Research & Article

It is widely believed that Thai territory was previously inhabited by the Mon-Khmer, while the Thai people lived in what is present day southern China during that period, and earlier in an area further north between the Huangho and Yangtze rivers. However, two previous studies contradict that. For one, the Thai people are rice-cultivating people who prefer a tropical climate as opposed to mountainous slope-lands, suggesting they would have lived in lowlands near the sea. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the Thai ever lived in the northern or even middle parts of China. Rather, it is likely that the ancestors of the present Thai population lived in the provinces of Kwangsi and Kwangtung. In order to resolve these differences, this article utilizes a study of prehistory, specifically a preliminary analysis of Ban Kao neolithic skeletons and modern Thai skeletons, to better understand the origin of the Thai people.