Institute for Southeast Asian Archaeology - ISEAA

Villaluz et al. published "A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Philippine Human Bioarchaeology" in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.70125 . This paper presents a comprehensive review of human bioarchaeology in the Philippines, tracing the field from its colonial-era beginnings to recent developments. They examine how sociopolitical histories—particularly Spanish and American colonial rule—shaped early knowledge production practices and interpretations of archaeological human remains data. Through a qualitative metasynthesis of published and unpublished literature, they identify prevailing research themes across historical periods, including colonial-era racial typologies, postwar material culture focus, and contemporary applications of scientific methods. While methodological advances and growing student interest have expanded the field, challenges remain, including limited publication of local research and the lack of long-term mentorship. They highlight the potential of Philippine bioarchaeology to contribute to key regional debates in the Asia-Pacific, particularly on human movement and dispersals, origins and antiquity of diseases, colonial health impacts, and ethical data sovereignty, while calling for the development of best practices that center community engagement and local perspectives.

Hoppál et al. published "Cross-Cultural Connections: Roman Material Reception and Adaptation in South and Southeast Asia" in Cambridge Archaeological Journal https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774326100560 . This study explores the reception and adaptation of Roman and Roman-inspired materials in South Asia and Southeast Asia during the early historic period. Drawing on a database of over 300 objects, it compares materials such as glass vessels, beads, engraved gems, and coin adaptations. While South Asia shows greater diversity and quantity of Roman imports, Southeast Asia demonstrates selective appropriation and creative transformation, often filtered through South Asia, particularly peninsular India. Southeast Asia favoured high-quality imports and innovative hybrid adaptations blending Mediterranean and Indic elements. In contrast, South Asian adaptations tended either to evoke Roman originals more closely using easily accessible raw materials such as in the case of terracotta bullae, or, when made from more valuable raw materials, often to diverge more substantially from the Roman prototypes. The study highlights regional differences in integrating Roman materials, revealing unique cultural priorities and engagement with global trade networks. Image shows Mediterranean and inspired engraved objects from Southeast Asia and South Asia.

Skopal et al. published "The death jar: a new mortuary tradition at the Plain of Jars, Lao PDR" in Antiquity https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10352 . Regarding ongoing research at Plain of Jar sites, the authors report on the excavation of the exceptionally large Jar 1 at Site 75, which contains a collective mortuary assemblage of secondary interments. The disarticulated remains of at least 37 individuals hint at the jars’ function within a complex funerary sequence. Direct radiocarbon dating indicate a prolonged period of mortuary activity c. cal AD 890–1160, a time of increasing regional interaction and mobility in Southeast Asia.

The death jar: a new mortuary tradition at the Plain of Jars, Lao PDR | Antiquity | Cambridge Core The death jar: a new mortuary tradition at the Plain of Jars, Lao PDR

Dussubieux et al published "Southern Sumatra late prehistoric and early historical maritime exchange: First elemental analysis data from glass beads" in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2026.2640237 . This paper presents the first comprehensive study of glass beads from Sumatra via laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to determine the elemental compositions of the beads. The study encompasses a wide range of sites from upland and lowland areas and various temporal periods, extending from prehistoric to early historic times in Southern Sumatra, Jambi, and South Sumatra Province. The study provides not only improved chronologies, but also data on upland–lowland exchanges that definitively show the upland megalithic sites are not prehistoric, but rather contemporary with Srivijaya. Furthermore, it provides data on the pre-Srivijayan port-settlements and the regional networks in which they were involved, thanks to the presence of certain types of glass, including Mediterranean glass.

For a different perspective from what is usually posted here see Sitta Kongsasana's article "Reframing living heritage through dialogical engagement: A critical case study of Ban Chiang, Thailand" in วารสารสิ่งแวดลอมสรรคสรางวินิจฉัย คณะสถาปตยกรรมศาสตร มหาวิทยาลัยขอนแกน https://www.researchgate.net/publication/404571647_Reframing_living_heritage_through_dialogical_engagement_A_critical_case_study_of_Ban_Chiang_Thailand . This study looks at how the Tai Puan community at Ban Chiang negotiates and reinterprets the meanings of heritage in dialogical interaction with global heritage discourses, pointing toward alternative frameworks for understanding living heritage. The research is based on ethnographic fieldwork, semi-structured interviews and critical discourse analysis and captures complex processes of local actors producing, resisting and hybridizing heritage narratives. Dialogical practices are found to empower community agency and to encourage interpretations of living heritage that contradict UNESCO's Authorised frameworks. This research adds to critical heritage scholarship by developing a dialogical model of living heritage, and it offers insights into decolonial approaches to heritage governance.

