Hamilton discusses her laboratory investigations of the Ban Chiang metals found in the 1970s. She found that laboratory analysis of these materials can open a surprising window on aspects of a society beyond simple manufacture of goods.

Caves in peninsular Thailand have a complex history of human use ranging from brief campsites to long-term occupation and from locations of industrial activity to landscapes inhabited by spirit forces. In late Pleistocene times, dating from before than 40,000 B.P. to about 11,000 B.P., caves were used only sporadically as temporary campsites, where people built fires, fashioned tools, and consumed the meals of animal (and presumably plant) products. During early Holocene times, dating from before 11,000 B.P. to about 6500 B.P., many caves were occupied for sufficient duration to have built up sizable midden deposits, occasionally over 1 m thick. Some of these deposits also include burials, usually of single randomly placed individuals with few, if any, grave goods. During mid Holocene times, ca. 6500-3500 B.P., some caves were used as burial grounds, with little if any trace of occupation, whereas others were scenes of domestic activity. Mid Holocene and recent times also saw the use of cave walls as media for paintings, with depictions, often crude, of whole or parts of human figures, fish, birds, and land animals. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

The excavation of Ban Ra: rock shelter (Pang Mapha district, Mae Hong Son Province, northwestern Thailand) has uncovered evidence relating to changing patterns of prehistoric human activity. Analyses of the excavation data, along with radiocarbon dating, have enabled the identification of two separate cultural components. The earlier component, the pre-Log Coffin culture, is dated by C to between ca. 12,500 and 8000 B.P. and is characterized by a wide range of lithics, an abundance of faunal remains, and a primary flexed burial. The second component, the Log Coffin culture, probably dates to ca. 2100-1200 B.P. and yielded human remains, potsherds, and iron tools, in addition to the log coffins themselves and their supporting posts. The composition of the artifact assemblages provided the main basis for the separation of the components, which has highlighted the changing use of the Ban Rai rock shelter from a primarily habitation to an exclusively burial site. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]