In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

171 The Case of the Mon Pha Tai “Sacred Place” Chapter 14 The Case of the Mon Pha Tai “Sacred Place”, Chiang Rai Province: Archaeological Implements and Geosymbolism Jutamas Suvimolcharoen, Cherdsak Treerayapiwat, Valéry Zeitoun and Supaporn Nakbunlung Abstract The site of Mon Pha Tai is located at Baan Nong Khuang village in the Ing River basin (Chiang Rai province) which is the main river which runs from the south to the north and flows into the Mekong River at Chiang Khong. In this region mainly consisting of flat plains, we undertook an archaeological survey on the several little inselbergs which provided potsherds from the historical Lanna period (14th‒17th centuries CE) found on the soil surface and occurring preferentially close to big natural isolated blocks. Mon Pha Tai is characterized by stone alignments that form a trapezium-shaped structure where erected stones rise to a maximum of 1m above the soil surface. A pavement of only one layer of brick has been uncovered probably belonging to the Lanna period according to the standardized bricks size. Rare green glazed stoneware originating from the Phong Daeng kiln in Chiang Rai province and other artifacts of Phan style have been uncovered inside the stone alignments after excavation. More numerous potsherds gathered and excavated all around the stone alignments are stoneware belonging to the three main ceramic regional production centers of Phayao, Phan and Wieng Kalong. We present and discuss the results of archaeological excavations aiming to clarify how the standing stone structure was built and to identify periods during which it has been used or re-used. From a broader perspective, we also brought to light new information about the so-called Asian megalithism but our archaeological approach also shares common background with anthropology and geography by referring to the concept of geosymbol as we consider that this site was most likely used for ceremonial or religious purposes. 171 Chapter14:Jutamasetal.¡ºÊœš¸É«´„—·Í­·š›·Í¤n°œŸµ˜oµ¥‹»”µ¤µ« ­»ª·¤¨Á‹¦·, Á·—«´„—·Í ˜¦¸¦¥µ£·ª´•œr, Valery Zeitoun ¨³­»£µ¡¦ œµ‡´¨¨´Š„r ®¨nŠÃ¦µ–‡—¸¤n°œŸµ˜oµ¥˜´ÊŠ°¥¼n¦·Áª–®¤¼noµœ®œ°Š nªŠ ‹´Š®ª´—Á¸¥Š¦µ¥ Ĝš¸É¦µ¨»n¤Â¤nœÊε°·Š Ž¹ÉŠÁž}œÂ¤nœÊε­µ¥®¨´„š¸ÉÅ®¨‹µ„š·«Ä˜o¹Êœš·«Á®œº° ޝ¦¦‹„´Â¤nœÊεà Š š¸É°ÎµÁ£°Á¸¥Š °Š ‹´Š®ª´—Á¸¥Š¦µ¥ ‡–³Ÿ¼oª·‹´¥Å—o—εÁœ·œ„µ¦­Îµ¦ª‹˜µ¤Áœ·œÁ µÁ¨È„Ç œ¡ºÊœŸ·ª—·œ—oµœœ°„ °ŠÂ®¨nŠÃ¦µ–‡—¸¤n°œŸµ˜oµ¥ Ž¹ÉŠ¤¸¨´„¬–³ °Š„o°œ®·œš¸É™¼„Á¦¸¥Š˜´ªÁž}œ¦¼ž­¸ÉÁ®¨¸É¥¤‡µŠ®¤¼ ×¥¤¸„µ¦˜´ÊŠÁ¦¸¥Š®·œš¸É œµ—­¼Šš¸É­»—‡º° 1 Á¤˜¦ ‹µ„Ÿ·ª—·œ š´ÊŠœ¸Ê‹µ„„µ¦ »—‡oœ£µ¥Äœ¦·Áª–Âœª®·œ¦¼ž­¸ÉÁ®¨¸É¥¤‡µŠ®¤¼—´Š„¨nµªÅ—o¤¸„µ¦‡oœ¡ªnµ¤¸„µ¦ž¼¡ºÊœ—oª¥°·“ ݦµ–­¤´¥¨oµœœµ ×¥­´œœ·¬“µœ‹µ„ œµ— °Š°·“ œ°„‹µ„œ´Êœ¥´Š¡Á«¬£µœ³—·œÁŸµÁœºÊ°Â„¦nŠÂš¸ÉÁ¦¸¥„ªnµ ­Ã˜œÂª¦r Á‡¨º°­¸Á ¸¥ª‹µ„®¨nŠÁ˜µoµœÃžiŠÂ—Š ­nªœÃ¦µ–ª´˜™»·Êœ°ºÉœÁž}œ¦¼žÂ °ŠÂ®¨nŠÁ˜µ Á¤º°Š¡µœ ‹´Š®ª´—Á¸¥Š¦µ¥ œ°„‹µ„œ´ÊœÁ«¬£µœ³—·œÁŸµ‹Îµœªœ¤µ„š¸Éŗo‹µ„š´ÊŠ„µ¦­Îµ¦ª‹Â¨³„µ¦ »—‡oœ¦·Áª–×¥¦°Â®¨nŠÃ¦µ–‡—¸¤n°œŸµ˜oµ¥¤µ‹µ„„¨»n¤Â®¨nŠÁ˜µ¡³Á¥µ Á¤º°Š¡µœ ¨³„¨»n¤Â®¨nŠÁª¸¥Š„µ®¨Š ‹´Š®ª´—Á¸¥Š¦µ¥ „ε®œ—°µ¥»Å—o¦µª­¤´¥¨oµœœµ (¡»š›«˜ª¦¦¬š¸É 20-23) ‡–³Ÿ¼oª·‹´¥¤¸ª´˜™»ž¦³­Š‡rš¸É‹³œÎµÁ­œ°Ÿ¨°Š„µ¦—εÁœ·œ„µ¦ »—‡oœšµŠÃ¦µ–‡—¸ „µ¦Á„·— „µ¦„ε®œ—°µ¥» ˜¨°—‹œ„µ¦Äo¡ºÊœš¸É ®¦º°„µ¦Äo¡ºÊœš¸ÉŽÊ宨µ¥‡¦´ÊŠ ¨³—oª¥¤»¤¤°Šš¸É„ªoµŠ ¹Êœ‹¹ŠÁ„·—°Š‡r‡ªµ¤¦¼oÄ®¤n ‡–³Ÿ¼oª·‹´¥Å—oÁ¦¸¥„„µ¦ªµŠ˜´ª °Š®·œ˜´ÊŠÄœ¨´„¬–³œ¸Êªnµ “¨´„¬–³ °Š®·œ˜´ÊŠÂÁ°Á¸¥” ˜n®¨´„„µ¦šÎµŠµœ°Šœ´„ݦµ–‡—¸˜o°Š¤¸¡ºÊœ“µœ °Š«µ­˜¦r—oµœ¤µœ»¬¥ª·š¥µÂ¨³£¼¤·«µ­˜¦rÁ oµ¤µÁ„¸É¥ª o°ŠÄœ„µ¦°oµŠ°·ŠÄœÁ¦ºÉ°Š °Š£¼¤·­´¨´„¬–r —´Šœ´Êœ‡–³Ÿ¼oª·‹´¥‹¹Š¡·‹µ¦–µÄ®o®¨nŠÃ¦µ–‡—¸¤n°œŸµ˜oµ¥Áž}œ­™µœš¸É«´„—·Í­·š›·Í Ž¹ÉŠÁž}œ¡ºÊœš¸Éž¦³„°¡·›¸„¦¦¤‡ªµ¤ÁºÉ° °Šµª¡ºÊœ™·Éœ„¨»n¤Ä—„¨»n¤®œ¹ÉŠš¸ÉÁ‡¥°µ«´¥ÄœÂ™œ¸Ê  บทคัดย่อ Crossing Borders hi res combined171 171 8/23/2012 7:46:00 PM 172 Jutamas Suvimolcharoen, Cherdsak Treerayapiwat, Valéry Zeitoun and Supaporn Nakbunlung Introduction “History is a dynamic process related to the patterns of past events; identifying those patterns means that it is important to know, not only about places and people a given ‘story’ is related to, but most and foremost about concepts, beliefs and ideologies of the actors of these past events” (Driver 1988: 501). In relation to this conceptual approach to history, here we present and discuss the results of archaeological excavations carried out at the site of an undated enclosure of standing stones located at Mon Phai Ta, Northern Thailand. Despite this lack of precise temporal information, our work helps to clarify how the standing stone structure was built and to identify periods during which it has been used or re-used. From a broader perspective, these excavations also brought to light new information about so-called Asian megalithism. Furthermore, this archaeological work contributes to a comprehensive framework of social sciences which, following authors such as Joël Bonnemaison (1981), Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari (1980) is based on the analysis of artifacts, exchanges and representations, and aims at describing a cultural space which connects societies to their physical environment. From that perspective, our archaeological approach shares a common background with anthropology and geography by referring to the concept of geosymbol, i.e. according to Bonnemaison’s definition “either a place, a route or an area which, for religious, political or cultural reasons is given a symbolic dimension that some peoples or ethnic groups use to reinforce their identity as a group. In its strongest expression, the geosymbol becomes a land-shrine. Such a sacred geography corresponds to a symbolic description of space that a group uses as a means to make itself explicit and broadcast its own vision of the world” (1981: 256). Although Éric Dardel (1990) showed how “sacred places” are used to structure territories, guide and characterize space, whether real or mythical, overall, the notion of...

Share