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Prehistory and Sea Gypsies
Earliest known peoples to inhabit the Andaman coats of Thailand are the
Moken, or so-called sea gypsies, who can still be found here in several
villages. The earliest people to leave trace of their presence were painters
who left images in caves, particularly in the top end of Phang Nag Bay. Some
caves here contain deep mounds comprised of shellfish, leftovers from
prehistoric human meals.
But who were these cave dwellers? Today there is speculation - where those
early cave dwellers the forefathers of the Moken?. Were they an entirely
different people who have since died out or been assimilated?
Not very much research has been done on these topics, and there is little
written on the topic.
Today tourists are taken to see one cave with both paintings and a shell
mound. Called Skull Cave, this is reached by a road that runs down from the
Phang Nga – Krabi highway to the edge of the mangrove swamps, with a short
boat ride down a mangrove canal to the cave.
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