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THE
NORTH I CENTRAL
&
EAST
COAST I THE
NORTHEAST I THE
SOUTH |
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 Ban
Chiang
is
an
archeological
site
located
in
Nong
Han
district,
Udon
Thani
Province,
Thailand.
It
has
been
on
the
UNESCO
world
heritage
list
since
1992. |
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Discovered
in
1957,
the
site
attracted
enormous
publicity
due
to
its
attractive
red
painted
pottery.
During
the
first
formal
scientific
excavation
in
1967,
several
skeletons,
together
with
bronze
grave
gifts,
were
unearthed.
Rice
fragments
have
also
been
found,
leading
to
the
belief
that
the
Bronze
Age
settlers
were
probably
farmers.
The
site's
oldest
graves
do
not
include
bronze
artifacts
and
are
therefore
from
a
Neolithic
culture;
the
most
recent
graves
date
to
the
Iron
Age. |
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The
first
datings
of
the
artifacts
using
the
thermoluminescence
technique
resulted
in a
range
from
4420
BC-3400
BC,
which
would
have
made
the
site
the
earliest
Bronze
Age
culture
in
the
world.
However,
with
the
1974/75
excavation,
sufficient
material
became
available
for
radiocarbon
dating,
which
resulted
in
more
recent
dates--the
earliest
grave
was
about
2100
BC,
the
latest
about
AD
200.
Bronze
making
began
circa
2000
BC,
as
evidenced
by
crucibles
and
bronze
fragments.
Bronze
objects
include
bracelets,
rings,
anklets,
wires
and
rods,
spearheads,
axes
and
adzes,
hooks,
blades,
and
little
bells. |
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The
site
again
made
headlines
in
January
2008
when
thousands
of
artifacts
from
the
Ban
Chiang
cultural
tradition
and
other
prehistoric
traditions
of
Thailand
were
found
to
illegally
be
in
several
California
museums
and
other
locations.
The
plot
involved
smuggling
the
items
to
the
country
and
the
donating
them
to
the
museums
in
order
to
claim
large
tax
write
offs.
There
were
said
to
be
more
items
in
the
museums
than
at
the
site
itself.
This
was
brought
to
light
during
high
profile
raids
conducted
by
the
police
after
a
National
Park
Service
agent
had
posed
under
cover
as a
private
collector.
If
the
US
government
wins
its
case,
which
is
likely
to
take
several
years
of
litigation,
the
artifacts
are
to
be
returned
to
Thailand. |
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