Major article published in Archaeological Research in Asia!

In September 2021, Joyce and Elizabeth Hamilton published an article entitled “The metal age of Thailand and Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage” in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia. In it, they argue that, contrary to established theory in Southeast Asia that ties the appearance of copper-base technology to the appearance of elites and top-down control of production, in prehistoric Thailand metal production and metal artifact production emerged in decentralized communities, without elite control. This system fits a scenario termed ‘heterarchical’ rather than ‘hierarchical’. The evidence for this hypothesis is based on the extensive and detailed analysis of metal remains from Ban, Ban Pak, Top, Ban Tong, and Don Klang extensively laid out in the Metals Monographs, as well as the results of analytical work at 21 additional consumer sites and lead-isotope analysis from three metal production sites. This article also argues for the necessity for students of ancient metal technology to analyze a full range of artifactual and production evidence, rather than drawing conclusions from the analysis of a few well-preserved and attractive burial objects. The article is published as Open Access, which means that anyone can access it. To read the article, go here. (Most of this article was written during the Covid-19 lockdown.)