Revisiting Indian Rouletted Ware and the impact of Indian Ocean trade in Early Historic south Asia.

Revisiting Indian Rouletted Ware and the impact of Indian Ocean trade in Early Historic south Asia. Introduction Although it is now well accepted that there was Indian Ocean tradelong before Roman contact (Ray 1994, 2003; Morrison 1997), the influenceof Mediterranean trade on ancient south Asia This article is about the geopolitical region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent. South Asia, also known as Southern Asia is still a matter ofdebate. In the last 60 years research on this issue has been played outagainst a swinging pendulum of academic interest that has now movedsolidly into a post-colonial framework. This stands in contrast toearlier modes of thought, particularly those espoused by Wheeler, whichare often characterised as emphasising Mediterranean contact as a majorstimulus for cultural developments in the subcontinent. Indian Rouletted Ware (hereafter IRW IRW Islamic Relief WorldwideIRW Integrated Reliability Workshop (IEEE)IRW Indian Rosewood (guitar construction)IRW Imperial Romulan Warbird (Star Trek)) and a number of other southAsian fine wares (Type 10, Type 18 and Omphalos omphalos(ōm`fəlŏs), in Greek and Roman religion, navel-shaped stone used in the rites of many cults. The most famous omphalos was at Delphi; it was supposed to mark the center of the earth. ware) have operated as aproxy for these broader issues. As the wares occur around the time ofincreased Mediterranean contact with south Asia they were initiallyinterpreted as evidence of a deep impact on local material cultureproduction (Wheeler et al. 1946). More recently, several jointlyauthored papers by Coningham, Ford and Pollard (hereafter Coningham etal.) have argued on the basis of geochemical data that these fine wareswere produced in a highly specialised and centralised framework that wasembedded within pre-existing modes of production and distribution(Krishnan & Coningham 1997; Ford & Coningham 2005; Ford et al.2005). In so doing, they have downplayed the influence of Mediterraneancontact in favour of an interpretation that emphasises continuity insouth Asian economic and social structures. This paper re-examines the published data on IRW and other southAsian fine wares and suggests that a more nuanced and carefulexamination of this evidence indicates that the production andconsumption of IRW differs considerably from that which had previouslyexisted in south Asia. It is argued that the increasing importance of apowerful and economically successful maritime merchant class is criticalto these developments. Indian Rouletted Ware It is now generally accepted that the production of IndianRouletted Ware dates from the second century BC onwards (Begley 1983,1988; Schenk 2006). The origin and production of IRW has, however, beendebated since Wheeler's publication of his excavations at thesouth-east Indian port city of Arikamedu (Wheeler et aL 1946). Coninghamet al. identify two major theories for understanding the origin of thisware (Krishnan & Coningham 1997: 925). The first, which theyattribute to Wheeler, suggests 'a Roman origin for these wares dueto the presence of Arretine ware Arretine ware (also Arezzo ware and, incorrectly, Arrentine ware) is a type of fine Roman pottery coated in a red slip dating to the first centuries AD and BC.It originated in Arretium, the modern day town of Arezzo in Tuscany. and amphorae in the same level"(Ford et al. 2005:911). In fact, Wheeler and those working with himnever equated the appearance of IRW with the importation of Arretineware. In their initial publication of Arikamedu they state that IRW'both preceded and outlasted the Arretine ware by an appreciablemargin' (Wheeler et al. 1946: 46). The second theory, whichConingham et al. attribute to Begley (1983, 1988), accepts IRW as alocally produced ceramic but still argues for Mediterranean influence inits decoration. This latter opinion, namely that the rouletting found onIRW does indeed betray Mediterranean, but not necessarily Roman,influence, seems now generally to be accepted by most scholars. As Rayhas pointed out, a possible source for this distinctive decoration mayhave been contact with settlements in the Arabian Gulf Arabian Gulf:see Persian Gulf. , many of whichcontain imported Hellenistic ceramics (Ray 1994: 75). The question of where IRW was produced has also been debated.Coningham et al. and Begley suggest an origin in the southern areas ofIndia and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka(srē läng`kə)[Sinhalese,=resplendent land], formerly Ceylon,ancient Taprobane, officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, island republic (2005 est. pop. (Begley 1988: 439). Schenk, relying upon limited XRD XRD X-Ray DiffractionXRD