Few parts of the world have seen such an acceleration in the output of outstanding archaeological research as Southeast Asia, and we are fortunate to have persuaded some of the leading players to provide our readers with a major update of work in progress. The idea arose from a session at the recent IPPA congress, where a number of scholars gathered to pay tribute to Peter Bellwood, on the point of his retiring from his position as Secretary-General. We are very grateful to them for allowing versions of the papers they gave to find a wider audience through Antiquity, and delighted to have the chance to add our tribute to theirs.