Carnelian in Myanmar: Prehistoric to early Buddhist beads-An Introductory Note on Archaeological and Ethnological observations in Myanmar

Abstract

Trade between Upper Myanmar, Northeast India and Southern China has long been an active source of cultural interchange. A number of ethnographic studies were compiled in the 19-20 century although more recent scholarship has been minimal. In an effort to fill th this gap, the author briefly joined a team of Nagaland, Japanese scholars carrying out a long-term assessment of archaeological and ethnographic carnelian use in Nagaland, during a survey visit to relevant prehistoric and early Buddhist sites in Myanmar in December 2015. This Introductory Note focuses on the Myanmar evidence, summarising carnelian usage in relationship to shifting patterns of interchange with Nagaland and other areas of South Asia and Yunnan. The summary concludes that within Myanmar localised extraction of small-scale deposits and trade may be the context within which carnelian bead use endured within Tibeto-Burman groups of Upper Myanmar in the first millennium CE transition from prehistoric to Buddhist eras and continues on a small scale today. However, more archaeological data is needed on the Myanmar side to explore links between ethnographic similarities in bead use in both countries and excavation of carnelian ornaments in mortuary contexts of the late first millennium BCE and the early centuries CE (Sarma and Hazarika, 2014; Pautreau et al., 2007).

Full text

Carnelian in Myanmar:
Prehistoric to early Buddhist beads-An Introductory Note on
Archaeological and Ethnological observations in Myanmar
ELIZABETH H MOORE*
Professor and SAAAP In-Region Liaison
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
University of London
Email: elizabeth_moore@iseas.edu; em4@soas.ac.uk
Abstract
Trade between Upper Myanmar, Northeast India and Southern China has long been an
active source of cultural interchange. Anumber of ethnographic studies were compiled in
the 19-20 century although more recent scholarship has been minimal. In an effort to fill
th
this gap, the author briefly joined a team of Nagaland, Japanese scholars carrying out a
long-term assessment of archaeological and ethnographic carnelian use in Nagaland,
during a survey visit to relevant prehistoric and early Buddhist sites in Myanmar in
December 2015. This Introductory Note focuses on the Myanmar evidence, summarising
carnelian usage in relationship to shifting patterns of interchange with Nagaland and other
areas of South Asia andYunnan. The summary concludes that within Myanmar localised
extraction of small-scale deposits and trade may be the context within which carnelian
bead use endured within Tibeto-Burman groups of Upper Myanmar in the first
millennium CE transition from prehistoric to Buddhist eras and continues on a small scale
today. However, more archaeological data is needed on the Myanmar side to explore links
between ethnographic similarities in bead use in both countries and excavation of
carnelian ornaments in mortuary contexts of the late first millennium BCE and the early
centuries CE (Sarma and Hazarika, 2014; Pautreau et al., 2007).
Keywords: Carnelian, Naga, Buddhist, rehistoric, Myanmarp .
Carnelian-using regions within Central and Northwest Myanmar
Carnelian beads occupy a unique place in the history of ornament in Myanmar.Their earliest use
appears to be 500 BCE as mortuary goods; the bulk of the production died out bycirca circa
1000 CE. Amongst the Naga peoples of northwest Myanmar, carnelian beads continue to be an
important marker of status and more recently in fashion (Wettstein, 2013). The beads are used in
annual New Year festivals in the Khamti region (25°59'53.94"N; 95°41'19.28"E), now a remote
tourist destination (Khin Yadana, 2016). On the India side, recent studies have documented the
traditional attire, ornaments and customs of the varied groups and sub-groups subsumed under
the heading 'Naga' (Kanungo, 2006). There is no clear link between the prehistoric to early
*Visiting Senior Researcher, Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute, Singapore.
138

historic use of carnelian beads in the central region of Myanmar and the present Naga groups of
Northwest. There are, however, some possible points of interchange:
Low grade carnelian is one of the stones carved and polished for popular and tourist use,
particularly south of Mandalay along the Samon River Valley of the Central Ayeyarwaddy
(Irrawaddy) Basin. In the Pyawbwe area (20°35'51.80"N; 96° 2'57.80"E of the Samon near the)
first millennium CE bead-making site of Badi-gon ('bead mound') and Beinnaka, for example,
the small but renowned shop of U Tin Thaung produces a range of beads following ancient
techniques and designs (M. Koiso, pers. comm., 2016; T.Tan pers. comm., 2016). Although the
ethnicity of the ancient bead-producing groups is not known, the cultural history of this area
from the first millennium CE is thought to have been primarily Tibeto-Burman groups such as
the Bamar (Burman) with the Naga peoples also being ethno-linguistically Tibeto-Burman.
Another potential link between the Central zone area of Pyawbwe and Naga areas is a traditional
belief holding that the peoples of northwest regions of Chin State and the northwest part of
Sagaing Region of Myanmar, today inhabited by a number of groups including Chin and Naga,
were pushed westward from the area of Monywa on Chindwin River around 1300-1400 CE
(Oxford Burma Alliance, n.d.).
Monywa prehistoric carnelian
Some of the earliest evidence for the use of polished stone for producing beads comes from the
area of Monywa where ringstones and cylindrical beads of black and green stones are found.
Archaeological work on this area continues today with excavations by the French Archaeology
Mission in Myanmar at the site of Oakaie 1 shown on the map below (Pryce et al., 2015, Figure
1). The current excavations have yielded dates of the 9 to 6 century BCE, with variouscirca th th
colours of stone beads among the grave goods. Typical carnelian red-orangebeads were found
around the neck on two sub-adult burials [S5b, S26] and unspecified colours of beads with
several other burials (Pryce et al., 2015, Figure 1 & 8).
Carnelian in Myanmar: Prehistoric to early Buddhist... 139

