Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, which constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state, dates back to the Lower Paleolithic.[1] These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians—associated with the Hoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of Southeast Asia to this day. The subsequent Austroasiatic and Austronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.[2][3]
Laos exists in truncated form from the thirteenth-century Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, which existed as a unified kingdom from 1357 to 1707, divided into the three rival kingdoms of Luang Prabang, Vientiane, and Champasak, from 1707 to 1779. It fell to Siamese suzerainty from 1779 to 1893 and was reunified under the French Protectorate of Laos in 1893. The borders of the modern state of Laos were established by the French colonial government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[4][5][6] The modern nation-state of Laos emerged from the French Colonial Empire as an independent country in 1953.
^Bellwood, Peter (10 April 2017). First Islanders: Prehistory and Human Migration in Island Southeast Asia (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781119251545.
^Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). Layers of Chinese loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, Special Issue No 20: 47–64.
^"Origins of Ethnolinguistic Identity in Southeast Asia" (PDF). Roger Blench. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
^"Laos Brief History". Asia Web Direct. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
^"Laos History". The National Assembly of Laos. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
^"Lao People's Democratic Republic History Timeline". Worldatlas Com. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, which constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state...
French protectorate ofLaos (French: Protectorat français du Laos) was a French protectorate in Southeast Asia of what is today Laos between 1893 and 1953—with...
The Kingdom ofLaos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was...
The economy ofLaos is a lower-middle income developing economy. Being one of the socialist states (along with China, Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea)...
The Laotian Civil War (1959–1975) was a civil war in Laos waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December...
The Military historyofLaos has been dominated by struggles against stronger neighbours, primarily Thailand and Vietnam, from at least the 18th century...
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese...
diplomats visiting Laos. Laos is notable for a lack of antisemitism. According to a 2014 report from the Anti-Defamation League, Laos is among the least...
instead of Lao script. Vientiane (/viˌɛntiˈɑːn/ ; Lao: ວຽງຈັນ, Viangchan, pronounced [wía̯ŋ t͡ɕàn]) is the capital and largest city ofLaos. Comprising...
largest and dominant religion in Laos. Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao cultural identity. The national symbol ofLaos is the That Luang stupa, a stupa...
Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population...
insurgency in Laos is a low-intensity conflict between the Laotian government on one side and former members of the Secret Army, Laotian royalists, and...
Kingdom ofLaos. The political source of Lao history and cultural identity is the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, which during its apogee emerged as one of the largest...
to fight against the Kingdom ofLaos between 1958 and 1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would...
Laotian Americans (Lao: ຄົນລາວອາເມລິກາ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian...
Image", is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site...
all natives ofLaos in general, aside from or alongside ethnic Lao during different periods in history. Since the end of French rule in Laos in 1953, Lao...
The president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic is the head of state ofLaos. The current president is Thongloun Sisoulith, since 22 March 2021....
The flag ofLaos (Lao: ທຸງຊາດລາວ; thungsad Lāo) consists of three horizontal stripes, with the middle stripe in blue being twice the height of the top...
became the government ofLaos before the return of the French. It aimed to prevent the French from restoring their control over Laos. The group disbanded...
November 1907 – 13 May 1978) was the last king of the Kingdom ofLaos and the 6th Prime Minister ofLaos serving from 29 October to 21 November 1951. He...
Sơn) was a logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms ofLaos and Cambodia. The system provided...
and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ultimately conquered the entire country in 1975, after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet...
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