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Distributed for National University of Singapore Press

Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300–1800

Beneath the modern skyscrapers of Singapore lie the remains of a much older trading port, prosperous and cosmopolitan and a key node in the maritime Silk Road. This book synthesizes 25 years of archaeological research to reconstruct the 14th-century port of Singapore in greater detail than is possible for any other early Southeast Asian city. 
 The picture that emerges is of a port where people processed raw materials, used money, and had specialized occupations. Within its defensive wall, the city was well organized and prosperous, with a cosmopolitan population that included residents from China, other parts of Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. Fully illustrated, with more than 300 maps and colour photos, Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea presents Singapore's history in the context of Asia's long-distance maritime trade in the years between 1300 and 1800: it amounts to a dramatic new understanding of Singapore's pre-colonial past.

440 pages | 6 1/4 x 10 | © 2013

Archaeology

Asian Studies: Southeast Asia and Australia

History: Asian History, Discoveries and Exploration


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Table of Contents

Introduction                The Archaeology of Singapore: Forgotten Hints

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Chapter One                The Three Seas of the Southern Ocean
Chapter Two               The Rise of the Island Empires
Chapter Three             From the Fall of Srivijaya to the Rise of Singapore
Chapter Four               Singapore’s Ancient History, 1299-1604

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Chapter Five               Archaeology in Singapore: History and Interpretation
Chapter Six                 Products of Ancient Singapore
Chapter Seven             Singaporean Imports of the 14th to 16th Centuries
Chapter Eight              Beyond Ceramics: Metal, Coins, and Glassware

SINGAPORE IN REGIONAL CONTEXT
Chapter Nine               Temasik’s Partners in Java, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and India
Chapter Ten                Singapore and Riau
Chapter Eleven           Temasik’s Neighbours: Southeast Asian Settlements of the 14th and 15th Centuries
Chapter Twelve           Singapore, Johor, Riau
Conclusion                  Ancient Singapore, Urbanism, and Commerce

List of Tables
List of Figures
Bibliography
Image Credits
Index
 

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