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INTRODUCTION TO THAILAND
Thailand occupies the center of Southeast Asia., with borders abutting Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. It’s elephant head shape on the map encompasses an area
roughly equal to that of France. Within it’s borders are a variety of topographies and climates which effectively divide the country into four regions. The fertile central region
of the country is dominated by the Chao Phya River and is the site of Bangkok, the capitol city. Politically, economically and culturally, this is the most important region
of Thailand. The Northeast is made up of a sandstone plateau which rises over one thousand feet above sea level. This has traditionally been the poorest section
of the country, due to it’s thin soil and occasional drought or flood. Life in this area of the country has been improving steadily over the past few years. The Northern
part of Thailand is made up of mountains and fertile valleys and is the most beautiful area of the country. The South, the elephant’s trunk reaching down the
Malay penninsula, receives more rainfall than any other section of Thailand. It consists mainly of rain forest, but is also the site of many beautiful beaches and
coastal islands. The climate of Thailand is controlled buy the monsoons. Their influence divides the year into 3 seasons: the hot season from March through May;
the rainy season from June through October; and, the cool season from November through February.
Ban Chiang, a village in Northeastern Thailand, is the site of a remarkable discovery. Here lie the remains of an ancient agrarian culture which flourished some 5,000
years ago at the very dawn of civilization. This alone would have been enough to mark this as a special place, but, as researchers were digging through the
ruins they came upon something even more astonishing. Metal tools and adornments were found amongst the bones and debris. Tests proved these metal
pieces to be as old, or possibly older, than the supposed first use of metal in Mesopotamia. Researchers are now coming to the conclusion that Thailand and
Southeast Asia was one of the focal points in the development of human civilization. The fate of the people of Ban Chiang is not known. It is believed that they
depleted the resources in their area then moved southward into the valley of the Chao Phya River.
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