Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology No. 9

by Sunil Gupta

Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology was launched in 2003 by one of India’s leading academic institutions, the Centre for Research & Training in History, Archaeology and Palaeo-environment, New Delhi. The second issue is in the Press. The Journal is an outcome of the realization on the part of the international community of archaeologists and historians that India has no journal devoted exclusively to the archaeology of the Indian Ocean Rim countries, starting from the Red Sea through the South China Sea, although Indian occupies the central position in this vast area, with three-fourths of its land facing the gulfs and bays of the Indian Ocean. It is common knowledge that Egypt, Ethiopis, Kenya, Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain and countries bordering the Persian Gulf, including Iraq and Iran, as well as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, were closely connected with each other through long-distance sea-borne trade-routes for thousands of years. This particular phenomenon had led to the development of what is now generally called ‘Shared Culture’ with its distinct personality which is Afro-Asian. It is reflected in the material items dug up every year at a number of sites in India and all other countries along the coasts of the Indian Ocean. This journal embodies the results of explorations and excavations conducted by scholars in various countries which witnessed the growth of the personality of the shared culture of the Indian Ocean Rim countries, including the countries of Southwest Asia. It also includes all aspects of cultural, economic and socio-political histories of these countries. The contributors to this journal are from all over the world. It is a MUST for every scholar and layman interested in the history and arachaeology of the coastal countries of the Indian Ocean, from Africa, and West Asia through China.