Cultural Dynamics of Human-Environmental Interaction in Tropical Highland Pang Mapha, Northwest Thailand
- Date: May 17, 2023
- Speaker: Rasmi Shoocongdej, Ph.D.
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of ArchaeologySilpakorn University, Bangkok
- Location: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
- Room: Villa V14
- Host: Department of Archaeology
- Contact: richardson@shh.mpg.de
Over the past few years, archaeologists have made significant progress in understanding the processes of cultural and social changes documented in the Late and Post-Pleistocene archaeological record in Southeast Asian seasonal tropical environments. This talk explores the interactions between prehistoric humans and their environments through the study of adaptation as a key change in human behavioral patterns both synchronically and diachronically (ca. 32,000 – 1,100 B.P.).
Thedata derive from multidisciplinary research in highland Pang Mapha, Mae HongSon province, northwestern Thailand. Particular emphasis will be placed on howprehistoric populations adapted to their environments (e.g., mortuary rituals,migration, technological innovation) and became resilient to climatic changesthrough the examination of the variability of behavioral strategies insettlements associated with economic and ritual activities in the mountainouslandscapes. This analysis permits us to increase our understanding of human-environmentrelations over time and space across the highland region.