The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre (SAC) was established in 1991 by Silpakorn University in commemoration of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 36th birthday. The SAC was established in honor of Her Royal Highness’s interest in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology, art history, and related fields. The SAC is a database center for the abovementioned fields and provides services to academics, scholars and the public. In 2000, the Centre was elevated to public organization status under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture in order to develop and enhance the quality of the anthropological database, to support research and to publish anthropological knowledge for the public.
Academic Database — is one of the major commitments of the SAC. The Centre compiles anthropological, archaeological, historical, cultural and local knowledge of Thailand and Southeast Asia to further develop into a digital archive and research and reference resource. Currently the SAC has over 20 databases, such as Inscriptions in Thailand database, Museums in Thailand database, Ethnic Groups Research in Thailand database, Anthropological Archive database and Archaeological Sites in Thailand database. For further research, visit www.sac.or.th.
Knowledge Communication — is an important objective for the Centre in order to publish and disseminate anthropological knowledge to the public. The SAC organizes activities that correlate with the target audience, such as academic seminars, discussions on an academic level, anthropological knowledge training on a communal level to strengthen the local communities and indigenous groups, and processing anthropological knowledge into different forms of media to the public. An example of this includes indigenous cultural performances as a means of inspiring awareness of cultural diversity, which is the heart of anthropology.
Research Support — is an important objective to promote anthropological knowledge as a basis for anthropological studies and other related fields in Thai society. The SAC has established academic networks with academic institutions to encourage new researchers in the field of anthropology, both on an institutional and local level, and to create a process of exchange and learning together.