Thailand: Ban Chiang pot from Nong Han District, Udon Thani Province, c. 3000-2000 BCE

Ban Chiang Archaeological Site is a prehistoric human habitation and burial site. It is considered by scholars to be the most important prehistoric settlement so far discovered in Southeast Asia, marking the beginning and showing the development of the wet-rice culture typical of the region. The site has been dated by scientific chronometric means which have established that the site was continuously occupied from 1495 BCE until c. 900 BCE making it the earliest scientifically-dated prehistoric farming and habitation site in Southeast Asia. Ban Chiang is considered the most important prehistoric settlement so far discovered in South-East Asia. It marks an important stage in human cultural, social and technological evolution. The site presents the earliest evidence of farming in the region and of the manufacture and use of metals. Ban Chiang was officially inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.