Pyu city-states
Beikthano ( ) situated in the irrigated Minbu region (near present-day Taungdwingyi) with direct land access to the well-watered Kyaukse plains to its northeast, is the oldest urban site so far discovered and scientifically excavated site. Its remains—the structures, pottery, artefacts, and human skeletons—date from 200 BCE to 100 CE. Named after the Hindu god Vishnu, the city may be the first capital of a culturally and perhaps even politically uniform state in the history of Burma. It was a large fortified settlement, measuring approximately 300 hectares inside the rectangular (3 km by 1 km) walls. The walls and fortifications along it measured six meters thick, and are radiocarbon dated to a period between 180 BCE and 610 CE. Like most subsequent cities, the main entrance of the walls led to the palace, which faced east. Stupas and monastic buildings have also been excavated within the city walls.
Prehistory of Myanmar
"Homo erectus" began to settle in Burma in 750,000 BCE before the arrival of "Homo sapiens" from Africa. Archaeological evidence of "Homo sapiens" has been dated to about 25,000 BP in central Myanmar. The pre-migration period of Burma spanned from 11,000 BCE to 4,000 BCE before the mass migration. This era is characterised by stone age culture which later advanced to bronze and iron age cultures. The cave ritual system, which was later used for Buddhist caves, is believed to have been rooted in the earliest civilisation of this era. The effect can be seen today in many Buddhism ritual caves across Burma.