The evidence of oriental ceramic and earthenware distributions in Brunei Darussalam as an aid in understanding protohistoric Brunei

Abstract

The main purpose of this thesis is to analyse the Oriental trade ceramics and earthenwares recovered from three sites in Brunei: Terusan Kupang, Kota Batu and Pulau Chermin. The study analyses the various Oriental ceramics. These include the Chinese ceramics of the late T'ang, Sung, Yuan, Ming and early Ch'ing periods of the tenth to seventeenth centuries A.D. and the Southeast Asian ceramics of Khmer, Thais and Vietnamese wares of the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries A.D. The study also analyses earthenwares found associated with imported Oriental ceramics, focusing on their fabrics, decoration, forms and vessel types. This includes a petrological analysis of selected shards. The Oriental ceramics and earthenware finds from the three Bruneian sites are compared with the other Southeast Asian sites of the same general cultural context. The study aims to further our understanding of the local cultural assemblage in Southeast Asian context.

The presence of Oriental trade ceramics and some earthenwares in Brunei is an indication of this area's participation in trade networks. These involve not only the local merchants, but also a wide range of nationalities including Chinese, Thais, Vietnamese and Malaysia of the Archipelago. These ceramics indicate Brunei's active involvement in the international trade network, beginning as early as the tenth century. Historically, these events are poorly documented, especially the early period from the tenth to fifteenth centuries A.D. This period in Brunei's history is still fragmentary. Apart from ceramics, there are very few other archaeological materials that could help in the reconstruction of the country's historical past; there are for example no monumental structures, nor are there organic materials due to the humid tropical climate.

The study also uses ceramics to relocate P' o-ni, Brunei's predecessor. The study concentrates on the three above sites, but places emphasis upon Terusan Kupang and Kota Batu. In addition, the study also uses the fragmentary written sources by Chinese, Arabs and Europeans as a further evidence.

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