Shipwrecks: Under the Sea

Walk into any retail store today and look at the tag on an item, and you will very likely find that it was produced in China. Many people think of China as a relatively new player on the world market, but China’s role as an influential trading partner is not a new phenomenon. During the first century C.E., trade among China, Europe, and Africa expanded over a growing network of silk roads. Trading occurred not only across the Eurasian landmass but also across the seas. The Indian Ocean was integrally linked to the South China Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Strategically located coastal cities along the major sea routes across these oceans became wealthy from handling and taxing trade goods. One can gain a basic understanding of the maritime trade routes from an encyclopedia or a world history book, but I am curious about the information historians use to understand trade networks.

One way historians develop hypotheses about these early maritime trade networks is from the study of marine archaeology. Ancient shipwrecks are excellent sources of information about the items traded between ancient empires. Until modern technology made it possible to reach and retrieve items under great depths of water, many of the artifacts on the ships were preserved from looting and dispersal from the rest of the ship’s cargo. This allows marine archaeologists to study the artifacts contextually with all of the other items found on the ships (unlike many artifacts on land where looting has removed them from their original location and where evidence may not be available to link them back to their origins). Recent shipwreck discoveries have led to an even greater understanding of the trade that occurred across the Indian Ocean between the Chinese, African, and Mediterranean cultures. The following links provide information on some of the recent shipwrecks discovered in and near the Indian Ocean.

Nanhai 1: This shipwreck in the South China Sea was discovered 1987 and recovery of the ship, along with its surrounding silt, began in 2007. The ship, built during the Song dynasty (960-1279), is thought to contain over 70,000 artifacts from this time period including porcelain, gold, and silver. Chinese archaeologists will excavate the ship in an underwater storage tank on a nearby beach so as to preserve the surrounding sediments. Keeping the sediments underneath and around the ship may lead to new discoveries also.

Quanzhou: The NOVA (PBS television series) website describes this shipwreck and gives background on Chinese trade during successive dynasties. This shipwreck was not found in the ocean, rather it was discovered as the Houzhou Canal in Fujian Province was being dredged. The artifacts found on this ship include copper coins, fragrant wood from Southeast Asia, assorted materials from Somalia, and provisions for the sailors on the ship. The NOVA site also describes the Brunei shipwreck discovered off the coast of South Korea where over 16,000 items and 7 million brass coins were found. Both of these discoveries attest to the diversity of trade among peoples and the riches that empires could enjoy.

Tanjung Simpang: This wreck is described by Nahai Marine Archaeology, a private organization that excavates and sells the artifacts they find. The Tanjung Simpang shipwreck site is located only 400 meters from the shore of Sabah in Malaysian waters. The artifacts discovered include pottery, pottery shards, and Chinese gongs from the Song dynastic era. Unfortunately, looting plagued the site after its discovery because it was so close to shore. The artifacts from this site are not as intact as at other sites because of the looting and because of the rough surf on coral reefs, most of the artifacts were found interspersed among the reef.

Source: Beaujard, Philippe, and S Fee. " The Indian Ocean in Eurasian and African World-Systems before the Sixteenth Century ." Journal of World History 16.4 (2005): 411-65. Web. JSTOR. Zumber Library, Grand Valley State University. 28 Oct. 2009 .