Indian Ocean

Ancient Fishing Boats

5000 BCE

These boats are made from teak and mango wood. Both woods are resistant to rotting. These boats were used to fish. They could be used with or without a sail.

Millet

4000 BCE

Millet, is a grain that is high in nutrition and easy to grow in dry conditions. Millet is a tall grass that has large clusters of tiny, round seeds. The seeds can be used to make porridge or bread, but first the seeds need to be ground into flour. Millet is believed to have come from Africa. "By the first centuries CE at the latest, millets and teff had spread to the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea" (Indian Ocean in World History).

Egyptian Faience Bowl

3500 BCE

This bowl, with its bright colors was used for either funeral or ritual purposes. It was made in a faience workshop in Alexandria, Egypt. "These ceramics were exported far outside of Egypt, particularly to other parts of the Roman Empire. (Indian Ocean of World History)."

Phoenician Ships

1200 BCE

"The Phoenicians were adventurous merchants who built sturdy cargo ships designed to transport large amounts of goods. They were typically between 65 and 100 feet long and about 20 feet wide, with a lot of space to store trade goods.They were built to accommodate a crew of about 20 men, who lived in quarters located near the stern. These ships were very technically advanced for their time. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Zhou Kingdom

771 BCE

The Zhou Kingdom ends in China

Canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea

609 BCE

This canal was created to connect the Nile River and the Red Sea, to improve trade with the lands that were on the Indian Ocean.

Confucius

Period: 551 BCE to 479 BCE

"The life of Confucius in China, and the beginning of the philosophy of Confucianism (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Hanno

500 BCE

"Hanno, an admiral from the Phoenician city of Carthage, sailed around the western coast of Africa. The text above is taken from his logbook, which documents his journey and provides the earliest-known description of West Africa. His route, marked in red in the map, extended from the Straits of Gibraltar, or the Pillars of Herakles, around the African coast as far down as present-day Gabon (Indian Ocean in World History)".

Camel Saddle

Period: 500 BCE to 100 BCE

The Arabian camel saddle allowed for easy transport of heavy loads. "The frame held the saddle over the hump with two pieces of wood or rope on each side of the hump parallel with the camel's backbone. Two V-shaped pieces of wood, or X-shaped boards bound together, extended toward the camel's ribs, shoulder and hip-bones. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Isthmus of Kra

400 BCE

A narrow strip of land that connects the continent of Asia with the Malay Peninsula. It also separates the Indian Ocean from the China Sea. Traders used this strip of land to make trades between Indian and southeast Asia. Without this strip of land traders would of had to take the long journey around the Malay Peninsula.

Punched Marked Coins

400 BCE

"The silver coin is from the 4th century BCE, from the Mauryan dynasty of India. It represents an early form of coin. Punch-marked coins were cut out of metallic sheets of silver and then punched with stamps made from harder metal.Because these coins are found at many sites, it is clear that trade was taking place over a wide area, by land and sea. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Alexander the Great

336 BCE

Alexander was declared king in an ancient Greek city. He led a large army of about 48,500 soldiers out of Greece and defeated the Persian Empire. Greece won control over the lands of western Asia, Egypt, Central Asia, and the Indus Valley. "The conquests of Alexander the Great laid the foundation for centuries of interaction and cultural exchanges. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Alexandria

332 BCE

"Alexandria was founded around 332 BCE by the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great and remained the capital of Egypt for nearly a millennium. A hub of international trade, the city was heavily influenced by Greek, and later Roman, culture. his painting of a soldier, who wears a blue tunic and carries a spear and tall red shield, is one of a group of six funeral monuments known as the 'Soldiers' Tomb.' (Indian Ocean in World History)."

The Dongson Drum

300 BCE

"This decorated bronze drum, whose rounded top includes a central loop and four small frogs, is one of many created by the Dongson culture of Vietnam in the third century BCE to the first century CE. Hundreds of these distinctive drums, which range in size from a few inches to six feet tall with diameters of over four feet, have been found from Southern China throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Ashoka

271 BCE

"Ashoka, one of the most famous Indian emperors, who ruled about 271-232 BCE, converted to Buddhism and worked to spread the religion. Beginning around 254 BCE, he had several proclamations on Buddhist teachings carved into rocks, caves, and tall stone pillars. The picture at the top shows one of the best-preserved pillars, which stands thirty-two feet tall. Under his rule, India traded with cultures in both West Asia and Southeast Asia. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Cloves

206 BCE

A native to Maluku Islands in Indonesia, these dried flower buds come from a tree called the evergreen clove tree. With its sweet smell these cloves were used for cooking and medical reasons. "A highly desired luxury item, cloves were traded regularly along routes stretching from Europe to China. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Barygaza

100 BCE

A port on the west coast of India. It is located at the mouth of the Narmuda River. "Merchants brought goods to Barygaza for export, such as semiprecious gems, textiles, medicinal and aromatic herbs. Barygaza imported wine, metals, gems, glass, and silver coins. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

100 BCE

"Periplus is a document written by an Egyptian merchant. The document gives a detailed account of trade between Roman Egypt and India, listing all the ports on the Red Sea, the African coast, and the Arabian Peninsula.Trade goods like copper, wood, pearls, cloth and gold were regularly exchanged. The clear and thorough writings in Periplus paint an accurate picture of Indian Ocean trading systems in the first century CE. (Indian Ocean in World History)."

Strabo the Geographer

Period: 64 BCE to 23

He was a Greek traveler. He collected and compared many different sources to get a better picture of what the world looks like. People read Strabo's Geography and used it to created a map based on his information on the size and location of various lands. It gives us a picture of what the people of the Mediterranean thought about the world beyond their region.

Sri Lanka

300

"This is particularly important to the history of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India which has long been a central part of the Indian Ocean trade networks.Thanks to its location linking the eastern and western parts of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka became a major port and stopping point for merchants from places as distant as Rome, Africa, Persia, and East Asia. (Indian Ocean in World History)."