Dr. Kanjana Thepboriruk is joined by Dr. Nicolas Revire and cohost Dr. Catherine Raymond to discuss the mythical golden land of “Suvarṇabhūmi” and its modern-day interpretations. Together they examine competing claims based on archeological records by both Thailand and Myanmar to be the true location of Suvarṇabhūmi. The conversation concludes with a discussion of the challenges of accurately dating artifacts from the region and the continuing repatriation efforts by art historians and museum professionals. Dr. Revire is the current Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Research Fellow at the Art Institute of Chicago. His research specializes in Buddhist archeology in premodern Southeast Asia. Dr. Raymond is an archeologist and art historian specializing in Theravada Buddhist Art. Dr. Raymond is an Emeritus Professor of Art History and previously served as the director for the Center for Burma Studies at NIU.
