The first genuine settlements - where people lived in groups ,practiced agriculture , made pottery , and wove cloth – were on hillsides. By 2000 B.C., there were several throughout the country . the most important were two in the extreme northeast – at Non Nok Tha and Ban chiang . It is generally accepted that the Ban chiang settlement was started around 3500 B.C. By 1000 B.C.,it was a complex culture that also produced outstanding ceramics. In its last period, from 300 B.C. to A.D. 300 , it achieved a high degree of craftsmanship in painted pottery, bronze and iron tools, and glass jewelry. Much of this was discovered when burial sites were dug up , for the citizens of
Ban chiang buried their dead along with large amounts of goods