Empires of the Southern Ocean: Early Civilizations of Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia

Drawing on recent archaeological and historical research, this book presents the fascinating developments in the archaeology of prehistoric societies of mainland Southeast Asia. Empires of the Southern Ocean offers a sweeping and authoritative account of the emergence, expansion, and transformation of early state-level societies across the regions that today encompass Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Spanning from the late prehistoric period to the mid-15th century, the book traces the dynamic rise of polities that shaped Southeast Asia's early urban and political landscapes, including the Pyu and Pagan in Myanmar; the entrepôt settlements of peninsular Malaysia; Srivijaya, Sanjaya, and Majapahit in Indonesia; Funan, Chenla, and Angkor in Cambodia; Dvaravati in Thailand; and Linyi, Champa, and Ðai Viet in Vietnam. Drawing on the most current archaeological, epigraphic, and paleoenvironmental research, the book challenges outdated, India-centric narratives and instead presents a nuanced understanding of Southeast Asia's indigenous political developments, cross-cultural exchanges, and technological innovations. It highlights the region’s participation in long-distance trade networks across the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, and examines the role of religion, writing systems, and monumental architecture in legitimizing early power structures. The volume includes a chapter on models of political development theory, critically examining how concepts such as heterarchy, segmentary states, and mandala systems apply—or fail to apply—to the Southeast Asian context. This theoretical grounding informs the subsequent case studies, offering readers a framework for understanding the diverse pathways to complexity taken by early Southeast Asian polities. Combining detailed regional studies with broader comparative insights, Empires of the Southern Ocean is essential reading for anyone interested in the complex trajectories of early state formation in Southeast Asia and the interconnected histories of the ancient world.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Models of Political Development Chapter 3: Sociopolitical Change in Early Southeast Asia Chapter 4: The Pyu (Tircul), Arakan and Bagan Chapter 5: The Mon Protostates: Dvaravati and Myanmar Chapter 6: Peninsular Southeast Asia Chapter 7: Insular Southeast Asia Chapter 8: Pre-Angkorian Polities Chapter 9: Angkor Chapter 10: Champa and Ða?i Viê?t Conclusion References

About the Author :
Dougald O’Reilly is Professor in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University.

Review :
In this stimulating new survey, Dougald O’Reilly has written a masterly account of the rise and stature of Southeast Asian civilizations. Beginning deep in the prehistoric past, his explanation of how village chiefs led to god-kings will enthral and fascinate. A leading scholar in a challenging field, O’Reilly offers an original, well-documented, thoughtful overview of early Southeast Asia. He helpfully highlights new approaches to region-wide themes such as the impact of climate changes, as well as conducting careful archaeological and textual research into Southeast Asia’s foundational geographic and cultural diversity and its varying patterns of settlement, governance, and trade. A comprehensive, engaging synthesis of the emergence, innovations and trajectories of Southeast Asia’s premodern states and empires. O’Reilly’s new book is a must-have for anyone wanting to know more about the cultural dynamics that make this region so globally distinct. Recent advancements in archaeological field and laboratory projects are permitting significant reappraisals for our understanding of Southeast Asia’s earliest complex societies. Dougald O’Reilly’s volume represents an ambitious and excellent synthesis of past and cutting-edge archaeological research, constituting a major stride forward in that endeavor. Dougald O’Reilly’s Empires of the Southern Ocean portrays the Classical Era in Southeast Asian archaeology and history, when Indigenous populations became inspired by ideas of religion, statehood and empire derived from Indic and Sinitic sources. The wonders of Angkor, Bagan, Champa and Borobudur were combined creations. Indigenous Southeast Asian peoples with their native languages and Neolithic/Bronze/Iron Age cultural roots became infused, via their traders and ambitious elites, with exotic genetic ancestries, scriptural languages, and hierarchical religions. The rest was history, and O’Reilly describes it with enthusiasm and aplomb. Southeast Asia's archaeological record of emergent complexity remains poorly known to non-specialists, and Dougald O'Reilly's summary of key historical trajectories is a welcome addition to the global archaeological literature. O’Reilly takes the reader on an engaging journey through Southeast Asia’s past. He does so with commendable lucidity, critically reflecting on the archaeological evidence and its interpretation by scholars. What results is a comprehensive survey of considerable depth and scope. O’Reilly is the perfect guide along the 'ancient paths' of Southeast Asia. By combining his own archaeological field research with insights into the complex and sometimes confounding secondary literature, O’Reilly opens up the crucial 2,000 years that created Southeast Asian civilisation.