The Thammasat Museum of Anthropology’s Repository
The repository of the Thammasat Museum of Anthropology derives from the early fieldworks conducted by lecturers and students of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology between 1972 and 1973. At the time, the department was still part of the Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University. The department carried out anthropological and archeological research with the Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, and the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University to study Ban Chiang community and archaeological sites at Ban Om Kaeo and Ban That, Udon Thani Province, during the “Late Neolithic period.”
In 1987, Dr. Winit Winitnayapak, an alumnus of the Faculty of Law, and Khunying Pannee Winitnayapak (his wife) donated their personal collection of antiques, art objects, and folk crafts to Thammasat University for display and for establishing a museum. Subsequently, the university constructed the Thammasat Museum of Anthropology building in honor of the His Majesty the King at Rangsit Campus, and the university assigned the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology to be responsible for the Thammasat Museum of Anthropology’s repository, up until this day.
Invitation to the World of Objects
The Thammasat Museum of Anthropology’s collection boasts a remarkable feature with the diversity of objects of over 6,000 items. These objects vary in material and represent different eras and cultures. There are million-year-old fossils, ancient artifacts, tools from past societies, dating back to the “Neolithic period,” technologies, rare items, peculiar items, everyday objects related to beliefs, inventions, collected objects from the last century, folk tools, and Southeast Asian ethnographic objects, as well as objects related to contemporary politics.
The museum showcases its collection through Open Storage and a digital repository on its website, giving interested individuals and the broad public an opportunity to learn about cultural objects and gain a deeper understanding of humanity and diverse cultural groups. Each item has its own unique story and interacts with both the collectors and the visitors
The Thammasat Museum of Anthropology serves as a caretaker for this diverse collection and is also responsible for selecting them to display in both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The museum values the past and preserves it for both people from the present and the future to study. The museum uses a systematic database and modern technology for conservation, while also supporting teaching, research, and providing an opportunity for students and others to use the collection for educational purposes.
“Please be invited to learn from these objects to understand humanity in various dimensions” through our collections.