The 'Plain of Jars' of north Laos : beyond Madeleine Colani
The Plain of Jars is a series of archaeological sites located in the Xieng Khouang and Luang Prabang Provinces of north Laos, populated with megaliths attributed to the late Iron Age of Southeast Asia. The thesis combines the historical study of this area in relation to the colonial institutions in Laos from 1893 to the early 1940s, with my new mapping of the jar sites based on extensive original documentation. The historical focus is the French archaeologist Madeleine Colani (1866-1943), author of a two-volume monograph on the Plain of Jars (MeÌgalithes du Haut-Laos, 1935). The events leading up to the first archaeological mission to the Plain of Jars in May 1931, led by Colani under the auspices of the EÌcole FrancÌ§aise d'ExtreÌme-Orient (EFEO), are analysed. Also addressed is academic interaction between Dutch researchers in Indonesia and their French counterparts in Indochina and how these exchanges led to the first Far-Eastern Prehistory Congress held in Hanoi in January 1932. Under-researched or undocumented aspects of jar form are discussed, together with a sequence of carving steps based on my observations at quarries and jar sites. An expanded site distribution is analysed in relation to sources
Genovese, Rosalia
The 'Plain of Jars' of north Laos : beyond Madeleine Colani. The Plain of Jars is a series of archaeological sites located in the Xieng Khouang and Luang Prabang Provinces of north Laos, populated with megaliths attributed to the late Iron Age of Southeast Asia. The thesis combines the historical study of this area in relation to the colonial institutions in Laos from 1893 to the early 1940s, with my new mapping of the jar sites based on extensive original documentation. The historical focus is the French archaeologist Madeleine Colani (1866-1943), author of a two-volume monograph on the Plain of Jars (MeÌgalithes du Haut-Laos, 1935). The events leading up to the first archaeological mission to the Plain of Jars in May 1931, led by Colani under the auspices of the EÌcole FrancÌ§aise d'ExtreÌme-Orient (EFEO), are analysed. Also addressed is academic interaction between Dutch researchers in Indonesia and their French counterparts in Indochina and how these exchanges led to the first Far-Eastern Prehistory Congress held in Hanoi in January 1932. Under-researched or undocumented aspects of jar form are discussed, together with a sequence of carving steps based on my observations at quarries and jar sites. An expanded site distribution is analysed in relation to sources
plain north beyond plain series archaeological_site locate provinces north populate attribute late_iron_age southeast_asia combine historical study_area relation colonial institution early new map jar site base_extensive original documentation historical focus french archaeologist author two_volume monograph plain event_lead first archaeological mission plain lead auspex orient analyse also_address academic interaction dutch researcher indonesia french counterpart indochina exchange lead first far eastern prehistory congress hold under_researched undocumented aspect jar form discuss together sequence carve step base observation quarry jar site expand site distribution analyse relation source