Thai-Lao Ethnographic Collection
In 1981, Joyce White, who had been conducting field research in Thailand for 18 months in the village of Ban Chiang, received a telegram from the Penn Museum requesting that she make a collection of everyday items illustrative of traditional village life. Ban Chiang was the location for excavations by Penn Museum and the Thai Fine Arts Department in 1974 and 1975. White’s ethnobotanical research was part of the Penn Museum Ban Chiang Archaeological Project, and that work had prepared her well for the task.
Joyce had been working with a local farmer, Li Hirionatha, to collect and document traditional knowledge of plants in the region. Over the course of the final two months of that research, Joyce and Li meticulously put together a collection of representative objects of the area noting the name and function of each piece, as well as where it was purchased and when, and other data. The collection consists of examples of everything from ox carts and fishing traps to looms and ceramics.
In the summer of 2024, Thai-Isaan Material Culture Specialist, Nichanan Klangwichi, spent three months at the Penn Museum updating and expanding the cataloging of the collection. Object names and villages are now in both English and Thai. The description includes fuller cultural context and plant names for materials, as well as bibliographic references for further study.
Below you can explore the collection with various filters such as on material and function. To see, for example, all the objects used for fishing, click on the “Subject” filter on the lower left, then select “Fishing Equipment”.
- Object[445]
- no[445]
- asian[445]
- 3D Model[1]
- adze[2]
- arrow[3]
- axe[3]
- axe head[2]
- bait rod[2]
- basket[12]
- beam[13]
- bellows[2]
- bellows base[2]
- bellows pump[2]
- betel box[2]
- betel nut pounder[2]
- bird trap[6]
- bowl[6]
- box[9]
- box lid[2]
- brush clearing knife[2]
- bushel basket[3]
- carrying basket[2]
- cart wheel[2]
- chicken restrainer[2]
- clothing basket[2]
- clothing storage basket[2]
- cocoon tray[5]
- cocoon unraveller[3]
- cooking pot[3]
- crossbow[2]
- digging stick[2]
- dip net[2]
- dye material[2]
- eel fork[2]
- fermenting jar[3]
- fish basket[4]
- fish fence[3]
- fish net[3]
- fish trap[25]
- fishhook[3]
- floor mat[3]
- frog hook[2]
- frog trap[2]
- harness[3]
- hatchet[2]
- hoe[2]
- knife[7]
- knife sheath[2]
- lattice[2]
- lid[5]
- lime holder[2]
- lime holder lid[2]
- lip balm holder[2]
- loom[3]
- loom part[45]
- loom rod[2]
- manuscript[2]
- mat maker[2]
- mats[2]
- mortar[4]
- mousetrap[2]
- mouth organ[2]
- part[4]
- peg[11]
- pestle[7]
- plow share[2]
- pole[5]
- post[8]
- potter's anvil[4]
- potter's paddle[3]
- rabbit trap[3]
- rice mill[2]
- rice steamer[5]
- rice steaming pot[3]
- rope[2]
- rope making frame[2]
- serving plate[2]
- shoulder basket[2]
- shuttle[4]
- sickle[3]
- silk unraveller[2]
- silk worm basket[2]
- silk worm stand base[4]
- silk worm tray[5]
- skein winder[5]
- skein winder base[2]
- skirt[2]
- sleeping mat[2]
- spindle[2]
- spinning wheel[2]
- spool[5]
- sticky rice basket[3]
- sugar mill cog[6]
- sugar mill part[3]
- sugar mill post[4]
- thread sorter[4]
- thread winder[2]
- tray[4]
- tree trunk[2]
- water bowl[2]
- water bucket[4]
- water flask[3]
- weaver's sword[3]
- ban bong nuae[2]
- ban bun mi[45]
- ban chiang[86]
- ban chiang khruea[2]
- ban don[7]
- ban don tan[2]
- ban dong yang[1]
- ban dong yen[11]
- ban dun[2]
- ban jid[1]
- ban kham or[7]
- ban kham phakkood[15]
- ban kham ta na[9]
- ban kham yang[3]
- ban khon sawan[9]
- ban na di[3]
- ban non sao khwan[3]
- ban non sung[2]
- ban nong lat[16]
- ban nong mek[9]
