Help revive the Ban Chiang Project at Penn Museum

The Ban Chiang Archaeological Site is a large, prehistoric earthen mound located in an agricultural area in the Ban Chiang Sub-district, Nong Han District of Udon Thani Province in northeast Thailand, within the watershed of the Mekong River.

 

Ban Chiang was the centre of a remarkable phenomenon of human cultural, social, and technological evolution in the 5th millennium BC, which occurred independently in this area of south-east Asia and spread widely over South-East Asia. The site presents the earliest evidence of farming in the region and of the manufacture and use of metals. It has been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 1992.

 

 

The importance of this archaeology does not limited only within Thailand. Ban Chiang Project under the Institute for Southeast Asian Archaeology (ISEAA) at Penn Museum established in October 2013 continues to builds upon the decades-long archaeological research programs in Thailand and Laos at the Penn Museum.

 

ISEAA continues to publish research findings from the archaeological site of Ban Chiang in a monograph series in the middle Mekong region (northeast Thailand and Laos). It develops and supports accessible online databases for scholars of Southeast Asian prehistory and support capacity-building in Southeast Asia for archaeologists, heritage managers, and related professionals. These serve the main objectives to protect and promote the cultural and environmental heritage of Southeast Asia.

 

 

Dr. Joyce White, longtime Director of Ban Chiang Project at Penn Museam and ISEAA Executive Director said “What is needed is a 21^st century online living digital resource archive for Thai archaeology that encompasses Ban Chiang and several other Thai sties whose data are at the Penn Museum and is expandable to other sites not only in Thailand but also Laos.”

 

Support from the U.S. companies as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and from each individual will help continue research and archaeology study. This project will raise awareness of archaeology and help preserve a remarkable history of mankind in the region. It will help promote tourist industry which generates income and jobs for local communities.

 

Donors who pledge and fulfill five-year pledges will be recognized a s Founding Donors of the ISEAA. To help sustain the valuable Ban Chiang Project, please visit http://iseaarchaeology.org/support-us/

 

Panalee Choosri