Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c44.5

c44.5

From these references to examples of the building art in various parts of the country in which influences from a foreign origin are plainly discernible, it will be realized that any attempt at a classification of the several styles of architecture presents difficulties. In support of this it may be mentioned that it has been found expedient to resolve the plastic arts of Siam into as many as nine separate schools or periods each of which exhibits definite characteristics differentiating it from the others.¹ Moreover, although the country measures only a little more than one thousand miles long, and at its greatest part is only half that in width, owing largely to racial movements, and the diverse nature of the people who at certain periods have inhabited its territory, it has been considered useful to divide the entire region into four parts (1) Northern (2) Central (3) North-Eastern and (4) Southern or Malay Peninsula Section. It is not to be inferred however that the various architectural developments coincide with this geographical distribution, but it may help to simplify the subject. As a preliminary the architecture of Siam may be made to fall into three broad periods (1) the Mon-Indian or Dvaravati period up to the tenth century (2) the Khmer period, from the tenth to the thirteenth century when much of the country came under the domination and influence of the adjacent empire of Cambodia, and (3) the Tai or national period from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century, and afterwards to the present day.