During the last few decades of the twentieth century archaeological, historical, epigraphic, linguistic, and art historical research opened windows on Thailand's ancient pre-Tao era (third millennium BC to thirteenth century AD) that previously had been closed. These extraordinary glimpses into Thailand's once hidden past have remained somewhat independent one from the other, however, and provide only a partial picture of the three and a half millennia that led towards the formation of the modern Thai nation.
Since written sources that shed light on Thailand's earliest years are few and far between, art objects are an important means of illuminating not only the country's artistic traditions but also the religious, political, and ethnic milieu in which Thai art took root and flourished. This richly illustrated, very readable book presents a survey of early Thai art within the context of recent art historical and related research. The myriad pieces of the complex cross-cultural jigsaw puzzle are fitted together, and where gaps remain, the isolated dots are connected to draw a coherent picture of Thai protohistory and its art. The manner in which the ancient past evolved into Thailand's historical period emerges.
