-
Travelers in small canoes and rafts moved between towns and trading ports along coastlines from Arabia to the Indian subcontinent.
-
Ships from Magan, Meluhha, and the port of Dilmun traded goods such as wood, copper, carnelian, onions, and spices for Mesopotamian goods such as wool, grain, paint, leather, and oil.
-
Ubar thrived as a center of incense transport used for temples, as medicine, and as perfume.
-
Mesopotamia and Iran imported copper from Oman to make tools, weapons, utensils, sculptures, and jewelry.
-
Magan exported trade goods such as timber, copper, and diorite to Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.
-
Grains such as millet and sorghum were imported from the East African coast to the Harappan civilization.
-
Long-distance trade from Egypt and Mesopotamia declined.
-
Scylax of Caryanda made a voyage to explore the riches of India and to discover the mouth of the Indus River.
-
Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism were all religions that spread from India to Southeast Asia, brought by merchants rather than missionaries.
-
Periplus of the Erythraen Sea wrote a book describing trade routes in the Indian ocean, mentioning trade goods such as copper, wood, pearls, cloth, and gold.
-
Pliny the Elder wrote a text explaining trade routes in the Indian Ocean and highly-prized trade items such as frankincense and myrrh.
-
The Indian Ocean became the most used and successful trade routes the world has ever seen.
-
The Portuguese created a "pass" system that required fees for local traders. While many of the Indians did pay these fees, those in areas under weaker surveillance and policy avoided the fees altogether.