Why are many early Southeast Asian artworks no longer preserved?

Many early Southeast Asian artworks have not been preserved primarily because they were created using perishable materials, such as wood, which was the most natural medium in the region’s thickly forested environment.12

The preservation of these works is further hindered by the region's hostile climate, which accelerates the decay of fragile materials. Consequently, most surviving examples of early art are limited to more durable substances, such as stone implements, megalithic monuments, and bronze objects, which provide the primary archaeological evidence for these ancient traditions. While it is certain that diverse and imaginative pictorial arts once flourished alongside these stone and metal works, they have largely vanished, leaving scholars to infer their existence through details carved in stone, incised on bronze, or referenced in historical texts.13