dvarati Art Style; Southeast Asian Protohistory
摘要
The archaeological site of P'ong Tuk, located in Kanchanaburi Province, west-central Thailand, was subject to field investigations by George Coedes in 1927 and H. G. Quaritch Wales in 1935. Both investigations uncovered substantial material remains, including architectural and mortuary features and ritual objects, used to help define an early Buddhist "Dvaravati" cultural expression in the region of central Thailand. These early investigations, however, while regularly cited in the scholarly literature, were brief and minimally reported. The present study undertakes a reevaluation of the Coedes and Quaritch Wales data in light of new concepts and comparative evidence for the Dvaravati culture, as well as an integration of the published material with newly available information from Quaritch Wales' field notes, and from a field reconnaissance of P'ong Tuk in 2008. This re-evaluation and integration of site data permits the identification of several new cultural patterns at the site, as well as new avenues for future research.
