ABSTRACT
The discovery of unusual ancient pottery at Ban Chiang transformed the obscure Thai village into an important ar chaeological site. Shards of distinctive red-on-buff painted pottery had been collected locally for years before they drew widespread notice in the 1960s. At that time, the discovery of a perfectly intact vessel, as well as escalating sales of pot sherds to foreign tourists, turned the Thai government's atten tion to the village. Archaeological investigations at Ban Chiang, begun in 1967, revealed remnants of a prehistoric settlement that was established in the fourth millennium B.C. and survived until perhaps the fourth century A.D. Excavated objects, including human and animal bones, pottery shards, and bronze and iron fragments, signify the considerable ad vances in agriculture, metallurgy, and ceramic craft made by Ban Chiang's prehistoric people.
