Southeast Asia: Transition among the Nagas - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 391

In these contrasting settings, different ways of life
have evolved. Lowlanders primarily practice wet rice
cultivation while uplanders focus on some form of dry
field agriculture or shifting cultivation. These patterns
continue today and affect patterns of development and
the resolution of environmental issues.

of local regulations, stressing personal responsibil-
ity and communal consensus, remains strongly
entrenched.
It now seems clear that rice was first domesti-
cated in Southeast Asia and diffused from there to
China and India, replacing millet as the staple crop.
Around 4000 to 3500 BC , a new red-on-tan pottery
form appeared in northern Thailand. This is known
as Ban Chiang pottery . Shortly thereafter, bronze-
making emerged, carried out at the village level.

The Impact of Indian Culture

Mountain barriers channeled the diffusion of Indian cul-
ture into Southeast Asia' s coastal regions. New ideas, re-
ligions, and customs came almost entirely by sea in
sailing ships driven by the monsoon across the Bay of
Bengal. As early as the sixth century BC Indian traders
worked the coasts of Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, and
western Indonesia. The Indians impressed local leaders
with lavish gifts, their knowledge of medicine, and their
frequent portrayal of themselves as royalty . They also
married into Southeast Asian society . T Temple forms,
styles of art, music, dance, and tales of the Ramayana are
woven into the cultural tapestries of most Southeast
Asian countries to this day (Figure 14-7). The impact of
Indian culture was greatest during the Gupta Empire—
India' s Golden Age (320-535 AD ).
Hinduism and Buddhism were the most salient as-
pects of Indianization. Missions were sent back and forth
to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the core area of Theravada Bud-
dhism. Mahayana Buddhism was accepted in central Java
during the eighth century and in Cambodia' s Angkor in
the twelfth century . Sanskrit was the first written language
of the region. Its related Pali provided the basis for devel-
oping local writing systems.
The Hindu concept of kingship, law codes, economic
treatises, and other canon were absorbed by Southeast
Asian rulers. However, the caste system and inferior
standing of women were not adopted. Although there is a
patriarchal veneer to present-day Southeast Asian society ,
couples tend to live with the wife' s parents, or at least re-
late most closely to them. Women have much more social
and economic power than in other Asian societies.
The earliest Indian states emerged along the coasts,
with their nuclei at river mouths. The first of these, called
Funan by the Chinese, became an imperial power in the
third century AD .This was followed by the Khmer king-
dom in Cambodia. The kingdom of Champa (1192-1471)
was established along the east coast of Vietnam. Another
early sea power to accept Indian influence was Srivijaya.
Its capital at Palembang on Sumatra became a center of
Mahayana Buddhism, as was central Java at the time. The

UPLANDS AND LOWLANDS
From about 1000 BC , major changes began to take place.
With the expansion of the Han Chinese in person and
influence, small towns began to emerge. In addition, to
facilitate trade between India and China, entrepôts or
transshipment points were established along the coasts
of the Malay Peninsula and of what is today southern
Vietnam. Entrepôts became centers of diffusion of Indian
culture throughout Southeast Asia.
As these events ensued, primitive and tribal people
began to lose their dominant positions. The new civiliza-
tions centered on the major river valleys and Cambodia' s
T Tonle Sap basin (Chapter 15). These lowlands are sepa-
rated by sparsely populated mountainous areas—the up-
lands. Hill people became increasingly differentiated from
lowland people, yet they retained part of their cultural
realm as “holders of the wild” or “people of the upland
fields.” Ceremonial exchange relationships validated the
bonds between hill people and lowlanders. Tangible trade
between the two groups was important as well. Lowlanders
also viewed hill people as potential laborers, and slavery
was not unusual. Hill tribes often raided each other' s
settlements and sold the captives as slaves to lowlanders.
In some regions such as Vietnam, efforts were made to
reduce lowlanders' contact with the hill people to simple
tribute payments and restricted trade.
The mountains have acted as barriers between larger
settlements. Over time, successive immigrant groups
have settled in the lowlands, but more recent and more
populous groups have driven earlier, less sophisticated
groups into the upland regions.
Lowland areas are inhabited by the dominant ethnic
group of each country—Thais in Thailand, Khmers in
Cambodia, Javanese in Java, Burmans in Myanmar
(Burma), and so forth. Upland, forested areas are inhab-
ited by minority groups such as the Shan in Burma and
the Yao and Miao in Thailand.