The Inhabitants of the Northeast

    The Northeast has been inhabited by man since the prehistoric period , probably for 10,000 years as shown by stone artifacts found over a wide area near the Makong River.

    There is evidence which attests to the fact that 5,600 years ago the Northeast's inhabitants , especially those in the Sakon Nakhon Basin , began to form communities in unflooded , elevated areas near streams or ponds ,  with surrounding flat land for cultivation. Archaeological evidence shows that the people at Ban Chiang and hundreds of villages in Sakon Nakhon Basin were communities with social codes of conduct ,   cultivation ,  animals-raising and inter-community trade. They used advanced technology in making bronze artifacts and ornaments. These were made of iron in a later period. There were well-defined specialists , such as brovzesmiths, ironsmiths, potters, cloth-weavers , and rice farmers. These communities had similar patterns of beliefs and rites, for example the tradition of burying the dead with food and belongings.

    Anthropologists and archaeologists have typified these people as an agrarian society existing 3,600-2,000 years ago. After the discovery of iron the economy , social structure as well as the population, greatly changed. Iron tools helped increase crops and farm produce, leading to population growth and additional  needs for accommodation. Other factors, such as the salt trade, contributed to constant community expansion. There is evidence indicating that not less than 500 communities existed in the northern and southern parts of the Northeast during the period.

    The archaeological findings have gradually revealed the Northeast's past, and it has become clear enough to change the theory of the Western experts that Southeast Asia, including Thailand, has been under the influence of Indian and Chinese civilizations since prehistoric times.

    Only towards the end of the pre-historic period, about 2,000 years ago, or at the beginning of Christian era, the people of the Northeast had contacts with people from far away societies, such as India, as evidenced by stone and glass beads. The Northeastern society had become more complex as seen in the remnants of hundreds of ancient towns with surrounding moats and earth embankments, attesting to civilized town communities.

    From the 10th to the 13th centuries onwards, cultural influence from Cambodia was most prevalent in the Northeast. Legacies from Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, such as stupas,sanctuaries and images of worship, are found nearly everywhere. Art historians call them "ancient Khmer art" or "Lop Buri art " and they are mostly found in the lower Northeastern, which was nearer to the ancient Khmer kingdom's seat of government than the Upper Northeastern.

    Around the 14th century, the Northeastern people adopted a culture from in habitants of the Mekong's left bank-the Laotians,whose  Kingdom of Lan Xang was growing strong and expanding. The Laotian people moved into the region in small groups over the period between the 15th and 17th centuries. The influence of Lan Xang culture in the form of religious art is found extensively in the provinces by the Makong River.