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The closing of the frontier: land pressures and their implications for rural social organization in the Thai central plain

Contributions to Asian studies • 9 • Published In 1976 • Pages: 7-26

By: Piker, Steven Isaac.

Abstract

This paper discusses traditional social stratification in Thailand from about 1350-1767 A.D., and then, beginning in the 19th century, with changes in stratification patterns as the result of forces of 'modernization,' both from within the society as well as from without. During Piker's field work 'modernization' processes were well advanced, and changes were dynamic not only in terms of the relationship of the peasant to the broader society as a whole, but also in terms of peasant to peasant relationships. Associated with these changes are those described by the author as the result of population pressure on land ownership in rural Thailand. The major conclusion of the paper '...is that definite patterns of social stratification, predicated upon differential access to the wherewithal for subsistence and the occupational implications thereof, are emerging among villages, whereas previously in Thai history villagers have stood as a single stratum in relationship to the other strata of the society'.

HRAF PubDate

2019

Region

Asia

Sub Region

Southeast Asia

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle ; 1985

Field Date

1962-1968

Coverage Date

ca. 1350-1960

Coverage Place

Banoi village, Ayutthya province, Thailand

Notes

Steven Piker

Includes bibliographical references

LCCN

72622759

LCSH

Thais