- ban om kaeo[51]
- ban pai[1]
- ban phon ngam[1]
- ban phon sung[4]
- ban pu lu[17]
- ban pueai[28]
- ban sam kha[8]
- ban tha chuang[8]
- ban thung fon[22]
- ban tong[2]
- ban ya[3]
- ban yang ngam[2]
- burma[4]
- chaiyaphum[10]
- china[1]
- east of ban khon sawan[6]
- laos[1]
- pagan[4]
- pukendon[1]
- sakon nakhon[40]
- thailand[445]
- ubon ratchathani[1]
- ubon ratchathani (city)[1]
- udon thani[403]
- udon thani (city)[18]
- ban bong nuae[2]
- ban bun mi[45]
- ban chiang[86]
- ban don[7]
- ban don tan[2]
- ban dong yang[1]
- ban dong yen[11]
- ban dun[2]
- ban kham or[7]
- ban kham phakkood[15]
- ban kham ta na[2]
- ban kham yang[3]
- ban khon sawan[15]
- ban na di[3]
- ban non sao khwan[3]
- ban non sung[2]
- ban nong lat[16]
- ban nong mek[9]
- ban om kaeo[51]
- ban phon ngam[1]
- ban phon sung[4]
- ban pu lu[17]
- ban sam kha[8]
- ban tha chuang[8]
- ban thung fon[22]
- ban tong[2]
- ban ya[3]
- ban yang ngam[2]
- ubon ratchathani (city)[1]
- udon thani (city)[18]
- 18th century[1]
- 19th century[1]
- 20th century[1]
- floral[1]
- good fortune[1]
- healing[1]
- lord of toad[1]
- phaya khankhak[1]
- su khro rituals[1]
- su khwan rituals[1]
- agricultural tools and equipment[25]
- animal husbandry tools and equipment[5]
- betel chewing tools and equipment[24]
- ceremonial object[8]
- clayworking tools and equipment[8]
- clothing[5]
- container[15]
- cotton production[11]
- cultivation equipment[2]
- cutting tool[12]
- distribution & transportation objects[5]
- documentary objects[2]
- drink serving vessel[3]
- drinking vessel[2]
- fiberworking tools and equipment[6]
- fishing equipment[49]
- floor covering[5]
- food processing tools and equipment[65]
- food service tools and equipment[17]
- food storage equipment[1]
- household accessory[15]
- household equipment[1]
- hunting equipment[8]
- jewelry[1]
- lighting device[5]
- medical & psychological tools and equipment[1]
- metalworking tools and equipment[14]
- musical tools and equipment[3]
- personal artifacts[3]
- religious text[2]
- rice production[32]
- silk production[18]
- smoking & recreational drug equipment[10]
- storage & display accessories & components[5]
- storage jar[4]
- textileworking tools and equipment[109]
- tools and equipment[1]
- transportation artifacts[20]
- trapping equipment[18]
- unclassifiable artifacts[6]
- weapon blade[2]
- weights & measures tools and equipment[4]
- woodworking tools and equipment[8]
- bamboo[185]
- banana leaf threads[1]
- basketry[34]
- brass[15]
- ceramic[36]
- chemical dye[1]
- clay[2]
- cloth[2]
- coconut[1]
- coconut shell[2]
- copper[3]
- cord[1]
- cotton[7]
- cotton string[1]
- cotton thread[1]
- crab shell[1]
- earthenware[15]
- fiber[3]
- glaze[1]
- gourd[5]
- grass[3]
- indigo dye[1]
- insect nest glue[2]
- iron[46]
- lacquer[3]
- lead[1]
- leaf[3]
- leaves[1]
- mai bong[1]
- mai bueay[4]
- mai cham chaa[1]
- mai daeng[3]
- mai duu[15]
- mai jik[2]
- mai kadoon khook[1]
- mai kawk kan[1]
- mai khaaw[3]
- mai khaen khayawm[1]
- mai khawy[1]
- mai kung[6]
- mai maak lueam[2]
- mai makhaa[1]
- mai phan saad[7]
- mai rai[1]
- mai som kob[3]
- mai yaw paa[1]
- mai yung[4]
- metal[29]
- mud[1]
- nails[2]
- namman yaang khii sii[3]
- natural dye[1]
- natural dyes[2]
- nylon[8]
- organic material[1]
- palm leaf[1]
- plastic[1]
- raffia[4]
- rattan[29]
- reed (plant)[9]
- resin (material)[1]
- rope[8]
- silk[4]
- steel[1]
- stoneware[20]
- straw[2]
- string[15]
- sugar palm fiber[1]
- sugar palm stem[1]
- textile[28]
- thayo[3]
- thread[4]
- twine[3]
- undyed silk[1]
- vine[1]
- water buffalo horn[1]
- wicker[1]
- wire[2]
- wood[216]
- actual citation[8]
- type citation[105]
1 - 30 of 445 Records
