Research at Ban Chiang has greatly enhanced understanding of the early history of what is now Thailand. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Ban Chiang is considered the most important prehistoric settlement so far discovered in Southeast Asia. The site shows an important stage in human cultural, social and technological evolution, with some of the earliest evidence of wet-rice agriculture and domestication of cattle, pigs and chickens in the region as well as early examples of the manufacture and use of metals. Many of these artifacts and the stories behind them are on display at Ban Chiang National Museum.