The Dvaravati Civilization

Paragraph 1：The basis of a Buddhist civilization in Southeast Asia was laid between the sixth and ninth centuries. During that period, a distinctive culture complex named Dvaravati, with Buddhism as its religion, developed in central and northeastern Thailand and was associated with the Mon people. Little is known of its history or its geographical extent. Many of its inscriptions, however, are in the Mon language; and it is supposed that Dvaravati arose late in the sixth century, more as a civilization than as an empire, to take advantage of the overland trade between the Gulf of Martaban and the Gulf of Thailand. Characteristically, sites are clustered most densely, and date furthest back in time, along the fringes of the Thailand Central Plain. Those to the west are particularly well-known, and it is there that coins bearing the inscription “Lord of Dvaravati” have been found, the only local evidence of the name of that state. 

 

 

 

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is evidence of a close connection between the Dvaravati civilization and the Mon people? 

 

A. There is an established record of trade between the Mon and Dvaravati peoples. 

 

B. The traditional title of the ruler of the Mon people was Lord of Dvaravati. 

 

C. Geographically, the Dvaravati civilization did not go beyond the area inhabited by the Mon people. 

 

D. The remains of Dvaravati sites contain writing in the Mon language.

 

 

 

2. According to paragraph 1, although little is known about the Dvaravati civilization, one established fact is 

 

A. how and where its first site developed 

 

B. the religious belief of its people

 

C. its precise geographical boundaries 

 

D. why sites are located in dense clusters 

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 2：The dispersal of Dvaravati sites, and the nature of the objects uncovered there, provide considerable information concerning Dvaravati civilization. The central group of Dvaravati site is located in and around the Thailand Central Plain, extending outward along what must have been overland trade routes to Burma and eastward to Cambodia, and northeastward toward the Khorat Plateau. This particular configuration of sites suggests a commercial orientation; and the discovery of items foreign to Southeast Asia – beads, coins, lamps, and even imported statuary – indicates their foreign connections, important both economically and culturally. 

 

3. What can be inferred from paragraphs 1 and 2 about the significance of the location of Dvaravati sites? 

 

A. Sites were concentrated along routes to Burma and Cambodia because of the close religious and cultural ties with those countries. 

 

B. The placement of sites provided the necessary physical separation for the practice of Buddhism. 

 

C. The location of the sites reflected the political dominance of the Dvaravati people over a wide area of Southeast Asia. 

 

D. The Dvaravati sites were concentrated along trade routes that provided important economic benefits for their people

 

 

4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following is an important source of information about the Dvaravati civilization? 

 

A. Records from countries such as Burma, Cambodia, and Laos that surround its sites. 

 

B. The cultural objects that it produced for trade. 

 

C. The way its sites are distributed and the items of foreign origin found at those sites.

 

D. The number of different trade routes that run through its sites. 

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 3：Common to all Dvaravati sites are inscriptions in the Mon language, towns (usually circular or oval in plan) fortified by earthen ramparts and moats, and abundant Buddhist remains, including religious buildings and Buddhist statuary, sculpture, and baked clay or metal votive tablets (tablets made to give thanks for prayers that have been answered). The Mon inscriptions are uninformative regarding the political history of the region, which must be inferred from other evidence. The fortified towns often included within their walls as much as 10 square kilometers, suggesting extensive populations of town dwellers who probably lived off the labors of the surrounding rural people and were involved in trading metals, spices, forest products, and textiles. They featured extensive religious establishments, usually but not always Buddhist. Their religious life probably was refreshed from time to time by contacts with India through traveling monks and the importation of such things as sacred scriptures and works of art. Dvaravati Buddhist sculpture, hewn from local rock by indigenous sculptors or fashioned in terra-cotta or stucco, appears throughout the region and is highly distinctive. Less common are the carved stones that marked the boundaries of the sacred precincts of monasteries, particularly fine examples of which come from Mueang Fa Daet. Few Dvaravati sites are lacking in large numbers of small clay votive tablets bearing an image of the Buddha, sometimes inscribed with a religious formula in the Mon script. These archeological remains attest to the presence, over a wide area of what is now Thailand and portions of Laos, of an extensive, populous, and prosperous Buddhist civilization. Perhaps deriving partly from its ethnic and linguistic identity as Mon, Dvaravati’s civilization had distinctive qualities of its own that sharply contrasted with those of the neighboring Khmer, the dominant ethnic group of Cambodia. 

 

5. According to paragraph 3, each of the following is characteristic of Dvaravati sites EXCEPT 

 

A. remains of Buddhist religious articles 

 

B. inscriptions honoring political leaders

 

C. towns laid out in the shape of a circle or an oval 

 

D. earthen fortifications 

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 4：The Dvaravati period of the sixth through ninth centuries remains problematic because of unanswered questions concerning its political constitution and ethnic composition. We do not know what areas were included within its sway at any particular period, nor can we be certain who its people were. We do not even know if it had a single capital or where that might have been. There is a high degree of probability that by the ninth century the Tai people had begun moving into the northern portions of the region with which Dvaravati civilization is associated, but we cannot be certain of their presence until the eleventh century, when Tai began to appear in the epigraphy (inscriptions) of the lowland monarchies. The important points are that Buddhism was well established and that strong connections with the outside world were forged and persisted. 

