Initial states of Thailand

There are many sites in Thailand dating to the Bronze (1500-500 BCE) and Iron Ages (500
BCE-500 CE). The most thoroughly researched of these sites are in the country's northeast,
especially in the Mun and Chi River valleys. The Mun River in particular is home to many
"moated" sites composed of mounds surrounded by ditches and ramparts. The mounds
contain evidence of prehistoric occupation.

Around the first century, according to epigraphy of the Kingdom of Funan and the records of
Chinese historians, a number of trading settlements of the south appear to have been
organised into several Malay states, among the earliest of which are believed to be
Langkasuka and Tambralinga. Some trading settlements show evidence of trade with the
Roman Empire: a Roman gold coin showing Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (161 CE) has
been found in southern Thailand.