Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Archaeologists have conducted an analysis of more than 200 coins from mainland Southeast Asia dating back to the first millennium AD. This research has uncovered evidence of long-distance economic connections throughout the region, which played a significant role in facilitating extensive trade and cultural interactions.
.Coins struck from die pair O7/R7 (FAD n.d.) and obverse die O8 (left: © The Trustees of the British Museum; right: HCMC History Museum) (figure by authors). Source
Chinese chronicles from as early as the second century AD emphasize the significant role of Southeast Asian polities in trade networks that extended from the Near East to China. These historical records are supported by archaeological findings in Southeast Asia, where artifacts such as Roman glassware, Indian jewelry, and ceramics from Persia, Southwest Asia, and China have been unearthed.
These discoveries support evidence of the region’s active participation in ancient global trade.
Silver coins frequently accompany these discoveries, typically featuring a rising sun on one side and the Srivatsa—a symbol of early Indian religious traditions—on the other. These coins were produced using dies, which are molds that press a blank metal disc to imprint designs on both sides.
Map of die matched coins discussed in this study, labelled based on their exact find sites when known or relative find areas/current museum locations. See Table 1 for info (figure by authors). Source
Rising Sun/Srivatsa coins are found at numerous sites across Southeast Asia, from Vietnam to eastern Bangladesh/Bengal. Still, the highest concentrations of these coins outside the Irrawaddy River basin have been found in riverine settlements associated with ‘Dvaravati’ culture sites (c. sixth–eleventh centuries AD) in modern Thailand.
However, in comparison to Roman, Indian, or Central Asian coins, they remain understudied.
According to the lead author of the research, Dr Andrew Harris from the National University of Singapore, “no other early Southeast Asian coinage exhibits as widespread a distribution as those bearing Rising Sun/Srivatsa motifs.”
However, the coins have seldom been examined as a comprehensive artefactual dataset. Instead, scholars often associate them with specific cultural-historical groups that correspond with contemporary nation-state boundaries.
To address this knowledge gap, a team led by researchers from the National University of Singapore collected 245 accurately provenanced coins from Southeast Asia to examine them within a broader economic and cultural network, independent of modern borders.
Select coins cast from pair O1/R1, from the Konlah Lan hoard, Angkor Borei (SOSORO Museum of Economy and Money, see Harris et al. Reference Harris, Cremaschi, Lim, De Iorio and Kwa2024: 1030) (figure by authors). Source
They discovered numerous connections among coins across the region, indicating that currency-based economies and political alliances developed over time. Notably, the obverse sides of a coin from Bangladesh and one from Vietnam were likely produced using the same die, suggesting that they may have been minted by the same entity, despite their geographical distance.
“This provides strong evidence of extensive long-distance circulation,” according to Dr. Harris.
Importantly, this means that ancient coinage was instrumental in shaping trade and cultural connections in Southeast Asia, just as in other ancient civilisations with currency economies such as Rome, India and Central Asia.
“The die study significantly enhances understanding of early Southeast Asian trade networks. It offers insights into key ports, settlements, the role of weighted silver in ancient trade, and maps the changes in currency-based economies and the polities that minted them,” adds coauthor Professor Maria De Iorio from the National University of Singapore.
Another important thing is that such research also helps combat and even prevent looting and preserve the region’s cultural heritage in the case of conflicts such as the Myanmar civil war.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
