A
Tonle Sap basin and mainland Southeast Asian networks
អង្គរ
Temples, reservoirs, canals, roads, settlement mounds, inscriptions, environmental evidence, and household archaeology reveal an extensive urban region sustained by unequal labor, farming, ritual, and political institutions.
Metropolitan, hydraulic, royal, religious, household, and regional political landscape context
Primary Angkorian focus c. 9th-15th centuries CE, within longer settlement and later living-heritage histories
Monument and settlement archaeology, lidar and landscape survey, reservoirs and canals, inscriptions, sculpture, ceramics, botanical evidence, household excavation, and conservation records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Angkor archaeological landscape near Siem Reap; a metropolitan and royal orientation point, not the center or boundary of every Khmer or regional community
- Language family
- Austroasiatic Khmer language evidence within a multilingual regional world
B
Khorat Plateau and upper Mekong regional networks
แหล่งโบราณคดีบ้านเชียง
Settlement layers, burials, ceramics, plant and animal evidence, and metal objects document changing village life, farming, craft, and social practice in northeast Thailand.
Prehistoric settlement, farming, mortuary, ceramic, and metalworking context
Prehistoric occupation principally during the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE into the early centuries CE; absolute phases remain debated
Settlement and burial stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, ceramics, bronze and iron objects, technical analysis, botanical and faunal remains, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Ban Chiang archaeological mound; a village and research reference, not an ethnic capital, migration origin, or territorial marker
- Language family
- Unknown from archaeological evidence
B
Kedu Plain, central Java, and maritime Asian networks
Candi Borobudur
Architecture, reliefs, inscriptions, landscape, craft, water and volcanic environments, and conservation evidence illuminate patronage, ritual, skilled labor, pilgrimage, and regional connections.
Monumental, religious, artistic, labor, landscape, and political-network context
Principal construction c. 8th-9th centuries CE, with later use, transformation, and conservation
Monument archaeology, architecture, reliefs, inscriptions, sculpture, landscape and environmental study, comparative art history, restoration archives, and living religious practice
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Borobudur Temple Compounds; a monumental and ritual reference rather than a city capital, ethnic center, or territorial boundary
- Language family
- Austronesian Old Javanese language evidence alongside Sanskrit religious and learned usage
B
Agusan River delta, Mindanao, and maritime Southeast Asian networks
Butuan boat-site and river-delta contexts
Waterlogged boats, settlements, ceramics, goldworking, burials, imported wares, and riverine archaeology document skilled maritime communities and exchange in northeastern Mindanao.
Maritime technology, river-delta settlement, craft, burial, and exchange context
Principal archaeological focus c. 9th-15th centuries CE, with later records and heritage
Waterlogged sewn-plank boats, settlement archaeology, ceramics, metalworking and gold objects, burials and human remains, imported goods, dating, and attributed external records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Libertad boat-site and National Museum context in Butuan; an excavation and institutional reference rather than a capital, port boundary, or origin point for all Philippine voyaging
- Language family
- Austronesian-language regional context without treating craft technology as proof of one language or ethnicity
K
Upper Wahgi Valley and New Guinea highlands
Kuk Early Agricultural Site
Buried channels, ditches, mounds, plant residues, tools, sediments, and modern land knowledge document independent and changing highland cultivation over thousands of years.
Long-duration agricultural, wetland-management, community, and cultural landscape context
Possible plant management from approximately 10,000 years ago; cultivation and drainage sequences through recent practice
Buried field systems, palaeochannels, ditches, mounds, tools, archaeobotanical residues, sediments, dating, ethnography, and community land-management records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Kuk Early Agricultural Site in the Upper Wahgi Valley; a customary-land and farming landscape, not an origin point or territorial boundary for all highland communities
- Language family
- Multiple distinct New Guinea language histories; Papuan is a geographic umbrella, not one family
L
Vanuatu and wider western Pacific island networks
Teouma Lapita site, Efate
Pottery, settlement deposits, fishing and farming evidence, exchange materials, and a cemetery at Teouma illuminate early Remote Oceanian settlement while preserving variation, local agency, and ethical limits.
