D. christian lammerts (ed.) this volume is a compilation of papers presented at a conference on pre- and early modern buddhism at the nalanda-srivijaya center, institute of southeast asian studies, in 2011. the chapters reflect the breadth and the depth of such an expansive subject, with the topics of essays ranging from early epigraphic evidence of buddhism in peninsular and island southeast asia to discussions of theroleof religioninthai-khmercourtlyrelationsinthenineteenthcentury. several of the essays focus on epigraphy and demonstrate the many ways inscribedtextscanbeusedtohelpuslearnabouttheearlyhistoryof theregion. scholars in this volume use epigraphy for diverse purposes, yet each essay points to networks of buddhist ideas, practices, and iconography. peter skilling examines a buddhist verse with no apparent immediate south asian origin, which was inscribed in stone, metal, and clay, and found in locations from north peninsular malaysia to java, all sites along ancient trade routes between india and china. the origin of this verse and the reasons for its popularity in southeast asia remain a mystery but point to connections and conversations within early southeast asian buddhist centers. titi surti nastiti’s essay focuses on inscribed clay stupas and a buddhist sealing discovered in the foundational pit of a majapahit-era javanese tem- ple, candi gentong. using paleographic comparisons, she demonstrates the likelihoodthatthesedepositspredatethestructureandprovidetheearliestevi- denceof buddhistpracticeineastjava.anabbreviatedformof thewidelyused ye dharma mantra was inscribed on these foundational deposits, and was also found on numerous clay stupas excavated near borobudur. these lines relate to the phrase discussed in skilling’s article, but have a far wider distribution. hiram woodward’s penetrating essay focuses on tenth century angkor, closely looking at a wide range of inscriptional and literary evidence of bud- dhism and how it relates to sculptural remains of the period. he grapples with longstanding questions about early cambodian buddhism, addressing which texts were known and how iconographic traditions persisted or transformed. several of the essays in the volume focus on archeological finds. stephen murphy’s contribution is perhaps the most unusual in a volume of this sort. he uses quantitative and demographic evidence to estimate the size and extent of buddhist communities in the khorat plateau during the dvaravati period. by counting and mapping the locations of stone monastic boundary markers, he hypothesizes the size and density of monastic centers, noting also the distribution of narrative art within this framework