Prehistory

Main article: Myanmar's prehistory

Archaeological evidence indicates that Burmese civilizations existed as early as 11,000 BCE. The majority
of traces of early settlement have been discovered in the central dry zone, where scattered sites appear
close to the Irrawaddy. Burma's Stone Age, the Anyathian, is believed to have existed at the same time
as the lower and middle Paleolithic in Europe. The Neolithic or New Stone Age, when plants and animals
were first domesticated and polished stone implements developed, is attested by three caves in
Taunggyi at the border of the Shan plateau that date to 10,000 to 6,000 B.C. [1]

People in the area were among the first in the world to transform copper into bronze, cultivate rice, and
domesticate poultry and pigs about 1500 BCE. By 500 BCE, iron-working towns had sprung up in the
region south of modern-day Mandalay. The excavation of bronze-decorated coffins and burial sites
containing pottery remnants. [2] In the Samon Valley, south of Mandalay, archeological evidence reveals
rice-growing villages that traded with China between 500 BCE and 200 CE. [3] Archaeological evidence
from the Samon Valley during the Iron Age reveals changes in newborn burial traditions that were
heavily influenced by India. These modifications include burying newborns in jars whose size indicates
their family status. [4]