Drawing on a broad range of disciplines, the contributions gathered in this volume focus particular attention on early state formation, development of material cultures, and the transfer of iconographic concepts from late perhistoric to historic times. With chapters on the archaeology and history of the Indonesian archipelago, the multi-directional flows of Buddhist art in Southeast Asia, art and architecture of the Khmers, traditions and actions of various ethnic groups, specific regional phenomena are addressed in order to provide a resource for comparative perspectives.

Connecting Empires and States contains 29 papers presented at the 13th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA). Held in Berlin in 2010, the conference was jointly organized by the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology at the Freie Universitat Berlin and the German Archaeological Institute. The peer-reviewed proceedings bring together archaeologists, art historians and philologists who share a common interest in Southeast Asia's early past.

Based on recent field research and excavation finds, the contributions in this volume focus on cultural practices and materials which reflect processes of integration, specification and diversification in the prehistory and early history of Southeast Asia. With chapters on the variability and distribution of lithic assemblanges, funerary practices, the spread of Neolithic cultures and field agriculture, and the development of Metal Age remains, different approaches are presented to interpret these phenomena in their specific environmental context.

Crossing Borders contains 25 papers presented at the 13th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists (EurASEAA). Held in Berlin in 2010, the conference was jointly organized by the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology at the Freie Universitat Berlin and the German Archaeological Institute. The peer-reviewed proceedings bring together archaeologists, art historians and philologists who share a common interest in Southeast Asia's early past.

Philippine Ancestral Gold is a spectacular publication in full-color that features more than 1,000 gold objects that were recovered in the Philippines from the 1960s to 1981 and now form part of the collection of the Ayala Museum in Manila. Many of these treasures were found in association with tenth-to-twelfth century Chinese export ceramics, and formal similarities with objects from other Southeast Asian cultures affirm regional affinities and inter-island trade networks that flourished in the region before there was regular contact with the Western world. Adornments of elite individuals and the deities they adored include a spectacular array of golden sashes, necklaces, pectorals, diadems, earrings, finger rings, and arm and leg ornaments.

The book situates these objects within the context of early Southeast Asian history. In the first chapter, Floriana H. Capistrano-Baker outlines the history of the collection and presents an overview of the objects according to over-lapping categories of form, function, technology, and geographic provenance. In the second chapter, John Miksic explains how the collection contributes to a reassessment of the prehistory of Southeast Asia. Miksic notes the persistence of indigenous forms and the localization of imported traditions, and discusses the correlation between burial practices and social organization and suggests that the removal of gold objects from circulation through ritual burial is an indicator of non-hereditary leadership. Chapter 3, John Guy examines the meaning and metamorphosis of forms in comparison with related material recovered in the region. Guy highlights stylistic similarities and differences between the Philippine objects and those from such cultures as Java, Champa, and Borneo. He discusses as well the important role of export ceramics in dating associated gold finds. Chapter 4 describes related finds from the Butuan-Surigao-Agusan region in light of the rise and fall of different polities in Southeast Asia.

This extraordinary collection exists because of the passion and dedication of Leandro and Cecilia Locsin, whose vision of preserving for future generations these marvelous objects provides valuable glimpses into the Philippine precolonial past, and is a remarkable homage to the Filipino people.