Art And Archaeology of The Indian Ocean Littoral
- Course Code:
- 15PARH033
- Status:
- Course Not Running This year
- Unit value:
- 0.5
The course starts from the proposition that the Indian Ocean has a cultural coherency and that the geography of this vast sea and its extension through into the seas off SE Asia, China, and the Philippines forms a continuum of diverse but inter-related cultures. It deals with the consequences of the mechanics of the monsoon that provides the conditions for an extensive sea trading system that began in the Bronze Age, if not earlier. Archaeological, architectural and textual evidence is used which reflects the complex contacts that have existed across the Indian Ocean from prehistoric times through Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Sassanian times through to the Islamic period and the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, and geographically the course encompasses the coasts of Arabia, east Africa, Iran, India, SE Asia and China.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
At the end of the course the student should:
- Have a good overall grasp of the stylistic range of art and architecture of the Indian Ocean.
- Understand the main issues raised by the art historical discourse surrounding it.
- Be able to use the knowledge and skills gained to prepare a research profile for a dissertation topic.
- Be able to produce effective written and oral presentations on the subject.
Scope and syllabus
Sources used include the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Old Testament, the Qur’an, The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Arabic texts including al-Mas’udi, Ibn Jubayr, the Cairo Geniza documents, Ibn Battuta, Portuguese sources, Dutch VOC records and East India Company records and other British documents.
The course will cover the evidence for navigation and trade across the Indian Oceane and the evidence in terms of art, architecture and cultural and religious exchange.
The course addresses the archaeological and textual evidence for trade in pearls, horses, silk, gold, incense, spices etc that were the staples of commerce.
The evolution of mapping and surviving maps is discussed, using Arab, Portuguese, Duth and British source material.
The evidence of trade to be gleaned from the distribution of ceramics in places as diverse as China, Brunei, Shri Lanka, the Gulf, the Red Sea, and East Africa is discussed.
