Following the Roman annexation of Egypt in 30 BCE, maritime connections accelerated across the western Indian Ocean, enmeshing people and goods from the Mediterranean, Africa, Arabia, and Asia into new webs of production, exchange, and consumption. Archaeological and textual evidence attests to the cosmopolitan communities of the ports dotting the shores of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea through late antiquity. Diaspora groups accompanied and facilitated the transportation of a range of products including agricultural staples, ceramics, spices, aromatics, and gemstones, bringing with them their own form sof religious worship and cultural practice. Drawing from recently excavated material from around the rim of the Indian Ocean, this talk highlights the cultural confrontations and hybridizations which emerged during this unprecedented era of maritime connectivity.
The George F. Bass Lectures
The AIA is North America's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to archaeology. The Institute advances awareness, education, fieldwork, preservation, publication, and research of archaeological sites and cultural heritage throughout the world. Your contribution makes a difference.
