1. ORIGINS AND MIGRATIONS oF THE THAIS smin According to various historical sources, the Thais might have originated in western or north-western Szechuan. Like the Chinese sNnn the Thais belong to the Mongolian stock. From the sixth century B.C. onwards, Chinese annals made frequent references to the Thais as the"barbarians" south of the Yang-tse-kiang. The Chinese gradually began to encroach upon them and press them hard. Due so their of unity, the Thais could not organize an effective resistance lack to the Chinese rule and most were eventually absorbed by them while others made attempts to preserve their independence. In order to attain their objective they started theu southward migrations gradually and intermittentiv The Thais lowed the nver valleys in their movements towards the south. The western group of Thai descended along the Salween river where they settled down and became Shans or so-called Great Choosing the Mekong valley as its home, the eastern group Thais. spread its influence to king, and constituted the ancestry of the Laotians, while the middle group emigrated into Thailand. These last two groups have been referred to as the Little Thais. 2. THE INDO-CHINESE PENINSULA BEFORE THE ARRIVAL MMANn OF THE THAIS. Such stone implements as axes and utensils have been dug up in various parts of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, thus indicating that the rarliest inhabitants must have been primitive people who lived in caves Next came the Negritos to be followed by the Mon-Khmers and the Lawas. As time wore on, the Mon-Khmers and the Lawas dispersed