Assessing the early observers: cloth and the fabric of society in 19th‐century northern Thai kingdoms

Archival sources have presented contradictory assessments of the social significance of textiles in northern Thailand. Using oral histories and archival sources, this article clarifies the important role of textiles in differentiating classes in 19th‐century northern Thai society. Focusing on cotton and silk, it argues that an analysis of the social process of textile production helps reveal the cultural significance of these class differences. It concludes by suggesting that an analysis of a society's political economy provides useful insights into the semiotics of consumption and an important methodology for historical anthropology. [Thailand, textiles, peasants, history, class, silk]