Abstract
After several decades of archaeologists interpreting Thailand's metal age development using top-down approaches drawn from 1980s archaeological theory, it has become evident they do not work for this region. When the metal assemblages from Ban Chiang and related sites in northeast Thailand were studied with a systematic methodology, alternative perspectives emerged for how to better interpret the resilient, peaceful prehistoric societies dating from approximately 2100 BCE – 300 CE. A testable model is proposed applying “Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage” that focuses on “regional exchange systems.” Exchange networks existed in the middle Mekong and Chao Phraya basins from the pre-metal period through the metal age and underpinned heterarchical political and economic systems whereby goods and valuables were exchanged among decentralized networks of communities.
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