Editing Penang (section)

=== Early history ===
Archaeologists have discovered human remains such as the "Penang Woman", along with seashells, pottery and stone tools, in [[Seberang Perai]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Liew |first=Jia Xian |date=12 August 2022 |title=5,000-Year-Old 'Penang Woman' Now Has a Face |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/08/12/5000-year-old-penang-woman-now-has-a-face |access-date=11 March 2024 |work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] }}</ref> The artefacts indicate that around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, Penang was inhabited by nomadic [[Melanesians]] during the [[Neolithic]] era.<ref name="TODAY-2017">{{Cite news |date=19 April 2017 |title=Prehistoric Human Skeleton Found at Penang Neolithic Site |url=http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/prehistoric-human-skeleton-found-penang-neolithic-site |access-date=29 April 2017 |work=[[Today (Singapore newspaper)|TODAY]] }}</ref><ref name="The Star-2017c">{{Cite news |date=26 April 2017 |title=Penang to Seek UNESCO Heritage Status for Guar Kepah Neolithic Site |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/26/penang-to-seek-unesco-heritage-status-for-guar-kepah-neolithic-site/ |work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Freedman Leonard |first=Rousham Emily |title=Perspectives in Human Biology: Humans in the Australasian Region |publisher=World Scientific |year=1996 |isbn=978-981-4497-86-2 }}</ref>

[[Pali]] inscriptions on the [[Cherok Tok Kun]] [[megalith]] suggest the [[Hindus|Hindu]]-[[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Bujang Valley]] civilisation, based in present-day [[Kedah]], held authority over parts of [[Seberang Perai]] by the 6th century.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Habibu |first=Sira |date=9 December 2013 |title=Lembah Bujang Covers a Larger Area |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2013/12/09/lembah-bujang-covers-a-larger-area-it-is-not-practical-to-gazette-the-entire-enclave-says-historian/ |work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] }}</ref> The entirety of Penang later formed part of [[Kedah Sultanate|Kedah]], which came under [[Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)|Siamese]] [[suzerainty]] by the late 18th century.<ref name="Bisalputra-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Bisalputra |first1=Pimpraphai |last2=Sng |first2=Jeffery |date=2020 |title=The Hokkien Rayas of Songkhla |url=https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/pub_jss/article/view/241796 |journal=[[Siam Society]] |volume=108 |issue=1 }}</ref>