Archaeology and Ethnic Group in the Area of Nyah-Kur Villages in Thepsathit District, Chaiyaphum Province

Abstract

This article is part of the Archaeological Survey of Ancient Trade Routes on the Rim of the Khorat Plateau,Thepsathit District, Chaiyaphum Province Project. The main aim of this project is to study the history of the Nyah-Kur people, speakers of the Old-Mon language which has linguistic similarities to the Dvaravati inscription. The disciplines of ethnoarchaeology and ethonohistory were utilised within this research, which concluded that the initial habitation of the Thepsathit district was from the 12th century CE onwards. Archaeological excavations provided evidence for the categorisation of two distinct time periods, the first being the period between the 12th to 14th centuries CE, and the second within the reign of King Rama V of the Ratanakosin period. The majority of archaeological sites found which were dated to the first period were located near the Chong Chid mountain pass, a passage between the Korat Plateau and the Central Plain of Thailand. Fragments of Khmer and Southern Song ceramic wares were recovered from these survey sites, indicating the expansion of the political influence and trade networks of the Khmer Kingdom within this period. The archaeological sites pertaining to the second period were located within the village of the Nyah-kur people which they inhabited during the reign of King Rama V. This area was identified through research concerning the oral history of the area, the presence of Qing ceramics and coins minted during the reign of King Rama V. 

The existing narrative concerning the history of the region was that the invasion of the Khmer Kingdom into the Dvaravati State led to the indigenous Dvaravati people fleeing into the surrounding mountainous areas, which turned them into the Nyah-Kur people. However, the results of the archaeological survey challenge the existing narrative, as no Dvaravati assemblages were recorded. Instead Khmer type assemblages were recovered. This new information has informed new theories concerning the expansion of trade around the 12th century, suggesting that a local indigenous group of possibly but inconclusively the Nyah-Kur settled within the village for the purpose of controlling and benefitting from the trade networks within the mountain pass region. Consequently they became directly involved within the extensive Khmer Kingdom trade network with the ancient communities, trading goods both to the east, especially the Bamnet Narong district and to the west, especially the Lam Sonthi district.