ABSTRACT
The emphasis on epigraphic data led to a persistent neglect of other types of data. Ships, sailors, merchants and pilgrims frequenting the Indian Ocean in the post-500 AD period became almost invisible in this historiography. K. R. Hall, Meera Abraham, Vijaya Ramaswami and R. Champakalakshmi explored the epigraphic data to understand the non-agrarian sector of the economy, viz., crafts, commerce and cities. The present reviewer fully agrees with him that the men having something to do with ships should be taken to denote the ship-owners. This is the first time that the presence of a particular type of Tamil merchant, namely the ship-owner, is revealed by epigraphic evidence. The scholarly interest in the evidence of Chinese ceramics found in South Asia is a relatively recent trend. It provides material/visual proof of maritime links between the subcontinent and China, which is only partially revealed through textual and epigraphic documentation.
