The Bronze Drum Production in the Mekong River Basin of Thailand

Merika Sanguanwong

This study focuses on form and decorative design pattern of a bronze drum found in northeast Thailand at Kham Cha-e District, Mukdahan Province, which its form is similar to fragments of clay mould used for lost-wax casting of a bronze drum, found in Non Nong Ho Archaeological Site, Na Udom Sub-district, Nikhom Kham Soi District, Mukdahan Province. Remarkably, this evidence has proved the potential for the first production of bronze drum in Thailand. Discovered in Kham Cha-e District, Mukdahan Province, the bronze drum is categorized in Heger I, the classification of bronze drum suggested by Franz Heger, a German scholar. The drum is similarly characterized by the Lěng Shuǐ Chōng, the bronze drum type classified by Zhāng Shì Quán, a Chinese scholar. Based on archaeological findings, it suggests that the drum is possibly dated back to 2,000 years ago, coinciding with the Han Dynasty of China. The study further reveals that there was a relocation or transfer of the drum production by a group of drum users to the northeastern part of Thailand. The stylistic approach also indicates that the technology of bronze drum casting was transmitted by a group of inhabitants along the river basin of the Yong River, the xún River, the Red River, and also the downstream of the Mekong River.