CrossroadXRD X-Ray Diode analysis conducted by Gogte (1997) and fabric similarities with NorthernBlack Polished Ware The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (NBPW/NBP) of the South Asia (ca. 700 BC–200 BC) is an Iron Age culture, succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture. It developed beginning around 700 BC, or in the late Vedic period, and peaks from circa , raises the possibility of a northern, Gangeticorigin for this ware (Schenk 2006: 136). This supports Schenk'sargument that IRW is connected with Mauryan diplomacy and, possibly, thespread of Buddhism. Since XRD examines the mineralogy of ceramics, nottheir geochemistry, it is not the most sensitive index of productionorigin over the vast distances of the Indian peninsula. Indeed, there isno reason--or evidence--to support the assertion that there is only oneproduction source for IRW throughout south Asia. Coningham et al.'ssuggestion that the IRW found in southern Indian and Sri Lanka isprobably produced somewhere in that vicinity is not contradicted by anyarchaeological evidence. The location of IRW production within southern India and Sri Lankaremained unexamined until Coningham et al. conducted geochemicalanalysis on IRW and other fine wares from a number of sites in this area(Krishnan & Coningham 1997; Ford & Coningham 2005; Ford et al.2005). The most detailed publication (Ford et al. 2005) employedinductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy Emission spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique which examines the wavelengths of photons emitted by atoms or molecules during their transition from an excited state to a lower energy state. and massspectometry to analyse samples from the key sites of Arikamedu andAnuradhapura, a major settlement in Sri Lanka excavated by Coningham(Ford et al. 2005). The purpose of this analysis was to'investigate, using chemical analyses of the fabric, whetherRouletted ware, Arikamedu Type 10 and Greyware were produced from asingle geological source' (Ford et al. 2005: 911). Greyware was produced prior to any Mediterranean contact and wasprobably an elite ceramic that in some way functionally preceded theproduction of IRW (Krishnan & Coningham 1997). Coupling its analysiswith that of IRW permitted Coningham et al. to approach the productionand consumption of both of these wares through the period in whichMediterranean contact with south Asia increases. On the basis of thisgeochemical analysis, Coningham et al. concluded that: '... the majority of the fine wares analysed (Greyware,Rouletted ware, Arikamedu Types 10 and 18 and Omphalos) came from thesame or a set of closely related geological sources.... A most importantresult is that Greyware is sufficiently similar to the other fine waresto suggest a similar provenance. It appears that all the fine wares werenot only made from the same geological material, but also produced inconsistent fabric over a long period of time (c. 500 BC-AD 200).... Thispoints to a single long-running major ceramic production centre"(Ford et al. 2005: 918). The geochemical similarities to Greyware therefore provide thebasis for the compelling argument that IRW production was embeddedwithin existing economic systems and was thus unaffected by increasedcontact with the Mediterranean from the second century BC. There are,however, several internal inconsistencies in the body of researchpublished by Coningham et al. that make this model problematic. In apaper published in 1997, Krishnan and Coningham presented the results ofdetailed thin-section analysis of a small number of sherds fromAnuradhapura.The later geochemical work does not refer directly to theseresults but rather claims: '... thin section analysis by Khrishnan and Coningham hasdemonstrated clear relationships between Rouletted ware and Greyware atAnuradhapura and also between Rouletted ware from Anuradhapura andArikamedu, therefore indicating both temporal and spatial similarities(Krishnan and Coningham 1997)' (Ford & Coningham 2005: 394). This paraphrasing of earlier results by some of the sameresearchers is actually at odds with the conclusions of the originalpublication. Krishnan and Coningharn's published mineralogicalanalysis was conducted on sherds from Anuradhapura only, not Arikamedu,and it would be a somewhat gymnastic rendering of that analysis tosupport the existence of 'temporal and spatial similarities'in the production of fine wares. In fact, Krishnan and Coningham (1997)state clearly that: '... the textual similarities in coarse wares (Fabric A and ADand fine wares (Fabric B, B1 and B2) point to a similar technology foreach variety (Shah 1994), however, the mineralogical differences withinthe fine wares may indicate separate clay sources' (Krishnan &Coningham 1997: 934). In their desire to characterise