An analysis of the archaeological data available in recent years indicates the development of local maritime networks both in peninsular Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent by the middle of the first millennium B.C. By the second-first centuries B.C. these networks formed a part of the larger regional sailing circuit in the Bay of Bengal. Tangible indicators of this are carnelian and glass beads and bronze bowls with a high tin content. A demarcation of these networks is essential, before questions like the organization of trade or the channels through which religious ideology spread, can be explained.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.