ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the various culture contacts that occurred in Asia prior to the arrival of Europeans. It also considers Oceania and, in particular, looks at the archaeology of culture contact in Polynesian societies. The ports of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia have long histories of use, as documented in ancient texts and archaeological evidence for port facilities, shipping, and trade. A setting for dramatic historical culture contact in Eurasia was Siberia which, as a neighbor of Europe, had an indigenous population of Eurasians. The European traders in Canton had a privileged yet restricted access to China, although the presence of Fan Kwae was certainly felt. The Opium Wars originated in part from an imbalance in trade, as the Chinese had more to sell. Culture contact in the Philippines after the Spanish arrival was very different from that in other Asian contexts, where mammon was superior to god.
