Research & Article

This paper discusses ethnoarchaeological research done in Phuket, southwestern Thailand, among the nomadic sea peoples, the Chaw Lay. Discussion focuses on the way in which materials and tools utilized in their maritime adapted activities are discarded, curated or otherwise become part of the archaeological record. Specifically, we look at stone artifacts, altered surfaces of activity areas, depositions and structural evidence in the form of postholes and driplines. A group of existing Chaw Lay settlements are decribed in terms of these variables, and the model of Chaw Lay site formation and use which evolved is outlined. This model was tested in the field by a series of excavations of abandoned Chaw Lay archaeological sites. The usefulness of the model for interpreting maritime adapted sites is then discussed, with remarks concerning the implications for archaeology of similar sites.