Archaeology of North Thailand

Prehistoric finds in North Thailand

Archaeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. An archaeological record consists of artefacts, architecture, bio facts or eco facts, and cultural landscapes. The area of central and north Thailand has a rich history and archaeology. Some archaeologists trace back prehistoric Thailand as far as 1,000,000 years ago from the fossils and stone tools found in this area.

At a site in Lampang, archaeologists discovered northern Thailand Homo erectus fossils, “Lampang Man”, dating back 1,000,000 – 500,000 years. In 1999 a man called Somsak Pramankit found skull fragments of Homo erectus in Ko Kha, about 30 km southwest of Lampang. Some archaeologists have casted doubt on this find.

We can compare this find to the skull fossils of Sangiran Early Man (“Java Man”), that archaeologists found in Java, (Java man).

People found stone artefacts dating to 40,000 years ago at Tham Lod Cave in Mae Hong Son. Archaeologist Rasmi Shoocongdej did research in this province and found and studied ancient teak coffins, skeletons, plant seeds, and stone and iron tools, some of which date back 12,000 to 300 years.

Wiang Kum Kam, Wiang Lo and Wiang Tha Kan

Most archaeology sites of touristic interest in North Thailand are less than 1000 years old. They are ruins of early Thai settlements such as Wiang Kum Kam, Wiang Lo and Wiang Tha Kan. We have included Wiang Kum Kam and Wiang Tha Kan in some of our tours. Wiang Lo is one of the least visited archaeological sites in North Thailand. If you are interested, please send us a request so we can design a customized tour for you.

In the city of Chiang Mai there are many ruined chedis and remains of temples and old city walls. Archaeology is one of our main interests.

Please send us a request if you are interested in archaeology.