According to the traditional rendering of Thai or Siamese history, the first independent Tai Kingdom was Sukhothai (1240\u20131438). During this period the Tais created their own art style, which was eclectic at the beginning, combining elements from the Mons, Khmers, and the Srivijaya maritime empire in the south, and from Sri Lanka, from where they adopted, through the Mon, the core of their culture, Theravada Buddhism. (read\u00a0more\u00a0about\u00a0Tai,\u00a0Thai\u00a0and\u00a0Siamese<\/a>).<\/p>\n In fact, several Tai principalities and kingdoms evolved; parallel to this evolution, Lanna in the north was the one most closely connected with Sukhothai, which had served as a Khmer outpost in the 12th<\/sup> century. Through dynastic connections and intermarriage with the older ruling Mon and Khmer elite, the Tai of Sukhothai gained political power and independence, which ended when it became a vassal of another Tai kingdom, Auytthaya, in 1350. Sukhothai was finally incorporated into it in 1438.<\/p>\n The supposedly earliest literary evidence of Thai culture and history in general, is the c. 1293 AD stone inscription attributed in the 19th<\/sup> century to King Ramkhamkhaen, the third sovereign of Sukhothai and architect of its power. The authenticity of the inscription is, however, now questioned. Whether the document is authentic or not does not concern us, since the information given by it, as far as theatre and dance are concerned, mainly contains different terms for musical instruments and forms of merrymaking.<\/p>\n A more important text for theatre and dance research, and originally a Sukhothai period text, is the famous Indian-influenced Theravada\u00a0Buddhist\u00a0cosmology<\/a> The Three Worlds<\/i> or Traiphum<\/i>. It is attributed to the 14th<\/sup> century King Lithai of Sukhothai and it gives a detailed description of the 31 levels of the Theravada Buddhist cosmos. It mentions dance in several connections. It has deeply influenced the temple architecture, imagery and dance of the region.<\/p>\n Besides the few textual sources mentioned above, there exist early dance images, in this case temple reliefs, which give us some information about dance during the early phases of the history of Thailand. They clearly show that many of the elements of dance reflected Indian influence while, at the same time, many features also show that the Indian influence had already been adapted to the local tastes and needs. Thus they give extremely important information about how the present movement techniques have gradually evolved.<\/p>\n\n\t\tEarly Dance Images<\/h3>\n