Decline of Lanna ceramic group production in northern Thailand (Ban Bo Suak site) confined by radiocarbon and luminescence dating

The Lanna group is a traditional ceramic production style from Southeast Asia, with several kiln sites found distributed all over present northern Thailand. However, its origin and development are considered controversial and chronological constraints are scarce. Applied here are radiocarbon dating to charcoal remains and luminescence dating to ceramics, kiln wall material, and fluvial sediments from the Ban Bo Suak archaeological site near Nan, northern Thailand. The site has been suspected to have been abandoned due to destruction by a flood. Unexpectedly, the ceramic samples lack proper thermoluminescence signal properties and only two samples could be dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). These ages in combination with published radiocarbon ages point towards a ceramic production around AD 1700. The kiln wall material and fluvial sediments reveal evidence for partial resetting of the OSL signal, which is unexpected for heated material. Supported by some radiocarbon ages, the OSL ages imply a temporal connection between the last use of the kilns and the flood deposits, during the fifteenth century AD. Besides general methodological considerations, the data reported here indicates that while a flood apparently dismantled several kiln sites, this did not stop the production of Lanna style ceramics in the region.

Automated summary

This study used radiocarbon dating and luminescence dating to analyze samples from the Ban Bo Suak archaeological site in northern Thailand, revealing the temporal origin of Lanna ceramics and their connection to floods. The results indicate that the production of Lanna-style ceramics continued despite the destructive floods.