Funan: One of the Earliest Civilizations in Southeast Asia

The search for Funan leads us back to the very early times of civilization. Funan is considered as (one of, if not) the first civilization which took place in Southeast Asia from the 1st century CE on, and it was basically located in the fertile mouth of the Mekong River and the wider area around. It is also part of the first stage of Khmer/Cambodian history, for it were probably people of the Indian Khmer/Mon group (or from Austronesian origin,...

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Thailand profile

A chronology of key events: 7th-10th cent AD - Hindu and Buddhist Dvaravati culture, thought to be of the ethnic Mon people, predominates. Ruins of Sukhothai, capital of the first major Thai kingdom 10th-14th cent - Southern Thailand is ruled by the mainly Mon Lavo Kingdom, but with growing influence from the Khmer neighbouring Empire. (modern-day Cambodia). The Tai people - the antecedents of modern ethnic Thais - start to move...

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Mon

The Mon, a distinctive branch of the Mon-Khmer peoples, were probably the earliest of modern day inhabitants to settle in the plains of Myanmar . They soon established themselves as the most cultured people in Southeast Asia , as their art and architecture clearly show. The Mon brought both Buddhism and writing to Myanmar and traded with India as early as the dawn of the Christian era. The earliest Mon writings date from the 5 th century...

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