Non Nok Tha Khon Kaen
Non Nok Tha Cemetery · Khon Kaen Non Nok Tha
Neolithic 3000 → Bronze 1300 BCE → Iron 500 BCE–200 CE·Isan Khorat — Non Nok Tha Bronze–Iron hill (Phu Wiang)·🇹🇭 Thailand, Northeast Isan, Khon Kaen Province, Phu Wiang District, Non Nok Tha hill at headwaters of Chi River, 55 km northwest of Khon Kaen City, Khorat Plateau western rim, Thailand
About
About Non Nok Tha Khon Kaen
Non Nok Tha Khon Kaen — Neolithic to Iron Age cemetery mound (3000 BCE–200 CE, 45 burials) on Phi Wiang hill 55 km NW Khon Kaen, excavated 1966–68 by Bayard–Solheim (Univ. Hawaii–Fine Arts Dept Thailand). Non Nok Tha revealed Neolithic cord-marked ware with shouldered adzes → Bronze Age (1300 BCE socketed celt, 3 burials with bronze) → Iron Age with agate beads bridging Ban Chiang to Mekong. American-era 1960s salvage defined Isan Bronze before Ban Chiang debate via Thermoluminescence 3500 BCE claim (later refined 1300 BCE). Hilltop cemetery overlooking Chi headwaters at Khorat western rim links Mekong to Chaophraya Neolithic.
Why it mattersIsan Bronze antecedent — 1960s debate site for SE Asian 3500 BCE bronze claim now refined 1300 BCE
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Early Thermoluminescence 3500 BCE bronze — error or real?
Theories
- 01Non Nok Tha as western Khorat Bronze node vs Ban Chiang
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3000 BCE Neolithic corded ware foundation; Bronze 1300 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic 3000 → Bronze 1300 BCE → Iron 500 BCE–200 CE
- Culture
- Isan Khorat — Non Nok Tha Bronze–Iron hill (Phu Wiang)
- Builders
- Khorat hill farmers and smiths at Chi headwaters
- Purpose
- Hilltop cemetery on Khorat rim documenting Isan Neolithic→Bronze with 45-burial sequence
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.3000 BCE
Neolithic cord-marked hilltop cemetery founded
c.1300 BCE
Bronze socketed celts appear (TL debate 3500→1300)
1966–68
Bayard–Solheim American-era salvage 45 burials
On the ground
Structures & features
16.4800° N · 102.5800° E · 180 m · 2 mapped features
Summit Bronze Age Burial Cluster
burial3 Bronze Age burials with socketed celts on hill summit center
16.4810° N · 102.5810° ESlope Iron Age Bead Scatter
scatterIron Age agate bead strand and iron knives on southern slope
16.4790° N · 102.5790° E