Indian Ocean Trade

By asmith109
  • Period: 8000 BCE to 600

    Indian Ocean Trade

  • 5000 BCE

    Goods Traded in the the Ancient Era

    Goods like salt, metal, stone, wood, and food
    were apart of early trade transported by land, river, and coastal routes.
  • 5000 BCE

    Who and What?

    The Austronesians were the ancestors of marinermigrants
    all around the Indian Ocean and in the Pacific. These people carried
    crops such as yams, coconuts, bananas, sugar cane, and taro-root, as well as other rare plants, to new
    homes. This was a way to transport new foods to different areas.
  • 5000 BCE

    Transportation

    They created their boats by digging out logs to create canoes. The boats had long poles attached to keep the boats from flipping in the water. They used coconut fiber ropes to hold everything together and wove grass into sailing systems to steer the boat with wind.
  • Period: 5000 BCE to 1000 BCE

    Ancient Era

  • 4000 BCE

    West Side

    Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley began to trade by sea. There are artifacts and inscriptions that show trade from Mesopotamia along the shores of the Arabian Gulf.
  • 4000 BCE

    Goods

    The desire for luxury increased. Goods like wood, carving stone and jewelry stones, metals for war and
    crafts, and ceramics were desired. Goods like cotton, wool, copper, gold, silver and turquoise, pearls and coral from the sea were also desired good of this time.
  • 4000 BCE

    Export

    Mesopotamia's exported a surplus of grain.
  • 3000 BCE

    Becoming more legitimate

    Sumerian traders traveled by the coast into the Indian Ocean, dealing with traders in the Indus Valley. Weight and
    seals on the goods helped trade to became more organized. With the new writing systems, records of voyages, goods, places and royal expeditions testify to trade.
  • 3000 BCE

    Who

    Mesopotamian societies traded with Egypt across the Eastern Mediterranean using both land and coastal routes.
  • 3000 BCE

    Camels

    The domestication of the camel helped join coastal water routes
    with land routes, and joined bodies of water across the desert.
  • 3000 BCE

    Planked Ships

    Planked ships may have been built as early as 3000 BCE.
  • 3000 BCE

    Weather and Stars

    The people who traveled the trade routes began to notice the seasonal monsoon winds, and used their ability to navigate by stars. They were then able to sail the Arabian Sea openly.
  • 3000 BCE

    Ideas and Goods

    Indian and Arab ships sailed from Southern Arabia to the Malabar coast of India and back. This was the same time that the Austronesian's sailed West. They got to India,
    and settled in Madagascar. We know this because of the
    Malagasy language, crops like banana, coconut, and yam, and construction of houses in Madagascar.
    No one can tell if there were return voyages or communication.
  • 1000 BCE

    Trade Circle

    Trade in the Indian Ocean becomes more evident thanks to articles, and record keeping.
  • 1000 BCE

    Decline

    Trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia declined.
  • Period: 1000 BCE to 300

    Classical Era

  • 600 BCE

    Religion

    The Indian Ocean Trade also passed on religion. Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism spread across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia.
  • 500 BCE

    Greek / Roman

    Greek and Roman traders came to the Indian Ocean after sent by the ruler of Persia - Darius I.
  • 326 BCE

    Who

    Nearchus was sent by Alexander the Great to travel from Indus to the Arabian Gulf. Other Greek people sailed to India and around the Arabian Peninsula to Oman.
  • 326 BCE

    The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea

    The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea outlines ports, land, and goods located in the Indian Ocean It also included information about the east coast of Africa and of India.
  • 323 BCE

    Goods - Imports and Exports

    Goods from China and Southeast Asia appear on record of trade with India. India exported goods, and imported silver, copper, and gold.
  • 323 BCE

    Strong States

    Many strong states occurred during this time period. They consisted of the Mauryan Empire of India, the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire in Europe, and the Han Dynasty in China.
  • 320 BCE

    Proven

    Roman currency has been found in alongside Indian currency. Common goods that you would have seen during this time period would have been cloth, ceramics, pottery, metal wares, glass, beads, incense, rare woods, and spices, pearls and coral. There have been articles of goods found at archaeological sites which confirm the notes about their trade.
  • 300 BCE

    Silk

    Silk traveled by land between Rome and China during the Han dynasty, but also appeared on the sea
    route. Goods like sugar cane, cotton, sesame, and rice also passed through the Indian Ocean trade.
  • Period: 300 BCE to 1450

    Medieval Era