SUMMARY
Maritime Encounter of East and West:
Indian Ship Building Techniques
by
Lotika Varadarrajan
Ship building techniques are analysed from the point of
view of methods of plank joinery. Other parts of the ship may
show a range of variation-the shape of the hull, the number
masts and the kind ' of rigging used. The benchmark of boat
typology for the purposes of the author is'the method used for
plank joinery. The approach is more ethno-technological rather
than strictly historical.
The basic types of boats in India could be grouped around
categories such as coir sewn~ outrigger and Southeast Asian jong.
Analysis of outrigger is based on the background of Austronesian
migrations particularly to Madagascar.
In the view of the author, European impact on indigenous
sailing vessel typology is Inal. It may,however, be more
marked in areas such as instrumentation, superstructure and
some carpentry innovations such as usage of the templet and
the mould.
Maria Isabel Tomas
December 1990
lnstuto Cultural de Macau
Abstract:Portgual: a role or cultural cross-poilination
This paper looks at one or the roles of the Portuguese played in Asia.
Being tarders conquerors missionaries,explorers,they were at the
same time agents of culturalchange, mediators of Europe in Asia, of
Asia in Europe and alsomc,diators among Eastern cultures. It will
attempt to map some of the Asian cultural and linguistic products
which came into the Portuguese culture and language in the 16th
century, through the analysis of a Portuguese manuscript of the early
17th century. It will also look at the outcome of the cross-pollination
rolc olayed by the Portuguese among different Oriental cultures.
specially through the Creolc communities。
Intrgral Study of Silk Routes: Maritime Routes,
Marine Archaeology and Shipwrecks
S.R.RAO
Emeritus Scientist
National Institute of Oceanography,Goa(India)
ABSTRACT
The spirit of inquiry and the urge to find new sources of wealth have led man
to explore the sea and overcome the dangers lurking under the waters. He has
studied the currents and weatherand built better types,of ships to carry man and
goods to distant lands. Five thousand years of overseas,trade has reaulted in
exchange of ideas and interaction of cultures.but all ship do not reachthe
destination safety, From the marine record of the 16th-19th century in India it
is gathered that 215 ship sankin Indian waters alone.Thousands must have sunk
in all oceans ever since the dawn of civilization.Each ship is an epitome
of the soicety that built it. All the artifact used by the crew and men on board
and all others exchanged and procured for carrying home speak cloumes about the
religious,social and economic life of the people.Quite often the wrecks throw
news light on ship-buliding,sea routes and metallurgy.for instance the Bronze
Age wreck excavated off Cape Geldoniya on the Turkish coast has revealed that an
people at different ports visited by the ship,His tool kit is also found in the
wreck, Another Arab wreck of medieval period excavated in Aqaba Gulf has yidlded
bronze bowls containing mercury but the bowl is not corroded. The metal analysis
showed that lead was added to copper alloy to pervent corrosion, These examples
are illustrative of the usefulness of shipwreck excavation for reconstructing the
history of scienve and technology as well as martitme trade.
India has perhaps the richest and yet undisturbed underwater cultural heritage
of 5000 years. The credit for building the first tidal dock of the world goes to
the Harappan engineers.The brick-lined basin(710*124ft)built at Lothal in
2300 B.C. has a lock-gate system and ensures automatic desiltation at high tide
The exchange of goods with ports of the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia resulted in
exchange of ideas also.The simplified cursive weriting of the Late Harappan period
(1800-1600B.C.).Because the basis for the alphaberti script of the Semtitic people
(Rao S.R. 1982,1987,1990), Contrary to popular beliff that the Indians shunned
the sea, there is clear reference in the Rgveda to the ships ailing to distant
Lands and to a ship sent to rescue men in Bhujyu`s ship wrecked in the high sea.
The Mahabharata mentions that a new port-city called Dvarakka was built on west
coast where the earlier port Kusasthali existed. Marine archaeological investigation
has confirmed the existence of Dvaraka in 1500B.C.Other ancient ports such
as Prabhasa on Saurahstra coast,Sopara and Gharapuri near Bombay, Udyavara on
Rernataka coast,,Muziris in Kerala,Poompuher in Tamil Nadu and ERalinganagara on
Rndhra coast-all submerged in the sea, are worth excavation in
Lakshadvip and Madras waters carried Valuable cargo,The Indus which carried
the Buddliist sculptures of 2nd century B.C. should be retrieved from Sri Lankan
waters .
The Marine Archueology Unit has researched and collected data on 210 shipwrecks
from the Marine Records of various Archives of India. Most of them relate to the
16th-19th century ships of the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese authorities.
The preliminary offshore survey has brought to liglict two wrecks in Goa waters and
one in Tamil Nadu coast. one of the wrecks carried 3 cannons and granite blocks
besides other cargo. the wreck off the ancient Cliola port of Poompuliar at 20 m
depth in Tamil Nadu waters is covered by sea organisms. The excavation of these
wrecks and stirvey of others in Goa waters are scheduled for 1990-92,A perliminary
search for two wercks in Lakahadvlp was done with the help of the Indian Navy.
The most siginificant achievecuent of the marine Archaeology Unit is the
discovery and excavntion of tlie legendary city of Dvorolca said to have been built
by Sri Krishna and lost in the sen subsequently. The underwater excavations off
Dwarka aiid Bec Dwarka have broughc to light the fortification walls and entrance
gates flanked by bastions. Four enclosures,two on either bank of the Gomati
channeI,Aow submerged have been identified in the Arabian sea and some more
structures are noticed in the Gulf of Kutch. Dvaraka was a city state with
satellite harbour towns in Bet Dwarka, PindaraVar and nageswar. A seal, an inscribed
jar, coppersmith's mould, pottery, iron, bronze and copper artifacts, shell
ornamentss and 3-holed stone anchors give credence to the fact that Dvaraka was a .
flourishing port in 1500B.C.The discovery of Dvoraka confirms that Mahabharata
was not a myth. It adds a new chapter to the martime history of Indla. Underwater
exploration lias generated datauseful for the study of sea level fluctuation during
the list 3500 years.
只有摘要部分图片：