 

 

 

6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. 

 

A. There is solid evidence that by sometime in the eleventh century the Tai people were present in the Dvaravati region, and it is very likely that they had begun to appear in the northern Dvaravati areas by the ninth century.

 

B. It is highly probable that when the Tai people began moving into the region in the ninth century it was still controlled by the Dvaravati people, but by the eleventh century the Tai had begun to take over the lowland monarchies. 

 

C. There is little reason to believe that the Tai people were present anywhere in the Dvaravati region before the eleventh century, when inscriptions in Tai began to appear on lowland monarchical structures. 

 

D. The earliest evidence that the Tai people had moved into Dvaravati territories comes from the ninth century, although it is also possible that the Tai moved into Dvaravati areas as late as the eleventh century. 

 

 

 

7. According to paragraph 4, which of the following was true of the Dvaravati civilization during the sixth through the ninth centuries? 

 

A. It was not ruled from a single capital.  

 

B. Its power continually expanded from the sixth through the ninth centuries. 

 

C. It established and maintained ties with civilizations in other regions.

 

D. Its administrative organization gradually weakened from the sixth to the ninth century. 

 

 

 

8. What is the purpose of paragraph 4 in relation to the passage as a whole? 

 

A. To clarify unanswered questions about the politics and ethnicity of the Dvaravati civilization 

 

B. To introduce information about the role of the Tai people in the Dvaravati civilization 

 

C. To support the position that the Dvaravati civilization had many surrounding areas under its control 

 

D. To establish both the extent of unknown information about the Dvaravati civilization and the aspects that are clear

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph 3：Common to all Dvaravati sites are inscriptions in the Mon language, towns (usually circular or oval in plan) fortified by earthen ramparts and moats, and abundant Buddhist remains, including religious buildings and Buddhist statuary, sculpture, and baked clay or metal votive tablets (tablets made to give thanks for prayers that have been answered). The Mon inscriptions are uninformative regarding the political history of the region, which must be inferred from other evidence. The fortified towns often included within their walls as much as 10 square kilometers, suggesting extensive populations of town dwellers who probably lived off the labors of the surrounding rural people and were involved in trading metals, spices, forest products, and textiles. They featured extensive religious establishments, usually but not always Buddhist. Their religious life probably was refreshed from time to time by contacts with India through traveling monks and the importation of such things as sacred scriptures and works of art. ■Dvaravati Buddhist sculpture, hewn from local rock by indigenous sculptors or fashioned in terra-cotta or stucco, appears throughout the region and is highly distinctive. ■Less common are the carved stones that marked the boundaries of the sacred precincts of monasteries, particularly fine examples of which come from Muang Fa Daet. ■Few Dvaravati sites are lacking in large numbers of small clay votive tablets bearing an image of the Buddha, sometimes inscribed with a religious formula in the Mon script. These archeological remains attest to the presence, over a wide are of what is now Thailand and portions of Laos, of an extensive, populous, and prosperous Buddhist civilization. ■Perhaps deriving partly from its ethnic and linguistic identity as Mon, Dvaravati’s civilization had distinctive qualities of its own that sharply contrasted with those of the neighboring Khmer, the dominant ethnic group of Cambodia. 

 

 

 

9. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. 

 

However, many Buddhist sacred objects were made locally.

 

Where would the sentence best fit? 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selected THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

 

The Dvaravati civilization, a distinctive Buddhist culture associated with the Mon people, developed in central and northeastern Thailand between the sixth and ninth centuries. 

 

 

 

Answer Choices: 

 

A. The people living in the Thailand Central Plain were given the name Dvaravati because that name appeared on the coins that were widely used throughout the region under their control. 

 

B. Archeological evidence indicates that the Dvaravati people engaged in overland trade and established cultural and economic connections throughout much of Southeast Asia and beyond. 

 

C. The walled towns, with their extensive religious establishments and Buddhist works of art at Dvaravati sites, had many inhabitants who were probably supported by rural populations. 

 

D. Dvaravati culture was very similar to that of its neighbors, partly as a result of its commercial ties to India and partly because of its use of the Mon language. 

 

E. The Dvaravati people evidently had a well-functioning civilization that extended over a wide area, but much is unknown about their history, ethnic composition, and political organization. 

 

F. Possibly as early as the ninth century, the Tai people moved into what had been Dvaravati territory, and by the eleventh century Tai had replaced Mon as the language of the region, 

 

 

 

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