Heritage management, education, and community involvement in Thailand: A central Thai community case

This paper presents a case study of a long-term collaboration between academic scholars and a cohort of local community agents and personnel in the management of an archaeological site in central Thailand. There is a brief historical background of cultural heritage preservation in Thailand, including various aspects of collaborative approaches for cultural heritage management. We discuss and summarize background, reasons, context for collaboration, methodology (types and methods of collaboration), collaborator typology, problems and obstacles, and suggestions for best practices in cultural heritage preservation. This paper also discusses public education and the awareness of cultural heritage significance in protecting and preserving archaeological sites as national and local cultural properties.