Cultural, Commercial and Geo-political Significance of the Bay of Bengal region: An Archaeological Reading

Abstract

The Indian Ocean (IO) has been a key region in the development of early civilizations in the world. The Bay of Bengal (BOB) was a vital sea link that connects the eastern and northern parts of the IO with its western segment. Cultural-commercial networks have been operating across the bay linking the regions in South and Southeast Asia, at least since mid-first millennium BCE. These networks penetrated the fragmented landscape and political boundaries of the BOB region forming a distinctive culture amongst diverse communities. The emergence of strong states such as Maurya and Srivijaya brought about political integration in the region at many times before the arrival of the Europeans. During the rule of the western powers, the Bay of Bengal region was politically and economically inter-linked more strongly than ever before in history and the traditional economy was transformed into commercial agriculture. Large-scale human migrations, meant for these cultivations and new industries, transformed the socio-cultural landscape of the region. The collapse of the British Empire led to economic and political disintegration; however, the significance of the region was retained. The geo-political and economic significance of the BOB is rapidly increasing, primarily for its location connecting the rising world economic powers of Asia and the Pacific as well as the Western Indian Ocean, the main source of world’s energy. Sri Lanka sits in the middle of these networks and its history has been shaped by and is destined to affect from the developments that take place in the ocean around her. Although, textual evidence for early interactions across the BOB are typically late, archaeological evidence such as the circulation of Indo-Pacific beads and Rouletted Wares date them to Pre-Christian times. This paper, based on historical sources and archaeological findings, evaluates the significance of BOB region within wider IO maritime networks.