BEYOND THE MANDALA - BUDDHIST LANDSCAPES AND UPLAND-LOWLAND INTERACTION IN NORTH-WEST THAILAND AD 1200-1650

In this paper I argue that within the range of Buddhist monuments in t he uplands of north-west Thailand, a series of abandoned chedis are va luable indicators of socio-political interactions with lowland centres between circa an 1200 and An 1650. The character of upland burials re flects the level of participation with lowland groups at this time. Pr oximity to lowland tradeware production centres and the extent of soci o-political integration with associated lowland Buddhist polities are used to discuss the geopolitical significance of the upland Buddhist r uins. The success of an integrative approach towards upland groups ado pted by the Thai centred in Chiang Mai is contrasted with the confront ational approach of Ayutthya in central Thailand. Lowland ethnic and p olitical factionalism and differences in upland socio-political format ions are presented as formative factors of the now obsolete landscape of coercion and resistance represented by the upland monuments. For th is region of mainland Southeast Asia, an archaeology of landscape is p roposed as a productive alternative to the evocative but archaeologica lly problematic concept of the mandala city state.