Archaeological classification, island settlement, voyaging, subsistence, exchange, and mortuary context
Approximately 1200-800 BCE at Teouma and related early Remote Oceanian contexts, with varied regional chronologies
Settlement and cemetery archaeology, dentate-stamped pottery, radiocarbon dating, human remains, faunal and plant evidence, stable isotopes, stone and shell objects, exchange study, and community heritage records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Teouma site on Efate; one early settlement and cemetery context, not the origin, capital, or boundary of every Lapita-associated or Pacific community
- Language family
- Austronesian-language historical context treated separately from pottery, biology, and identity
L
Upper Perak River valley and Malay Peninsula interior
Lenggong Valley archaeological landscape
Open-air workshops, cave deposits, stone industries, environmental evidence, and a later prehistoric burial preserve an unusually long but discontinuous archaeological sequence in the Malay Peninsula.
Multi-site Palaeolithic-to-later-prehistory archaeological landscape context
Palaeolithic evidence with debated very early dates through later prehistoric cave use and burial
Open-air and cave stratigraphy, stone tools and production debris, geological study, dating programs, faunal evidence, and human burial context
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Lenggong Valley serial archaeological property; a landscape orientation rather than one settlement, capital, or ethnic homeland
- Language family
- Unknown from archaeological evidence
M
Alligator Rivers region and western Arnhem Land escarpment
Madjedbebe, Mirarr Country
Research undertaken through agreement with Mirarr Traditional Owners documents a long sequence of stone technology, ochre, grinding, plant use, and environmental adaptation while keeping community authority and dating limits explicit.
Deep-time occupation, technology, subsistence, and living custodianship context
Deposits interpreted as extending to approximately 65,000 years ago, with many later occupations; earliest chronology remains debated
Stratified rock-shelter excavation, optically stimulated luminescence dating, stone tools, ochre, grinding stones, charcoal, plant remains, environmental study, and Traditional Owner research partnership
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Madjedbebe rock shelter on Mirarr Country near Kakadu; a restricted living cultural place and research reference, not a public territorial marker or human-origin point
- Language family
- Spoken languages are not recoverable from deep-time deposits; living language identities cannot be projected automatically backward
M
Batanghari River basin, Sumatra, and maritime Asian networks
Kawasan Cagar Budaya Nasional Muarajambi
Brick complexes, settlements, canals, ponds, ceramics, beads, inscriptions, religious evidence, and river geography document long-lived communities connected through the Batanghari basin and wider Asian networks.
Riverine settlement, religious, water-management, craft, learning-network, and political context
Principal archaeological focus c. 7th-14th centuries CE, with longer landscape and living heritage
Temple and settlement archaeology, brick architecture, canals and ponds, ceramics, beads and craft debris, sculpture, inscriptions, environmental study, attributed travel texts, and conservation records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Muarajambi Temple Compound along the Batanghari River; an extensive institutional and settlement landscape, not a securely demonstrated single imperial capital
- Language family
- Austronesian Old Malay evidence alongside Sanskrit learned usage within multilingual river and maritime networks
M
Central Viet Nam coast, Thu Bồn basin, uplands, and maritime networks
Thánh địa Mỹ Sơn
Temple architecture, sculpture, Sanskrit and Old Cham inscriptions, craft, landscape, and regional exchange document religious and political institutions within diverse coastal and upland relationships.
Temple, inscriptional, royal, craft, maritime, and regional political context
Principal construction and inscriptional activity c. 4th-13th centuries CE, with later sacred and heritage histories
Temple and landscape archaeology, architecture, sculpture, Sanskrit and Old Cham inscriptions, ceramics, conservation records, and regional historical comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Mỹ Sơn temple sanctuary; a royal and religious reference rather than a capital, territorial boundary, or center of every Cham community
- Language family
- Austronesian Cham language evidence within multilingual coastal and upland worlds
N
Pohnpei and western Pacific island networks
Nan Madol, Pohnpei
Artificial islets, basalt architecture, residences, ritual and mortuary spaces, oral traditions, agriculture, and island resource networks document changing chiefly institutions and skilled Pohnpeian labor.
