River Bank Erosion and the Decline of the Sisatchanalai Ceramics Industry of North Central Thailand

Abstract

The famous SiSatchanalai ceramics industry of north central Thailand operated from the tenth or eleventh century AD until the sixteenth century. The reasons for the decline of the industry have not yet been fully clarified and have focused on social and economic factors. Evidence is presented from Ban Ko Noi, based on stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, pollen, and the character of the kilns and associated ceramics. This evidence demonstrates that a possible reason for the decline—riverine erosion of the land on which the industry was sited-clearly postdated the decline, which cannot therefore be attributed to these physical factors.