Dear Earthwatcher,
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Near the Mun River, a farmer returns to his irrigated rice paddy after a morning of fishing. That night, he enjoys the hak kuay (banana fish), tossing bones onto the pile before dreaming of another day of good fishing and bringing water to his crop. |
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Four thousand years later, your brush uncovers those bones. You call out to Dr. Nigel Chang, Principal Investigator of Earthwatch’s Origins of Angkor, to verify the find. It’s your third day on the dig in the village of Ban Non Wat, Thailand, and you’ve found evidence of the domestic lives of the Neolithic peoples of Southeast Asia.
In one moment, you’ve closed the gap of four millennia and shed light on ancient—and modern—agricultural and fishing practices.
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The woman is tired. Making the large internment vessel is painstaking work. This one features bronze inlays and elaborate painted patterns. Later, it’ll contain the remains of a local aristocrat in a densely packed burial site. |
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 You hold the vessel’s shards, knowing that prior to the work of Dr. Charles Higham and others here, many believed such Bronze Age technology came to Thailand from India. Since 2002, though, evidence has shown that those who became the Angkor civilization were using bronze for tools, weapons, and ornamentation as long as 3,500 years ago.
Dr. Chang guides you in the meticulous restoration of the vessel. The work is as painstaking as the original crafting, but essential to preserve the artistry and technology of the region’s Bronze Age inhabitants.
Your hands move over the pieces, reconstructing a mysterious past, helping us learn how technology transforms societies.
The scope of work at Ban Non Wat is daunting, and this may be the most important dig in Southeast Asia. With Earthwatch’s support, researchers hope to excavate 400-500 sites for each of the relevant ages of history: Neolithic, Early and Late Bronze, and Iron.
They’ve dug about 650, with as many as 1350 to go. It’s an epic undertaking with monumental potential, and it needs your help.
If we’re to understand the ancient peoples of Ban Non Wat—and learn what their struggles with agriculture, industrial development, and changing climates can teach us about our challenges—people like you need to reach across the ages.
Explore the Origins of Angkor on our website or call toll-free at 1-800-776-0188 for more information.
Sincerely,
James M. Fry
Director of Volunteer Outreach
Earthwatch Institute
P.S. Dr. Chang and his colleagues need your help now. One-week or two-week expeditions in November or December ask for lower volunteer minimum contributions than those in January—saving you as much as $600. More details here about how you can get into the field quickly for less. |
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The village of Ban Non Wat benefits directly from Earthwatch’s research teams. Of its 160 residents, 25-40 are employed by the project at any given time. Plans for a museum, along with international media coverage, are helping villagers enjoy the advantages of preserving their heritage.
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See Dr. Charles Higham, founder of the Origins of Angkor expedition, in a 2006 video report from the field.
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| A National Geographic article explains how finds in the region suggest the Angkor civilization’s collapse was due to overpopulation, urban sprawl, and environmental devastation. |
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