Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Ancient History
Little evidence remains of the cultures that existed in Thailand before the middle of the 1st
millennium AD.
Homo erectus
fossils in Thailand's northern province of Lampang date
back at least 500,000 years, and the country's most important archaeological site is Ban
Chiang, outside Udon Thani, which provides evidence of one of the world's oldest agrarian
societies. It is believed that the Mekong River Valley and Khorat Plateau were inhabited as
far back as 10,000 years ago by farmers and bronze-workers. Cave paintings in Pha Taem
National Park near Ubon Ratchathani date back some 3000 years.
Relief carvings at Angkor Wat depict Tai mercenaries serving in Khmer armies. The Khmer called them
'Syam'. The name was transliterated to 'Siam' by the English trader James Lancaster in 1592.
Early Empires
Starting around the 10th century, the 'Tai' people, considered to be the ancestors of the
contemporary Thais, began migrating from southern China into present-day Southeast
Asia. These immigrants spoke Tai-Kadai, said to be the most significant ethno-linguistic
group in Southeast Asia. Some settled in the river valleys of modern-day Thailand while
others chose parts of modern-day Laos and the Shan state of Burma (present-day Myan-
mar).
They settled in villages as farmers, hunters and traders and organised themselves into ad-
ministrative units known as
meu·ang,
under the rule of a lord, that became the building
blocks of the Tai state. Over time, the Tai expanded from the northern mountain valleys in-
to the central plains and northeastern plateau, where there existed several important trading
centres ruled by various indigenous and 'foreign' empires, including the Mon-Dvaravati,
Khmer (Cambodia) and Srivijaya (Malay).
King Naresuan is portrayed as a national hero and became a cult figure, especially worshipped by the Thai
army. His story inspired a high-budget, blockbuster film trilogy,
King Naresuan,
funded in part by the Thai
government.
