From archeology to the creation of contemporary dance performances which drive Ban Non Wat Pre-historical Community Learning Resource Center to the living learning archaeological sites.
Ban Non Wat Community, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand, is an important archeological site because it was where traces of human habitation over 4,000 years ago had been found continuously. They were from the pre-historical period like the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the historical period until the present. It was considered a crucial discovery to learn the stories of the origin of the civilization of this land. Once the research project was over, the excavation pits will be closed like nothing happened. However, the Community were in hope to establish a learning resource to tell their proud stories. Therefore, the Community requested Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University to take the lead in developing the site as a learning resource center for the Community's origins of prehistoric civilization. The plan can be itemized into the following three steps:
Archaeological excavation site at Ban Non Wat, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Area before construction, Ban Non Wat Pre-historical Community Learning Resource Center
1. Establish the Prehistoric Local Learning Resource Center at Ban Non Wat Community to be the center of historical and archaeological research of the Community in museum style. Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University had laid out guidelines for management and constantly train local people to be service providers and managers.
The development of a local learning center by the university in collaboration with the community.
Ban Non Wat Pre-historical Community Learning Resource Center
2. Promote learning through contemporary dance performances which Thai Dance curriculum had studied and researched from the documents together with archaeological evidence discovered in the Community to develope a performance set called “Baan Non Wat Dance”. Unlike learning fromboring archaeological excavation pits, the archaeologists, or exhibitions in learning centers, this set was designed for taking the audience back to the ancient Ban Non Watto learn about the prehistoric society, the way of life, traditions, and ancient technology through the performers. They can play on stage and let the audience enjoy, understand, andappreciate the scenes. Further, the audience would like to learn and tell the public about the great value of being the origin of the 4,000-year-old civilization of this community. The composition of the set can be itemized as follows:
1) The plot, the human skeleton moves as if it tells the story about the burial rituals using ancient technologies such as hunting, pottery, and metal production. It shows life in the early agricultural society.
the human skeleton moves as if it tells the story about the burial rituals
ancient technologies such as hunting, pottery, and metal production. It shows life in the early agricultural society.
2) The choreography, an ingenious combination of Thai dance, that is soft and delicate, and contemporary dance to communicate emotions to the background music and content.
3) The music, the combination of folk instruments and international instruments with the modified melody and rhythm to convey and reflect meanings of each period.
4) The costume is a new creation using batik cloth technique,drawing pottery patterns on cloth. The patterns inspired from pottery found in archaeological excavations.
5) The props, tools used in archeology with some modification to be consistent with the performance.They would be used as symbols to communicate to enhance the performance and help the audience understand the show more.
3. Promoting learning center to be the living archaeological site for both conservation and creativity for the new generation. In the center, there were Play and Learn activities and a local learning curriculum for students. There was also a promotion of tourism under the theme of the "Prehistoric Archeology Route." It is not only welcome visitors with a series of local performances, but also promotes local guides, and community products development, increasing income in the Community.
