The area which is now Thailand has been populated ever since the dawn of civilization in Asia. The first humans in this region were hunter-gatherers who lived by hunting wild animals and gathering whatever grew wild in the forests. Later on, man learnt to modify nature, growing cereals such as rice and breeding livestock. Rice growing communities sprang up. Metal casting and pottery making also became highly- developed skills as these prehistoric settlements prospered. Cast bronze technology in the northeastern area of Thailand dates from around 2000 B.C., making the prehistoric achievements of Thailand just as advanced as those of India and China.
The spectacular finds at Ban Chiang include bronze utensils and ornaments, painted pottery, and bimetallic (bronze and iron) weapons. Ban Chiang was apparently settled as far back as 6,000 years ago and was continually inhabited for some 4,000 years. It was an agricultural community, with skilled metal workers and potters. Artistically, the glory of Ban Chiang can be found in the large amount of painted pottery found at the site; the most graceful shapes and intricate designs appear on pottery dating back to the 300 B.C.- 200 A.D. period.
Mon and Khmer Dominance
From the 7th to the 11th centuries A.D., a large area of what is now central and western Thailand was occupied by a Mon civilization known as Dvaravati.The Mon race, who shared the same linguistic lineage as the Khmers, were later to settle in southern Myanmar. Little is known about the political and social ΓÇ£empireΓÇ¥ of Dvaravati, but it seems quite likely that there were several Mon states sharing a common culture rather than a monolithic ΓÇ£empireΓÇ¥ with a capital city. Important Dvaravati sites in Thailand include Nakhon Pathom, Khu Bua, Phong Tuk, and Lawo (Lop Buri). Some superb sculptures, bas-reliefs, and other archaeological remains survive from this obscure period of history.
Dvaravati was an ΓÇ£IndianizedΓÇ¥ culture, with Theravada Buddhism as the dominant religion. Theravada Buddhism was to remain the major religion in this area for the next millennium, co-existing with animism, Hinduism, and Mahayana Buddhism, and its ideas and philosophy inspired much of Dvaravati art and sculpture, whose forms were also based on Indian prototypes.
By the 11th-12th centuries, Mon dominance over central Thailand had been replaced by the power of the ever-expanding Khmer empire to the east. The capital of this empire was the great city of Angkor, and the Khmer rulers were masters of a tightly-organized society with remarkable capacities for territorial and cultural expansion. The Khmers also controlled most of the trade routes in the Thailand - Indochina region. Khmer territories stretched well into the area that is present-day Thailand, covering the northeastern region, much of the central region, and as far west as Kanchanaburi Province. The Khmer built stone temples in the northeast, some of which have been restored to their former glory, notably those at Phimai and Phanom Rung. Stone sculptures and lintels depicting Hindu gods, stone Buddha images in the distinctive Khmer style, and bronze statuary, some of great beauty, are other vestiges of Khmer cultural dominance. Politically, however, the Khmers probably did not control the whole of this area directly but exerted power through vassals and governors.
The fertile Chao Phraya River basin had always been an area with an ethnic mix: Mons, Khmers, and Lawas. Towards the end of the 13th century, Khmer power in this area waned and new kingdoms, dominated by the Thai race, arose. These had been influenced by Khmer rule and culture, but they brought other spectacular legacies, the origins of which are still a matter of historical dispute.
The Arrival of the Thais
From research done in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, where the Thai language is still spoken, it is believed that the Thai migrated southward from these provinces. By the 13th century the Thai had become a force to be reckoned with in mainland Southeast Asia, and Thai princes ruled over states as far apart as Lanna, in the far north Suphannaphum (Suphan Buri), in the central region, Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south and, most importantly, Sukhothai.
