Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage in Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Early Historic Mainland Southeast Asian Metallurgy: Copper-base Metal Production, Exchange, and Consumption Behaviours at Khao Sai On, Nil Kham Haeng, Non Pa Wai, Phromthin Tai, Sab Champa, and Tha Kae in Central Thailand

• DOI: 10.1353/asi.2024.a948116
• Publication Date: 2024-12-20T10:06:25Z
• Authors: T. O. Pryce; Mélissa Cadet; Céline Tomczyk; Pira Venunan; Thanik Lertcharnrit; Roberto Ciarla; Fiorella Rispoli
• Keywords: Consumption; Mainland; Base metal

abstract: Since its late 1970s to early 1980s discovery, the Khao Wong Prachan Valley (KWPV) of central Thailand has been assumed have a major supplier copper in Bronze Age, Iron and Early Historic Southeast Asia. KWPV was first regional metal production system be characterised by lead isotope (LI) analysis 2000s, revealing coherent signature easily distinguished from subsequent analyses systems at Phu Lon (northern Thailand) Vilabouly Complex (central Laos). Despite KWPV’s scale production, LI scarcely detected Age consumption sites nearby northeast not all assemblages. We study copper/bronze behaviours immediate vicinity: Sai On, Phromthin Tai, Tha Kae, Sab Champa. On Tai signatures are highly consistent with those previously established, whilst uranogenic tendency Kae explains outliers Non Pa Wai Nil Kham Haeng. Analysis assemblages reveals little no consistency local signatures. This tested datasets for Ban Khu Muang, Mai Chaimongkol, Pong Manao, Takhob. The pattern is clear: Thai populations imported copper/bronze, potentially or loci closely comparable examine this counterintuitive behaviour inductively using Ricardo’s Law Comparative Advantage combined technological appreciation relatively low productivity primary production. suggests Thailand’s unattached producers freely exchanged exotic goods (bronze, glass, semi-precious stone), poor terms exchange, their desire participate wider trends conspicuous consumption.