Archaeological Evidence of Shipping and Shipbuilding Along The Maritime Silk Road

Abstract

This chapter gives an overview on the historical development of shipbuilding technologies that facilitated the water transportation of commodities and people in the Maritime Silk Route trade. Maritime archaeological research has examined ship remains and wreck sites found in Southeast Asia and East Asia and clarified types of seagoing ships widely used for the early and medieval Maritime Silk Route trading activities. The trading ships with the seaworthiness and a large cargo-carrying capacity propelled merchants and seafarers from the Indian Ocean World and Southeast Asia to voyage actively to China during the Tang Dynasty. In medieval periods, the growth of ship construction techniques impacted on the advent of mass shipment by Chinese merchants in the long distance maritime trade.