HIGHAM, Charles
(Charles F. Higham, Charles Franklin Wandesforde Higham)

PERSONAL:

Born in Stone, Staffordshire, England; son of Ernest (an architect) and Eileen Higham; married Pauline Askew, August 24, 1964; children: Thomas, James, Emma Higham Holt, Caroline Higham Orchiston. Ethnicity: "English." Education: St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, B.A., 1962, M.A., Ph.D., 1966, Sc.D., 1991. Hobbies and other interests: Classical guitar.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Company Bay, Dunedin, New Zealand. Office—University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Otago, Otago, New Zealand, lecturer, 1966-67, professor, 1968-2003; Royal Society of New Zealand, Dunedin, James Cook fellow, 2003-05; University of Otago, research professor, 2005—. British Academy, Mortimer Wheeler Lecturer, 1983, Albert Reckitt Lecturer, 2003.

MEMBER:

Royal Society of New Zealand (fellow), British Academy (fellow), Society of Antiquaries of London (fellow).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Benians fellow, St. John's College, Cambridge, 1991; distinguished research medal, University of Otago, 2001.

WRITINGS:

(With A. Kijngam) Prehistoric Excavations in Northeast Thailand: Excavations at Ban Na Di, Ban Chiang Hian, Ban Muang Phruk, Ban Sangui, Non Noi, and Ban Kho Noi, British Archaeological Reports (Oxford, England), 1984.

The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1989.

(Editor) The Excavation of Khok Phanom Di, Society of Antiquaries of London (London, England), Volume 1 (with R. Bannanurag): The Excavation, Chronology, and Human Burials, 1990, Volume 2 (with R. Bannanurag): The Biological Remains, Part 1, 1991, Volume 3 (with R. Thosarat): The Material Culture, Part 1, 1993, Volume 4 (with T. Thosarat): The Biological Remains, Part 2, 1996, Volume 5: The People, 1999.

(With R. Thosarat) Khok Phanom Di: Prehistoric Adaptation to the World's Richest Habitat, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1994.

The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1996.

(Editor, with R. Thosarat) The Excavation of Nong Nor, a Prehistoric Site in Central Thailand, Oxbow Books (Oxford, England), 1998.

(With R. Thosarat) Prehistoric Thailand: From First Settlement to Sukhothai, River Books (Bangkok, Thailand), 1998.

(With R. Thosarat) Siam Derk Damboran: Yuk Korn Boran, River Books (Bangkok, Thailand), 1999.

The Civilization of Angkor, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 2001.

Early Cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia, River Books (Bangkok, Thailand), 2002.

Cambodge: Grandeur de l'Empire Khmer, [Bagneux, France], 2003.

Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2004.

(With R. Thosarat) The Excavation of Khok Phanom Di, Volume 7: Summary and Conclusions, Society of Antiquaries of London (London, England), 2004.

The Origins of the Civilization of Angkor, Volume 1: The Excavation of Ban Lum Khao, Volume 2: The Excavation of Noen U-Loke, Fine Arts Department (Bangkok, Thailand), 2005.

Contributor to books. Contributor to professional journals.

Higham's writings have been translated into German and Hungarian.

SIDELIGHTS:

Charles Higham told CA: "I am a professional archaeologist, and my books are all related to my research and fieldwork in Southeast Asia. I write two basic types of book. One is the full archaeological site report, in which I describe the results of my excavations. Often, these include edited chapters contributed by colleagues or students. The second is a synthesis of early human history intended for the general reader. One recent major work is the Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. I was invited to edit this book by publisher Facts on File, but when I thought about organizing it, I concluded that it would be quicker and easier to write it myself rather than gather together a lot of contributors.

"When writing my archaeological reports, I do all the illustrations myself, using the Freehand program. I tend to write text or edit during the day and relax in the evenings by drawing maps and plans, or working with PhotoShop on images of all the artifacts or burials. My current excavations are in their fourth season, and so far we have uncovered 310 human burials covering 2,400 years of prehistory. We have also over 12,000 artifacts, so it is a huge task to try and piece it all together. We have two further seasons of excavations to complete.

"I find writing comes easily to me, and I have no problem in producing chapters fairly quickly. I think that this might be the result of my genes. My grandfather was a journalist in China, and my uncle and aunt were both historians with books to their credit. At school I had to study Latin, and reading Caesar or Cicero encourages one to use words sparingly.

"My most widely read book is probably The Civilization of Angkor, which has appeared in an American edition and in French, German, and Hungarian. In preparing it, I read almost all the contemporary inscriptions published in French translation from the original Sanskrit and old Khmer languages. This work was very enjoyable to me and has led to several television documentaries on the subject of Angkor."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Asian Perspectives: Journal of the Pacific, spring-fall, 2000, Karen Mudar, review of The Excavation of Nong Nor, a Prehistoric Site in Central Thailand, p. 198.

Booklist, September 1, 2004, Ann Welton, review of Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations, p. 166.

School Library Journal, October, 2004, Diane S. Marton, review of Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations, p. 93.