More notes from my Travelogue:
==
In the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum in Bangkok, there is a letter. The curator wouldn’t let me photograph it, but I was able to copy it out by hand. The letter talks about a major archeological find in Ban Chiang, Thailand. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a major site for understanding prehistoric settlements in Asia and an important source of clues for the cultural, technological, and social evolution of humans. The author of the letter discovered the site.
The letter, to his family:
August 12, 1966 …
Here is a short message about my feelings on Ban Chiang: In reflecting on the Ban Chiang find, I became more humble and spiritual, less scientific and confident of human dominance over fate.To use a Thai reference, some Theveda must have been responsible for the Ban Chiang find for I did not consciuosly seek out ancient Thai history. In the summer of 1966, I was looking for villages in the Isan in which to interview villagers for my senior thesis at Harvard College.A chance acquaintance sent me to Ban Chiang. I could have gone to any of hundreds of villages.Why did I end up in Ban Chiang? Luck.
Then, I had been in the village, walking around, for some time and never saw the pottery in the ground. But on this day I lost control and tripped right where there were many pots in the ground.When I fell forward, face down on the ground, there was a pot just under my nose. I had to see it. It was as if some force outside me wanted me and not somebody else to find the pots. So, as soon as I realized that they were beautiful and old, I became the recipient of a sense of responsibility that it was my fate, my duty, to tell the world about this find.The important event, and my task, had not been planned at all. Just so, many important things happen to people in life which are not planned.
Stephen B.Young
A very multi-faceted story. Ranging across countries, disciplines, and belief systems.
Post a Comment