Beyond the mandala: Buddhist landscapes and upland‐lowland interaction in north‐west Thailand AD 1200–1650

Abstract

In this paper I argue that within the range of Buddhist monuments in the uplands of north‐west Thailand, a series of abandoned chedis are valuable indicators of socio‐political interactions with lowland centres between circa AD 1200 and AD 1650. The character of upland burials reflects the level of participation with lowland groups at this time. Proximity to lowland tradeware production centres and the extent of socio‐political integration with associated lowland Buddhist polities are used to discuss the geopolitical significance of the upland Buddhist ruins. The success of an integrative approach towards upland groups adopted by the Thai centred in Chiang Mai is contrasted with the confrontational approach of Ayutthya in central Thailand. Lowland ethnic and political factionalism and differences in upland socio‐political formations are presented as formative factors of the now obsolete landscape of coercion and resistance represented by the upland monuments. For this region of mainland Southeast Asia, an archaeology of landscape is proposed as a productive alternative to the evocative but archaeologically problematic concept of the mandala city state.

Keywords:

• Historical archaeology
• geo‐politics
• mortuary
• Thailand
• uplands
• Buddhism