Figure 1: Mainland Southeast Asia with Myanmar shown in red (left); Excavations of J-
P.Pautreau in the Samon valley and 2014-15 excavations; Pryce et al. with Oakaie at top of the
map north of Monya (right); Bone anklet, spindle whorl, lithic beads and production debris from
Oakaie (after Pryce et al., 2015, Figures 1 & 8)
Unlike the 1 excavations, carnelian beads were not found in the first Bronze Age
Oakaie
excavation around Monywa, at Nyaung'gan. There were however, stone beads made froma
variety of local stones including crystalline igneous andesitic rocks, dolerite (diabase), basalt,
rhyolite (greenish apatite), serpentine-bearing rocks and silicified tuffs (Moore and Pauk Pauk,
2001: 41). Thus the beads found at may have been traded in, possibly from the Samon
Oakaie
area discussed below.
Samon River Valley Bronze-Iron carnelian
In the Samon River Valley culture of 600 BCE to 300 CE, finds of carnelian beads arecirca
abundant. The increased use of carnelian over this time period may reflect innovative methods of
extracting the stone or possibly improved drilling and polishing techniques [ : Some of theNote
excavated sites of the Samon Valley are shown on Figure 1 above located between Mandalay and
Nay Pyi Taw].
Figure 2: Carnelian cylinders awaiting polishing and leech shaped bead with white line decorations
( : T&Q Collection)Courtesy
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As with the Nyaung'gan polished stone beads, the Samon carnelian beads probably reflect
exploitation of small scale local deposits and intra-regional rather than long-distance trade
(Figure 2). Glass production was also abundant, including primarily blue small decorative disks,
beads and rings (Figure 3). The bronze artefacts from the Samon culture, however, do suggest
economic and culture networks with clear parallels to bronzes from sites such as Shizhaishan
[25°37'31.89"N; 100°17'7.08"E] and Lijiashan [24°24'34.89"N; 102°45'1.52"E] of the Dian
cultures of Yunnan. Other high-copper Samon bronze artefacts, however, were locally
produced, with 'mother-goddess' and small bronze packets ( ) most likely reflecting ankyedoke
ancestral society with incipient animal husbandry if not wet rice agriculture (Moore, 2009: 126).
Figure 3 Courtesy: Samon glass disks and rings ( : U Win Maung (Tampawaddy)
Pyu Iron Age carnelian and the rise of Buddhist culture
During the later centuries BCE and the early centuries CE, and probably concurrent with the
Samon culture and its Sinitic artefactual affinities, the exchange of goods and ideas also
increased to the west through long-existing exchange routes between Upper Myanmar and
South Asia. This brought major social, cultural and religious change, with the integration of
Hindu and Buddhist norms. Archaeological evidence testifies to the construction of wood and
brick monasteries and ritual structures, kingship, urn and inhumation burials and legal systems.
Carbon 14 dates suggest urbanized forms at some of the cities by 200 BCE with the chronology
stretching to 900 CE (UNESCO 2014:5, 9). There are secondary Chinese references of thecirca
3 to 10 century CE to trade with a P'iao culture; a Brahmi-based local script invented to
rd th
disseminate royal genealogies and Buddhist teaching by the middle of the 1 millenniumcirca st
CE. Known under the umbrella term of the 'Pyu language', the script probably reflects a variety
of Tibeto-Burman groups settled in and shifting into Upper Myanmar (Moore, 2009). The links
of these groups to the preceding Samon culture remains under discussion although the
geographical distribution within the central part of the Upper Ayeyarwaddy River basin is
comparable. Iron production flourished and the use of gold and precious gems appeared, the
latter eventually displacing the role of polished stone.
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Carnelian in Myanmar: Prehistoric to early Buddhist...

Figure 4: Carnelian, green and crystal beads and anthropomorphic/zoomorphic carnelians of the Pyu
culture illustrating the use of carnelian in both the animistic Samon and Buddhist Pyu cultures ( :Courtesy
U Win Maung (Tampawaddy)
Conclusion
The materials, production methods and forms of most artefacts changed radically in the
transition from the animistic Samon to Buddhist Pyu culture. Carnelian is a remarkable
exception to this, with the carnelian beads bridging this major social and religious change
(Figure 4). The precise reasons for this are not yet clear, although the easy availability of high-
quality local carnelian deposits certainly played a role. Finally, while conjectural, the common
use of carnelian may indicate remnant cultural affinities amongst a number of Tibeto-Burman
groups such as the Naga, the Bamar, the Pyu and possibly at least some of the population of the
Bronze-Iron Samon culture. It is with this question in mind that Myanmar is included within the
Trade and Values of Carnelian Ornaments in South Asia – Study on Change in 'Tradition' and
Social System Project.
Acknowledgements
The present research project “Trade and Values of Carnelian Ornaments in South Asia –Study on Change
in 'Tradition' and Social System”is supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (Grant
No.15H05147, Principal Investigator: Dr. Manabu Koiso, Kobe Yamate University, Kobe, Japan) of the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan for Japanese academic years of
2015-2017 (i.e. from April 2015 to March 2018). The author also extends thanks to Dr. Manabu Koiso
(Kobe Yamate University) and Dr. Tiatoshi Jamir (Nagaland University), SOAS University of London
and the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, Yusof-Ishak Institute (Singapore), all those cited in this paper, and the
people of the Samon Valley, Central Myanmar.
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