Monumental island, ceremonial, chiefly, oral-traditional, and living customary heritage context
Monumental development principally c. 1200-1500 CE, within longer Pohnpeian settlement and living tradition
Architectural and islet archaeology, basalt sourcing, settlement and mortuary evidence, environmental study, oral traditions, historical records, customary knowledge, and conservation documentation
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Nan Madol islet complex off Temwen Island; a ceremonial and political reference within Pohnpei, not a boundary, external colony, or capital of all Micronesia
- Language family
- Austronesian Pohnpeian language context within distinct Micronesian island histories
N
Northern Borneo karst and coastal-riverine networks
Great Cave and Niah cave complex
Cave deposits, environmental evidence, tools, food remains, rock art, and mortuary contexts document changing human activity in northern Borneo from the Pleistocene through recent periods.
Long-duration cave occupation, subsistence, mortuary, and heritage landscape context
Pleistocene occupation from at least approximately 40,000 years ago through Holocene and later cave use
Stratified cave archaeology, radiocarbon and other dating, stone tools, faunal and plant remains, human remains, burials, rock art, ceramics, and environmental reconstruction
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Great Cave within the Niah National Park caves complex; one component in a broad living and archaeological landscape, not a homeland boundary
- Language family
- Unknown for Pleistocene and much prehistoric occupation; living Bornean language identities cannot be assigned from cave deposits
P
Ayeyarwady basin dry zone and mainland exchange networks
Halin, Beikthano, and Sri Ksetra
Fortified cities, irrigation, craft, burials, inscriptions, coinage, and Buddhist institutions document changing urban and regional communities across the dry zone of present-day Myanmar.
Early urban, inscriptional, hydraulic, religious, and city-network context
Approximately 2nd century BCE-9th century CE, with differing city chronologies
Urban and landscape archaeology, walls and water systems, burials, ceramics, beads, coins, Pyu and Indic inscriptions, religious architecture, and attributed Chinese records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Sri Ksetra as one of the Pyu Ancient Cities; an urban orientation point rather than a capital for every Pyu-speaking or regional community
- Language family
- Pyu is generally classified within Sino-Tibetan, while multilingual residence and political allegiance require separate evidence
R
Rapa Nui in southeastern Polynesia
Rapa Nui and Rano Raraku
Settlements, gardens, quarries, roads, platforms, moai, rock art, environmental records, oral traditions, and living stewardship document an innovative island society and its changing relationships with land and sea.
Polynesian island settlement, agriculture, monument, oral-traditional, and living Indigenous heritage context
Settlement chronology debated; principal monumental focus c. 10th-16th centuries CE, with later colonial and living histories
Settlement and landscape archaeology, gardens and agricultural features, quarries, platforms and moai, roads, rock art, radiocarbon dating, palaeoenvironmental evidence, oral traditions, colonial records, and living community knowledge
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Rano Raraku within the Rapa Nui cultural landscape; an archaeological orientation point, not a sovereignty marker, ethnic boundary, or center of every island community
- Language family
- Austronesian Polynesian language context, without turning language into proof of uniform identity or ancestry
S
Pa Sak basin and central mainland Southeast Asian networks
เมืองโบราณศรีเทพ
Urban earthworks, monuments, sculpture, inscriptions, water management, craft, and regional exchange reveal a city shaped by local communities and changing Buddhist, Hindu, and political networks.
Early historic urban, religious, craft, and regional political context
Settlement from prehistoric periods; primary urban focus c. 4th-13th centuries CE
Urban and landscape archaeology, moats, water systems, religious architecture, sculpture, inscriptions, ceramics, craft evidence, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Ancient Town of Si Thep; a long-lived city reference rather than a universal Dvaravati capital or ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Multilingual evidence; language, artistic style, political allegiance, and ethnicity cannot be equated
T
Western Palawan and northern Island Southeast Asian connections
Tabon Caves and Lipuun Point
Cave stratigraphy, stone tools, faunal remains, human remains, jar burials, ceramics, and exchange goods preserve repeated and diverse activity on Palawan from the Pleistocene into later prehistory.
