About THL > THL COLLECTIONS Resources > Special Collections Resources > Macfarlane Thak Collection Resources > Introduction to the Macfarlane Thak Collection
Introduction to the Macfarlane Thak Collection
The Thak Archive is a multimedia archive of ethnographic records collected from 1969 to the present by Alan Macfarlane and Sarah Harrison in the Gurung village of Thak, located in central Nepal. Census data, as well as general economic and social data collected at regular intervals over the entire 30-year period are included in the collection, along with 3000+ photographs and over one-hundred hours of film. The collection is unique in its time depth, allowing researchers to understand social change over an extended period. Each entry has been carefully cross-referenced with other elements in the collection, creating a complex, multi-level databank of information about one ethnic community in Nepal on the micro level, and about social change in contemporary Nepal on the macro level. The Archive is a dynamic project which is updated yearly with new information from Thak.