First Notions of Thai Beginings

I'm trying to start a conversational exchange. So far I have had small success. I'll try to find more popular topics as I proceed.

Grain farming began in the Thai area before 9000 BC. Other very early farming included betel, bean, pea, pepper, cucumber.

There is strong evidence that the Spirit Cave near Mae Hong Son Province of NW Thailand was occupied from about 9000 BC to about 5500 BC.

Bronze appeared in Thailand in the 5th millennium BC. A very advanced metalworking culture was wide spread and flourishing before 1500 BC. Iron was worked as early as 1500 BC.

Early Thai peoples included Lao, Lanna, Shan.

The Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai founded in 1238 AD is often considered the first Thai state. I'd guess that by 1440 it was know throughout South East Asia and well beyond.

However, before the 13th century a Tai kingdom existed in the northern highlands, centered on Chaing Saen, a predecessor of Lanna.

A good way to begin to learn more of Thailand is to learn more about Lanna past and present.

Sailing, Sailing

Which Arabs traveled to India during the Roman Empire? Did they take Jesus or any of his disciples to India? Did you know that Arabs sailed around India to the southern tip of South East Asia to meet Chinese and Malay merchants there?

How many Arab or Semite civilization existed during the the times of the Greek and Roman empires? What might we learn by looking at their history? We might learn how they sailed farther than he than Columbus more than 1500 years before he sailed.
What did Columbus learn from them? How did he do that? What did those Arabs contribute to the Greeks and Romans by transporting inventions and thoughts from the Far East to them? How did the people of Ur of the Chaldese use sea routs Arab seaman used? From whom did the people of Ur learn their seamanship? Who did they teach? What do you care?

Okay. Why did the Seleucid army in Syria have elephants while the Ptolemies had none? How did their elephant technology differ from Hannibal's? How might we benefit from knowledge of those technologies? How might elephants benefit?

How have seagoing merchants differed from Pirates? How did seagoing English merchants handle the opium trade? the slave trade? How have we handled the banana trade?

Okay. Why didn't Anthony and Cleopatra complete their planned escape to India via the Red Sea after their defeat at Antuim? Who benefited by learning from their experience?