Webinar on Greater than the Sum of Its Ports: Maritime Networks in Premodern Southeast Asia by Emeritus Professor John Miksic
March 23, 2021
Singapore Shipping Association
Time : The webinar will begin at 5:30 pm and end at 7.00 pm (SGT)
For more information, please visit https://www.imarest.org/events
Synopsis
The South China Sea was already crisscrossed by regular sailing routes 3,500 years ago. Archaeological research is slowly building up a picture of the networks which evolved before the arrival of the Dutch and English in 1600 interrupted the previous relation between ports in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Singapore arose at a propitious time in the evolution of Asian maritime trade networks. This talk will describe the evidence for the development of port networks, the progress of archaeological research in adding to our understanding of how maritime trade networks operated in Asia in ancient and medieval times, and the probable shape of the network in the Temasek period (14th century).
About the Speaker
John N. Miksic received his PhD from Cornell University based on archaeological fieldwork in Sumatra. In 1987 he joined the National University of Singapore, where he is Emeritus Professor in the Southeast Asian Studies Department. He founded the Archaeology Unit at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. He has received awards from the government of Singapore and the court of Surakarta (Indonesia). His book Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea won the inaugural award for best book on Singapore history in 2018. His specialties include historical archaeology of Southeast Asia, urbanization, trade, Buddhism, and ceramics.