Burmese Design & Architecture by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0684-0
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

The main altar with a classic Shan Buddha seated at the summit where images, ranging in age from the 11th to 20th century and ranging from thumbnail size to over 15 cm in height, are blessed daily with offerings.

Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts are synonymous with life in Myanmar. Life, in turn, is so closely intertwined with Buddhism that Buddhist devotion determines, in large part, the production of Burmese artisans and greatly influences their designs. Buddhism had become an integral part of Burmese life at least by the mid-fifth century of the first millennium: from that time onward, objects were created which reflect not only the superb craftsmanship of the artisans but also their fervent Buddhist beliefs.

This craftsmanship is based on a legacy of untold generations. Spectacular discoveries in the Pyadalin Caves comprise rock paintings, stone implements and cord-impressed pottery created about 11,000 years ago. In a report (The Quaternary Stratigraphy and Palaeolithic-Neolithic Evidences from Central Burma, University of Rangoon, 1985) on the investigation of some 31 archaeological sites in Central Myanmar, Thaw Tint and Sein Tun describe the discovery of a profusion of antiquities. These range from articles belonging to the Neolithic Age proper, to what they designate as the "metal age", and the early historical period. It determined that many present-day towns and villages, including well-known historical sites, are still situated in the same locations as Neolithic habitational clusters, some of which were nearly the same size as the modern settlements.

The authors found evidence of bronze metallurgical processing in at least five Neolithic sites in Central Myanmar, with the most developed in the lower Chindwin region (Mokhtaw, Aungtaung and Kyaukka) and around the volcanic areas (Songon-Mt Popa). From these, bronze knives, spearheads, axes or adzes and copper matte pieces were collected. In almost all the bronze sites, iron metallurgy and implements were also in evidence. This suggests that while bronze may have been produced earlier, iron and bronze were also produced together in what appears to be the late Neolithic era. A bronze hook, along with iron rods and knives, dated to about 460 BC, was found at Taungthaman (a site in modern Amarapura). Other items included bone or stone needles and spindle whorls, attesting to the existence of weaving skills and garment production at Neolithic settlements.

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