Chapter 9 Practices of faith
The coastal shrines of ancient South Arabia
Abstract
This book examines knowledge traditions that held together the fluid and overlapping maritime worlds of the Indian Ocean in the premodern period, as evident in the material and archaeological record. It breaks new ground by shifting the focus from studying cross-pollination of ideas from textual sources to identifying this exchange of ideas in archaeological and historical documentation. The themes covered in the book include conceptualization of the seas and maritime landscapes in Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese narratives; materiality of knowledge production as indicated in the archaeological record of communities where writing on stone first appears; and anchoring the coasts, not only through an understanding of littoral shrines and ritual landscapes, but also by an analysis of religious imagery on coins, more so at the time of the introduction of new religions such as Islam in the Indian Ocean around the eighth century. This volume will be of great interest to researchers and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, Indian Ocean studies, maritime studies, South and Southeast Asian studies, religious studies and cultural studies.
Keywords
Khor Rori,Ancient South Arabia,South Arabia,Urban Shrine,Rouletted Ware,Lunar Deity,Extra Muros,Wadi Hadramawt,Intra Muros,Offering Table,UNESCO Listing,Architectural Layout,BCE,Polytheistic Pantheon,Bronze Female Figurine,Isolated Building,Frankincense Trees,Ritual Ablution,Monumental Building,Hypostyle Hall,Indian Ocean World,Ritual Linkages,Erythraean Sea,Ninth Century BCEDOI
10.4324/9780429321856-12ISBN
9780367335465, 9780367337810, 9780429321856Publisher
Taylor & FrancisPublisher website
https://taylorandfrancis.com/Publication date and place
2021Grantor
Imprint
RoutledgeClassification
History
Asian history
General and world history
Society and culture: general
Ethnic studies
Regional / International studies