First elemental analysis of glass from Southern Myanmar: replacing the region in the early Maritime Silk Road

The two neighboring late prehistoric/protohistoric sites of Aw Gyi and Maliwan, located in the southernmost part of Myanmar in the Isthmus of Kra, yielded large quantities of glass beads and wastes. The measurement of 61 glass compositions from these sites using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry has revealed two different patterns. At Aw Gyi, a combination of potash and m-Na-Ca-Al glasses, also noticed at Arikamedu, India (1st c. BC and onward), and Phu Khao Thong, Thailand (2nd c. BC-4th c. AD), two ports facing the Bay of Bengal, suggests the existence of a "Bay of Bengal" network, active from the 2nd-1st c. BC. At Maliwan, the glass types are more diversified with some of them found generally during the 4th to 2nd c. BC period. This is in line with the radiocarbon dating of the site that shows an occupation from the 4th to the 1st c. BC. However, Maliwan has little in common in terms of glass typology with other early and contemporary sites along the Isthmus of Kra indicating that they were not part of the same network. At Aw Gyi and Maliwan, evidence would suggest bead making, but the craft areas where such an activity would have taken place remains to be found. Despite this caveat, the difference in glass composition and typology between these close-by sites draws perhaps a more complex economic and political situation than expected with different networks at early periods on the east and west side of the Isthmus of Kra.