Ethnoarchaeological Study on Iron and Salt in Thailand

Nitta在1994年和1995年两个财政年度对泰国传统的炼铁和制盐活动进行了实地研究。对它们的民族考古学研究对史前考古学和社会学研究非常有用。泰国有三种制盐方法。盐田法和盐井法是传统的盐田法。盐田法在泰国东北部许多省份都有推广。盐田法分为坑槽法和干槽法两大类。班敦人村是采用坑槽法的村庄之一。这种方法与尼塔（Nitta）在Nakorn Ratchasima省Non Tung Pie Pong考古制盐遗址中发现的方法相同。由于森林砍伐和年轻劳动力的短缺，许多传统的制盐活动受到燃料木材短缺的困扰。由于环境和社会的变化，延续了1700多年的传统制盐活动正在逐渐消失。在北塔拉迪特省的Ban Nam Phee保留了传统的炼铁。只有一位老人保留了传统的炼铁和制剑技术。和制盐一样，炼铁也面临着铁原料短缺的问题。政府禁止在村子附近采集铁矿石，砂铁消失了。在村子附近的旧炼铁场里收集的铁渣是冶炼铁的唯一原料。由于森林砍伐，很难收集木材来烤木炭。炼铁炉和炼铁方法比预期的简单。1990年在武里南省班东洞挖掘的窑炉与班南菲的窑炉相似。这里出产的铁被用来制作大城风格的传统剑。炼铁和制盐这两种传统技术，由于泰国的环境和现代经济社会变化，正在消失。(300字)

Nitta made field researches of traditional iron-smelting and salt-making activities in Thailand during two fiscal years of 1994 and 1995. Ethnoarchaeological studies on them are very useful for prehistoric archaeological and sociological studies.There are three methods of salt-making in Thailand. Solt-field method and salty-water-well method are traditional ones. Salt-field method is carried in many provinces in northeast Thailand. Salt-field method is divided into two groups, pit-trough method and trunk-trough method. Ban Don Reng is one of the villages which runs pit-trough method. This method is as same as that of the archaeological salt-making site at Non Tung Pie Pong, Nakorn Ratchasima province excavated by Nitta. Many of traditional salt-making activities are suffering from the shortage of fuel wood caused by the deforestation and the shortage of young laborers. The traditional salt-making activities which have been carried for 1700 years or more are disappearing by the environmental and social change.Traditional iron-smelting is preserved at Ban Nam Phee, Uttaradit Province. Only one old man preserves the traditional iron-smelting and sword-making technologies. As well as the salt-making, the iron-smelting is also suffering from the shortage of iron material. The government prohibits to collect iron ore near the village, and sand iron disappeared. Iron slag collected at the old iron-smelting sites near the village is the only material to smelt iron. It is also very difficult to collect wood to bake charcoal caused by the deforestation. The iron-smelting furnace and the method to smelt iron are simpler than expected. The furnaces excavated at Ban Dong Plong in Buriram Province in 1990 resembles to that of Ban Nam Phee. The iron produced here is used to make a traditional sword of Ayuttaya style.Two traditional technologies, iron-smelting and salt-making, are now disappearing by the environmental and modern economic and social change in Thailand. (300 words)