Mainland Southeast Asia can be traced back to 50,000 years ago and to at least 40,000 years ago in Maritime Southeast Asia. As early as 10,000 years ago, Hoabinhian settlers had developed a tradition and culture of distinct artefact and tool production. During the Neolithic, Austroasiatic peoples populated Indochina via land routes and sea-borne Austronesian immigrants preferably settled in insular Southeast Asia. The earliest agricultural societies that cultivated millet and wet-rice emerged around 1,700 BCE in the lowlands and river flood plains of Indochina. The history of Southeast Asia has been greatly influenced by its wide topographical diversity. Maritime Southeast Asia is apart from exceptions like Borneo and Sumatra a patchwork of recurring land-sea patterns on widely dispersed islands and archipelagos. A discontinuity, that admitted moderately sized thalassocratic states indifferent to territorial ambitions where growth and prosperity was associated with sea trade. Mainland Southeast Asia with a continuous, but rugged and difficult terrain provided the basis for the early Khmer and Mon civilisations. However, an extensive coastline and the south-and south-eastbound major river systems of the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red River always have directed focus, local trade, socio-cultural and economic activities towards the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Anthropology is the scientific study of humans and human behavior and societies in the past and present. Social anthropologyand cultural anthropology study the norms and values of societies. Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans.

Dilip Diwakar is PhD in Public health from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Before he joined the institute, he worked with both national and international development organizations for 6 years. He has published articles in both national, international journals, and contributed to chapters in books. His main areas of work are marginalization in government programmes, rights of urban poor, child labour. His research interests include intersection of caste, poverty and health.

The term Southeast Asia has been in use since World War II. The region has been further divided into two distinct sub-regions: Mainland Southeast Asia (or Indochina), which comprises the modern states of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and West Malaysia, and Maritime Southeast Asia (or Insular Southeast Asia), which comprises the modern states of Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Christmas Island. The earliest Homo sapiens presence in Mainland Southeast Asia can be traced back to 50,000 years ago and to at least 40,000 years ago in Maritime Southeast Asia. As early as 10,000 years ago, Hoabinhian settlers had developed a tradition and culture of distinct artefact and tool production. During the Neolithic, Austroasiatic peoples populated Indochina via land routes and sea-borne Austronesian immigrants preferably settled in insular Southeast Asia. The earliest agricultural societies that cultivated millet and wet-rice emerged around 1,700 BCE in the lowlands and river floodplains of Indochina. The Phung Nguyen culture (modern northern Vietnam) and the Ban Chiang site (modern Thailand) account for the earliest use of copper by around 2,000 BCE, followed by the Dong Son culture, who by around 500 BCE had developed a highly sophisticated industry of bronze production and processing. Around the same time the first Agrarian Kingdoms emerged where territory was abundant and favourable, such as Funan at the lower Mekong and Van Lang in the Red River delta.[4] Smaller and insular principalities increasingly engaged in and contributed to the rapidly expanding sea trade. The history of Southeast Asia has been greatly influenced by its wide topographical diversity. Maritime Southeast Asia is apart from exceptions like Borneo and Sumatra a patchwork of recurring land-sea patterns on widely dispersed islands and archipelagos. A discontinuity.[5] that admitted moderately sized thalassocratic states indifferent to territorial ambitions where growth and prosperity was associated with sea trade. Mainland Southeast Asia with a continuous, but rugged and difficult terrain provided the basis for the early Khmer and Mon civilisations. However, an extensive coastline and the south-and south-eastbound major river systems of the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red River always have directed focus, local trade, socio-cultural and economic activities towards the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China and Japan, east of India, west of Papua New Guinea, and north of Australia. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean. The region is the only part of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere, although the majority of it is in the Northern Hemisphere. In contemporary definition, Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions:

1. Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising parts of Northeast India (Part of India east of Siliguri Corridor), Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and West Malaysia.

2. Maritime Southeast Asia, also known historically as Nusantara, the East Indies and Malay Archipelago, comprises the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India, Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Christmas Island, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Taiwan is also included in this grouping by many anthropologists.

The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with both heavy seismic and volcanic activities. The Sunda Plate is the main plate of the region, featuring almost all Southeast Asian countries except Myanmar, northern Thailand, northern Laos, northern Vietnam, and northern Luzon of the Philippines. The mountain ranges in Myanmar, Thailand, and peninsular Malaysia are part of the Alpide belt, while the islands of the Philippines are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Both seismic belts meet in Indonesia, causing the region to have relatively high occurrences of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Southeast Asia covers about 4.5 million km (1.7 million mi), which is 10.5% of Asia or 3% of earth's total land area. Its total population is more than 641 million, about 8.5% of the world's population. It is the third most populous geographical region in the world after South Asia and East Asia. The region is culturally and ethnically diverse, with hundreds of languages. spoken by different ethnic groups. Ten countries in the region are members of ASEAN, a regional organization established for economic, political, military, educational and cultural integration amongst its members.

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