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[185]
- yes[185]
- no[185]
- asian[185]
- arrow[3]
- axe[1]
- bait rod[2]
- basket[11]
- basket tray[1]
- beam[9]
- betel tray[1]
- bird trap[6]
- blowgun[1]
- bobbin basket[1]
- bouquet basket[1]
- bow[1]
- box[3]
- brush clearing knife[2]
- bucket[1]
- bushel basket[1]
- carrying basket[2]
- carrying pole[1]
- catfish trap[1]
- chicken restrainer[2]
- civet trap[1]
- clothing basket[2]
- cocoon tray[5]
- cocoon unraveller[1]
- cocoon unraveller fork[1]
- container[1]
- cotton bow[1]
- cotton fluffer[1]
- crossbow[1]
- dip net[2]
- eel fork[2]
- eel trap[1]
- eel trap exterior[1]
- eel trap interior[1]
- fan[1]
- fish basket[2]
- fish container[1]
- fish fence[1]
- fish net[1]
- fish sieve[1]
- fish trap[24]
- fishhook[3]
- flask[1]
- floating fish container[1]
- floating fish trap[1]
- food tray[1]
- frog bow[1]
- frog hook[2]
- frog trap[2]
- harrow[1]
- hat[1]
- hatchet[1]
- hook[1]
- hook knife[1]
- iron splitting tool[1]
- knife[2]
- lattice[2]
- lid[2]
- loom[2]
- loom part[34]
- loom rod[1]
- mat maker[1]
- mousetrap[2]
- net needle[1]
- offerings basket[1]
- peg[10]
- pellet bow[1]
- pole[1]
- post[4]
- rabbit trap[3]
- rice basket[1]
- rice beating sticks[1]
- rice sieve[1]
- rice steamer[3]
- rice winnower[1]
- rodent trap[1]
- rope twiner[1]
- shoulder bag[1]
- shoulder basket[2]
- sickle[1]
- silk basket[1]
- silk basket lid[1]
- silk spool[1]
- silk threading stick[1]
- silk unraveller[1]
- silk unravelling stick[1]
- silk worm basket[2]
- silk worm tray[5]
- skirt hem[1]
- spindle[1]
- spool[4]
- spoon[1]
- steamer[1]
- sticky rice basket[3]
- sticky rice steamer[1]
- strainer[1]
- threshing sticks[1]
- tray[2]
- water bucket[3]
- water flask[3]
- ban bong nuae[1]
- ban bun mi[20]
- ban chiang[41]
- ban don[2]
- ban dong yang[1]
- ban dong yen[5]
- ban kham or[3]
- ban kham phakkood[6]
- ban kham ta na[1]
- ban kham yang[3]
- ban nong lat[10]
- ban nong mek[1]
- ban om kaeo[35]
- ban phon sung[3]
- ban pu lu[4]
- ban pueai[4]
- ban tha chuang[2]
- ban thung fon[16]
- ban tong[1]
- ban ya[1]
- ban yang ngam[1]
- burma[3]
- china[1]
- east of ban khon sawan[5]
- pagan[3]
- sakon nakhon[7]
- thailand[185]
- ubon ratchathani[1]
- ubon ratchathani (city)[1]
- udon thani[177]
- udon thani (city)[9]
- ban bong nuae[1]
- ban bun mi[20]
- ban chiang[41]
- ban don[2]
- ban dong yang[1]
- ban dong yen[5]
- ban kham or[3]
- ban kham phakkood[6]
- ban kham ta na[1]
- ban kham yang[3]
- ban khon sawan[5]
- ban nong lat[10]
- ban nong mek[1]
- ban om kaeo[35]
- ban phon sung[3]
- ban pu lu[4]
- ban tha chuang[2]
- ban thung fon[16]
- ban tong[1]
- ban ya[1]
- ban yang ngam[1]
- ubon ratchathani (city)[1]
- udon thani (city)[9]
- floral[1]
- agricultural tools and equipment[8]
- animal husbandry tools and equipment[2]
- betel chewing tools and equipment[1]
- ceremonial object[1]
- clayworking tools and equipment[1]
- clothing[1]
- container[13]
- cotton production[6]
- cutting tool[4]
- distribution & transportation objects[5]
- drinking vessel[1]
- fiberworking tools and equipment[3]
- fishing equipment[40]
- food processing tools and equipment[11]
- food service tools and equipment[7]
- household accessory[5]
- hunting equipment[7]
- metalworking tools and equipment[1]
- rice production[8]
- silk production[11]
- smoking & recreational drug equipment[3]
- storage & display accessories & components[2]
- textileworking tools and equipment[57]
- transportation artifacts[11]
- trapping equipment[17]
- weights & measures tools and equipment[2]
- woodworking tools and equipment[1]
- bamboo[185]
- basketry[24]
- cloth[1]
- coconut[1]
- coconut shell[1]
- cotton[1]
- cotton string[1]
- crab shell[1]
- gourd[1]
- iron[13]
- lacquer[3]
- leaf[3]
- mai bong[1]
- mai bueay[1]
- mai duu[2]
- mai khaaw[2]
- mai khawy[1]
- mai kung[1]
- mai rai[1]
- mai som kob[1]
- mai yaw paa[1]
- mai yung[1]
- metal[4]
- mud[1]
- namman yaang khii sii[3]
- nylon[7]
- plastic[1]
- raffia[3]
- rattan[25]
- reed (plant)[2]
- rope[6]
- straw[1]
- string[13]
- sugar palm fiber[1]
- textile[26]
- thayo[3]
- thread[4]
- twine[2]
- vine[1]
- water buffalo horn[1]
- wire[2]
- wood[53]
- actual citation[1]
- type citation[60]
31 - 60 of 185 Records
