Cultural Thailand

Ban Chiang

Site Ratings
2 locations
Connections for Ban Chiang
Ban Chiang by Els Slots
Ban Chiang by Els Slots 4

Ban Chiang is considered the most important prehistoric settlement discovered in South-East Asia.

When this mound was discovered in 1966, it attracted enormous publicity due to its attractive red-painted pottery. The first scientific excavation uncovered several skeletons together with bronze grave gifts. Rice fragments have also been found, which prove that the Bronze Age settlement was made by farmers and it marks the beginnings of settled agricultural communities in the region.

Community Perspective: a visit is centered around the Ban Chiang National Museum, which very well displays all discoveries in the area and there is a second area accessible inside a Buddhist temple that holds a smaller archaeological site. Timonator even discovered a third (overgrown) site within the town of Ban Chiang. Solivagant goes into detail about the controversial dating history of the site that continues to confuse scholars and travel guides.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Ban Chiang Archaeological Site (ID: 575)
Country
Thailand
Status
Inscribed 1992 Site history
History of Ban Chiang
1992: Inscribed
Inscribed
1991: Referred
Bureau - pending more study of Ban Chiang and comparative studies of similar sites
Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iii
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
Official
Related
All Links
UNESCO.org
Official Website
Related Resources
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