Archaeology and Early Chinese Glass Trade in Southeast Asia

Abstract

When trade between China and Southeast Asia blossomed between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, Chinese traders began to form overseas Chinese communities. Their presence had significant effects on the region, including the formation of new urban settlements and the introduction of new lifestyles in which imported items played an important part, not only among the elite, but among many hinterland groups who probably never saw a Chinese trader but rapidly integrated Chinese products into their displays of status.