Research Summary
Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand — The rural village of Ban Non Wat in Northeast Thailand is one of the most important sites for understanding indigenous societies ancestral to the Empire of Angkor, and each season’s work provides exciting insights to the past. Very few sites have been examined as extensively, nor yielded as many finds from the relevant archaeological ages. This season, you’ll work with Dr. Nigel Chang and his colleagues excavating new areas to try to understand the full range of activities that people here engaged in over the last 4,000 years. You’ll uncover burial sites, but will also investigate an important water feature discovered last season, perhaps the earliest of its type in Thailand. You’ll help reveal how Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age peoples here were affected by their environment, by changing climates, by the development of agriculture, by technological advances, and by contact with those from other lands.
Meet the Scientists
Dr. Nigel Chang
James Cook University, Australia
“I welcome you to our project in Northeast Thailand. This will be the 10th season of what has become an evolving series of projects. Each season continues to provide new and unexpected discoveries. This season we will continue to break new ground across the site with the aim of really understanding how people lived in the past. We also hope to visit and record other sites in the district to understand more about ancient trade and relationships with the environment. To continue this work we need your help, applying new technologies, digging, restoring, sifting, and literally piecing together the past. The work can be challenging, however, there are jobs for everyone and I can promise a very interesting time.”
Dr. Chang holds a Ph.D. from the University of Otago and is a Lecturer in Archaeology at James Cook University in Australia. He has been working in Thailand since 1991 and is experienced in dealing with project logistics and accommodations and giving advice and support to volunteers. Dr. Chang has also participated in several projects in Cambodia and more recently in Laos. His research interests also involve the study of prehistoric jewelry.