Long-duration cave occupation, mortuary, subsistence, and national heritage context
Pleistocene evidence from at least approximately 50,000 years ago through Holocene and later prehistoric cave use
Cave stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, stone tools, faunal remains, human remains, burials, ceramics, ornaments, and museum research records
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Lipuun Point and Tabon Cave Complex; a protected multi-cave landscape rather than a human-origin point, ethnic homeland, or territorial marker
- Language family
- Unknown for the earliest occupations; archaeological deposits cannot assign modern language identity
T
Brantas basin, eastern Java, and maritime Southeast Asian networks
Situs Trowulan and Majapahit
Settlement remains, brick architecture, water systems, craft, ceramics, inscriptions, court literature, and external records illuminate a major Javanese political center and its unequal regional relationships.
Late premodern urban, courtly, hydraulic, craft, literary, and regional political context
Principal Majapahit focus c. late 13th-15th centuries CE
Settlement archaeology, brick structures, canals and reservoirs, ceramics, craft debris, inscriptions, attributed court literature, external records, and conservation survey
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Trowulan archaeological landscape; a major court and urban reference, not the capital of every Majapahit-associated community or a boundary of modern Indonesia
- Language family
- Austronesian Old Javanese evidence alongside Sanskrit and multilingual maritime contexts
T
Red River delta margin and limestone karst of northern Viet Nam
Quần thể danh thắng Tràng An
Caves, shell deposits, stone tools, food remains, burials, and environmental reconstruction document repeated adaptation to dramatic climatic, shoreline, and landscape change over more than 30,000 years.
Long-duration cave occupation, environmental adaptation, and cultural landscape context
More than 30,000 years of archaeological evidence through recent landscape use
Cave stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, stone tools, shell and faunal remains, human remains and burials, palaeoenvironmental study, historical structures, and landscape survey
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Tràng An Landscape Complex; a multi-cave heritage landscape rather than a territorial, ethnic, or origin boundary
- Language family
- Unknown for prehistoric cave occupations; later languages cannot be projected automatically backward
Ó
Mekong Delta, Gulf of Thailand, and Indian Ocean-South China Sea networks
Khu di tích khảo cổ Óc Eo-Ba Thê
Settlements, canals, workshops, religious structures, burials, inscriptions, ceramics, and imported objects document local production and far-reaching Mekong Delta connections.
Delta settlement, craft, water-management, religious, and long-distance exchange context
Approximately 1st century BCE-7th century CE, with related later activity
Settlement archaeology, canals and embankments, craft workshops, religious architecture, burials, inscriptions, ceramics, coins, glass and metal objects, environmental study, and attributed Chinese texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Óc Eo and Ba Thê archaeological zones in An Giang; a multi-site delta context, not a demonstrated universal Funan capital or territorial boundary
- Language family
- Multilingual delta context; archaeological style, script, trade, and ethnic identity cannot be equated
Đ
Red River plain, northern Viet Nam, and connected mainland networks
Văn hóa Đông Sơn and Thành Cổ Loa
Settlement, fortifications, bronze casting, ceramics, burials, agriculture, and regional exchange illuminate changing communities in northern Viet Nam without converting material styles into one nation or language.
Late Bronze and Iron Age archaeological, fortified-settlement, craft, and political context
Broadly 1st millennium BCE into the early centuries CE; Cổ Loa focus principally c. 4th-2nd centuries BCE
Settlement and rampart archaeology, geophysical survey, bronze-casting furnaces and molds, drums and tools, ceramics, burials, environmental evidence, and later attributed texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Cổ Loa fortified settlement; an archaeological and political reference rather than a capital for every Đông Sơn-associated community or a modern ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Spoken language assignments remain debated and cannot be derived from bronze styles or fortifications alone
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