Dougald O'Reilly published "Empires of the Southern Ocean: Early Civilizations of Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia" with Bloomsbury https://www.amazon.com.au/Empires-Southern-Ocean-Civilizations-Southeast/dp/1538190214?content_source=fb&fb_content_id=Q9-wBQF36PU2wmwO99zlSHlTYMS8vU8dI3N05lVR7uoBCKZPuAKY44Ypp2J5KuqobWY&channel_type=fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawRkMxRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFHanN1M1RhSVRiNHJLT2FQc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhk56WhmwoEGjBzJ1jsW3rfjgPcWftG3l4MZHCuFprWea5hNqyEZfmIMZh0w_aem_lBxeteiTRHJbCbX8-7i3Qg . The volume traces the emergence, expansion, and transformation of early state-level societies across the regions that today encompass Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Drawing on the most current archaeological, epigraphic, and paleoenvironmental research, the book challenges outdated, India-centric narratives and instead presents a nuanced understanding of Southeast Asia's indigenous political developments, cross-cultural exchanges, and technological innovations. The volume includes a chapter on models of political development theory, critically examining how concepts such as heterarchy, segmentary states, and mandala systems apply—or fail to apply—to the Southeast Asian context. This theoretical grounding informs the subsequent case studies, offering readers a framework for understanding the diverse pathways to complexity taken by early Southeast Asian polities.

Yi et al published "Human maritime adaptation on Haitan Island, China, c. 7500 cal BP: new isotopic and dating evidence" in Antiquity https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10335 . The authors present new radiocarbon dates and isotopic data for human and animal remains recovered from the Neolithic site of Xiying on Haitan Island, on the south-east China coast. Analysis of stable isotopes from the bones and teeth of terrestrial and marine animals at the Xiying site indicates diverse foraging environments and ecological conditions on Early Neolithic Haitan Island (including closed forests, open C3 vegetation, C4 resources and marine environments). The human remains are the earliest yet discovered on the island, yet their stable isotope ratios reveal a lifelong heavy reliance on marine foods despite the availability of a diversity of terrestrial resources, offering new insights into human adaptive flexibility in maritime environments.

A large number of abstracts (but not yet all) have been posted for the sessions at the upcoming IPPA meetings in Jogjakarta. There will be a total of 60 sessions and 800+ presentations. You can start to check out many great paper line ups and abstracts here https://www.ippasecretariat.org/ippa2026/sessions/ . Click on the number in black to see the session abstract and if the papers have been posted yet. Then click on papers to see their individual abstracts.

Yu et al. published "Early dispersal of Neolithic populations in the ancient Pearl River Estuary: Insights from landscape connectivity modeling" in Journal of Archaeological Science https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2026.106527 . This study integrates paleo-shoreline reconstruction with landscape connectivity modeling to investigate the formation and dispersal of early Neolithic settlements in the Ancient Pearl River Estuary Area. By reconstructing coastal topography around 6 ka BP and establishing a time-cost equivalence model for land and maritime travel, they apply Omniscape and Circuitscape simulations to evaluate mobility patterns during the Painted Pottery Culture Period (PPCP, 6.5–5 ka BP) and the Geometry Incised Pottery Period (GIPP, 5–3.3 ka BP, see map). The results indicate that the values for PPCP sites were close to random expectations, suggesting that settlement selection during this period was not centered on high-connectivity zones. In contrast, GIPP sites show significant clustering within high-connectivity areas, reflecting the establishment of exchange networks and more deliberate settlement-planning strategies. These findings not only extend the chronological applicability of landscape connectivity modeling, but also provide new insights into the formation and dispersal dynamics of maritime exchange networks during the middle–late Neolithic of coastal Southeast Asia.

Pryce et al. published "The Southeast Asian Bronze Age Fringe? Technological, Elemental and Lead Isotopic Data From Nong Nor and Koh Ta Méas" in Archaeometry https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.70125 . They note that Mainland Southeast Asian metal exchange networks during the regional Bronze Age (c. 1200–500 bc) are increasingly well-documented and understood in their complexity and relations to southern China. However, significant gaps remain due to the scarcity of excavated sites of this period with metallurgical assemblages, as well as most of the previously studied sites being in irregularly distributed clusters. The Bronze Age cemeteries of Nong Nor and Koh Ta Meas represent atypical locations, on the coast of the Bangkok Embayment in Thailand and submerged in the Western Baray of Angkor in Cambodia, respectively. The 17 Thai and two Cambodian copper-base samples cover seven broad typologies and five alloys, including rare near- pure tin. The limited Koh Ta Meas assemblage appears to represent exchange relationships with communities upstream on the Mekong River, whereas the Thai artefacts seem related to northeast Thailand, and potentially Red River communities in northern Vietnam. Image shows raw lead isotope ratios for the study samples, as well as primary copper production signatures from regional ore sources.