An Exploratory Quantitative Archaeological Analysis and a Classification System of Chinese Ceramics Trade in the Western Indian Ocean: AD c. 800-1500

Abstract

Chinese Ceramics have been among the most important archaeological findings in the study of trade in the Indian Ocean from the 8th to the 19th centuries. They have the advantages of commonality, durability, identity and being unearthed in large quantities. Chinese ceramics provide clues for understanding trading trends and linking the Chinese production industries to consumption markets in the Indian Ocean. However, it seems that their crucial importance for field archaeology in the western Indian Ocean has not been well established, due to the lack of a comprehensive overview of Chinese traded ceramic archaeology and a systematic classification.
The thesis is concerned with how Chinese trade ceramics impacted on maritime trade in the western Indian Ocean from the 8th to the 16th century. Based on an archaeological report collecting data from 140 ceramic kiln sites in China and on archaeological ceramic material collected from 129 coastal sites and collections in the western Indian Ocean, this thesis has reviewed the archaeological and chronological development of Chinese trade ceramics. A systematic classification of Chinese trade ceramics in the western Indian Ocean has been developed and built, introduced with a review of the long-term history and researched using quantitative methods.