Rock art of Phrayanaga (Viking) Cave, southern Thailand: the illustration of ancient vessels

Abstract

Tham Phrayanaga is one of Southeast Asia's most well-preserved but little understood rock art sites. This cave site in southern Thailand has at least 76 depictions of watercraft. Many of the images are accurate portrayals of vessels used by a number of different cultural groups. The nature of the imagery is described and the ways in which the site informs us about the region's recent cross-cultural contact history is explored. Based on relative dating and comparative study, this rock art site has been given the approximately date of from about the late 1500s to the early 1900s. This study will highlight our results hat have indicated that some figures are ancient vessels including Thai, Chinese, European, Indonesian,and Arabian. Moreover, it related to the Maritime Silk Route and the spice trade in Southeast Asia and the Adaman Sea, which is a part of the Indian Ocean.