The Worlds of the Indian Ocean

Beaujard, Philippe

doi:10.1017/9781108341004

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 732 publications

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“…This is mainly due to the absence of metamorphic rocks on the volcanic islands of the Comoros, where all softstones must have been imported. The exchange of goods between the Comoros and Madagascar has also been shown from the eighth century CE onwards (Beaujard, 2019). In northern Madagascar however, Style D fragments are exceptionally rare in the archaeological record.…”

Section: Parallel Line Decoration: Style Cmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…These early arrivals settled mostly along the coast, even though the ninth century CE settlement of Sandrakatsy is located over 40 km inland and is one of the oldest examples for the exploration of the hinterland (Wright and Fanony, 1992). Straight away, active trade with the broader Indian Ocean network was set up, as evidenced by imported Asian and Middle Eastern ceramics in some of the early sites (Beaujard, 2019). Also during the late first millennium CE, the production of softstone vessels began, most likely in the region surrounding Sandrakatsy south of the Bay of Antongil (see Chapter 4), and the vessels were exported to the Comoros, where they occur in large quantities in the important trading town of Démbeni (Allibert et al, 1990).…”

Section: Archaeological Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The petrographic results of the quarry suite also permit a comparison with softstone vessels from other regions in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean. These vessels were an important trade commodity in the Indian Ocean world (Beaujard, 2019) and are frequently excavated along the East African coast, providing the opportunity to track trade routes and distinguish different source regions.…”

Section: Aims and Scopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The exploitation, processing and use of softstone in northern Madagascar and its links to the Indian Ocean world, 800–1500 CE

Nitsche

2023

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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From the 9 th to the 16 th century CE, northern Madagascar was settled by the Islamised Rasikajy population who, as active participants in the Indian Ocean Trade Network, quickly started exploiting the various natural resources of the island. Among the most spectacular remains of the Rasikajy are finely decorated lathe-turned tripod vessels made from a particular dark green to gray silicate softstone called chlorite schist, that crops out in the crystalline hinterland. In the course of this project, over 30 quarries were visited, many of them previously unknown. The survey allowed a detailed look into the production line and operation of the quarries, which is very similar throughout the sites. However, local differences were still observed and suggest that while the vessel production followed a common technological tradition, it can not be considered as a standardised procedure. A unique feature of the production line is the use of an iron bar for the shaping of preforms, which has not been recorded elsewhere in the world and highlights the particularity of this Malagasy tradition.The petrographic study on a vast array of quarry samples and geological material with petrographic microscopy, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction allowed the characterisation of the material. Chlorite schist, a faulty petrographic name for a type of rock which should be called Hoesbachite or Amphibole-Talc-Chlorite Fels after modern standards, is a unique metacumulate that was metasomatised into an amphibole-and talc-rich softstone, which occurs in a single geological unit called Manambato Suite. Zircon dating revealed an emplacement age between 750-700 Ma for the quarried occurrences and recorded Pan-African metamorphism around 500 Ma ago. The metasomatic processes responsible for the formation of chlorite schist resulted in a high compositional variation that can occur on a quarry scale. Rasikajy workers were aware of this and ensured their specific material choice by testing the rocks in the quarries, resulting in a homogenous compositional array for the material used for vessel production. The detailed geological processes behind the compositional variation on a quarry scale are also crucial for other, more commonly used softstones such as steatites, and should be considered for any provenance attempt on these materials.In an attempt to refine the knowledge on the styles and particularities of the finished vessels, different stylistic groups were distinguished for the first time. In addition to the remarkable tripod vessels that were produced in the studied quarries, a second group of feet-less bowls made from talc schist was identified. This group, which was most likely produced in a second and older quarry zone south of the Bay of Antongil, is a rare find in the Malagasy archaeological record, but dominates the softstone inventory of Démbeni, an important trading port on ii Mayotte that was active in the late first millennium CE. The results from this study largely expand the history of softstone exploitation in northern Ma...

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Section: Parallel Line Decoration: Style Cmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Archaeological Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aims and Scopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The exploitation, processing and use of softstone in northern Madagascar and its links to the Indian Ocean world, 800–1500 CE

Nitsche

2023

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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“…Therefore, the Tang government, which became aware of the usefulness of these foreign traders for lowering the costs of maintaining armies, started to create policies that encouraged foreign traders to settle in those regions, and their economic presence would reduce the need for Tang military presence in those regions [3]. Combined with the fact that Sogdiana (Samarkand and Tashkent regions) was under the nominal suzerainty of China during the seventh century, under the reign of the emperor Gaozong (649-683), China must have become a welcoming place for commerce in many Sogdian traders' minds, which explains increasing Sogdian settlements in China within this period [15]. Other specific policies also contributed to the Sogdian merchants' success in China during the Tang Dynasty.…”

Section: Sogdian Merchants' Success In Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sogdian Traders Along the Silk Road: Causes for Their Commercial Success

Liu

2023

CHR

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The Sogdian traders were arguably the most important traders along the Silk Road from the 4th century to the 8th century. Their sphere of influence expands across Eurasia, and their trading partners include China and the Roman Empire. This paper will argue that there are some distinct reasons behind their success as merchants who built a massive political-economic system along the Silk Road. In this paper, the research will base on the famous Sogdian Ancient Letters, other archeological findings, and secondary literature by historians like Di Cosmo and De la Vaissire and investigate the causes of Sogdian merchants success in building a transcontinental commerce system. Furthermore, this paper will specifically explain how Sogdian merchants rose to prominence in cities such as Dunhuang and Turpan and gained commercial success in China, one of its greatest trading partners.

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“…Our first story takes us to the extensive maritime networks of the Indian Ocean world (Beaujard, 2019;Seetah, 2018). People, techniques, religions, and things moved far distances across the Indian Ocean for over 2000 years, facilitated by currents and seasonal monsoon winds.…”

Section: Story 1: the Indian Ocean Tradermentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

Haour,

Moffett

2023

Afr Archaeol Rev

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Through the stories of four people who carried or traded cowrie shells, this article examines the connections between various parts of the world from a thousand years ago to the present. These connections spanned great distances, linking communities in West Africa and the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, and they bring to light the vast land and sea links that connected different regions of the African continent to the wider world in this period. We use cowrie shells to explore how objects participate in creating social relations, shaping senses of self and identity. When viewed in relation to the theme of connections, this offers a springboard for thinking about how things and their biographies fit within our lives today.

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The Worlds of the Indian Ocean

Cited by 8 publications

References 732 publications

The exploitation, processing and use of softstone in northern Madagascar and its links to the Indian Ocean world, 800–1500 CE

The exploitation, processing and use of softstone in northern Madagascar and its links to the Indian Ocean world, 800–1500 CE

Sogdian Traders Along the Silk Road: Causes for Their Commercial Success

Global Connections and Connected Communities in the African Past: Stories from Cowrie Shells

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