Phuket was know by ancient voyagers under various names, such as Jan Sylan, Ujong Sylang, Junsulan, Junsalan, and later on was referred to as Junk Ceylon. Yet, Iittle is know about the earliest settlement although there are evidences of Neolithic habitation on the mainland just north of the island . It is believed that the first group of people who lived on the island as well as on the mainland nearby were the negritoes. Then came the Mons from the middle part of present-day Thailand. Later , the Dravidians from southern and western India migrated to the Malay Peninsula. Some of these Indians come ashore at Takuapa, which was just north of the planc called Junk Ceylon. Therefore, it is believed that these Indians also settled in Junk Ceylon.
A second-century A.D. geography book written by the Greek geography Claudius Ptolemy mentions a tiny peninsula near the Malay Peninsula with the name of Junk Ceylon. This is believed to be the earliest historical reference to whet we know today as Phuket. Although Phuket is now and island, most historians agreed that it was at that time probably connected to the mainland and did indeed form a tiny peninsula. The name Junk Ceylon is believed to be a corrupt form of the Malay word Ujong Salang. The word Ujong in Malay names peninsula and the word Salang is thought to be the name of the people inhabiting the island at that time.