IRW and other south Asian finewares as products of a single specialised production centre that wasunaffected by Mediterranean contact, Coningham et al. are adhering to amaster narrative that dominates discussions of south Asia'srelations with the Mediterranean and Middle East. This master narrativeviews all economic, social and political developments within south Asiaas purely autochthonous autochthonous/au��toch��tho��nous/ (aw-tok��thah-nus)1. originating in the same area in which it is found.2. denoting a tissue graft to a new site on the same individual. in nature. On the one hand, there can be littledoubt that archaeological fieldwork conducted since 1947 in south Asiahas done much to illuminate the powerful indigenous economic, social andreligious forces that contoured ancient south Asian society. On theother hand, to deny the potentially important role that southAsia's external contacts played in shaping material cultureproduction, is to deny agency to a landmass land��mass?n.A large unbroken area of land.landmassNouna large continuous area of landlandmass? that lies at the centre ofthe Indian Ocean world. In the case of IRW, Coningham et al. haveoverlooked the possibility that fine ware production was neithersubsumed by, nor totally resilient to, the economic changes broughtabout by contact with the Mediterranean. The publication of geochemical data on IRW and other fine waresprovides an opportunity to re-investigate these issues more carefullyand to move away from reductionist re��duc��tion��ism?n.An attempt or tendency to explain a complex set of facts, entities, phenomena, or structures by another, simpler set: "For the last 400 years science has advanced by reductionism ... interpretations that do little toilluminate what were undoubtedly complex interactions between theMediterranean and Indian Ocean in both directions. Re-evaluating the geochemical data on IRW Coningham et al.'s conclusion that all the fine wares,including IRW, Grey, Arikamedu Type 10, Arikamedu Type 18 and Omphaloswares, were the products of a single, pre-existing production centre(Ford et al. 2005: 918) is based on a standard multivariate technique,Principal Components Analysis (PCA), of a subset of the geochemicaldata. The PCA was conducted only on the elements obtained by AES. Theseexclude most of the Lanthanides obtained by mass spectrometry mass spectrometryor mass spectroscopyAnalytic technique by which chemical substances are identified by sorting gaseous ions by mass using electric and magnetic fields. (Ford etal. 2005, online supplement). The dataset includes samples of south Asian fine wares fromArikamedu and Anuradhapura; coarse wares from Anuradhapura, Mantai andArikamedu; and local clays and modern ceramics from Anuradhapura.According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Coningham et al., a bi-variate plot of the first twoprincipal components (Ford et al. 2005: fig. 3) seems to indicate thatall the south Asian fine wares, including IRW and Greyware, aregeochemically homogenous homogenous - homogeneous and different from the Sri Lankan coarse wares.This conclusion, however, ignores the fundamental purpose of PCA inassessing relative variation within a dataset. Although the PCA analysisdoes indicate that south Asian fine wares are geochemically differentfrom coarse wares or modern ceramics from Anuradhapura, it does notnecessarily suggest 'that the vast majority of the archaeologicalfine ware and Greyware samples are all from a similar provenance"(Ford et al. 2005: 913). As noted in Coningham et al.'s earlier work, the coarse waresfrom Anuradhapura are very different in their mineralogy from othersouth Asian fine wares (Krishnan & Coningham 1997). Too little hasbeen researched on Sri Lankan coarse wares to determine if thesemineralogical differences reflect different parent clays or theanthropogenic an��thro��po��gen��ic?adj.1. Of or relating to anthropogenesis.2. Caused by humans: anthropogenic degradation of the environment. alteration, or different tempering, of clay. Regardless,within the framework of a multivariate analysis, the inclusion of suchdifferent coarse wares creates a statistical structure that makes theother ceramics look more similar to each other than they would if thosecoarse ware samples were excluded. Put simply: all the fine wares lookmore similar to each other than do any of them to the coarse wares. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Given that Coningham et al.'s goal was to 'investigate,using chemical analyses of the fabric, whether Rauletted ware, ArikameduType 10 and Greyware were produced from a single geological source'(Ford et al. 2005: 911), it would seem that the best approach would beto limit first analysis to samples of these wares from the major sitesof Arikamedu and Anuradhapura. In doing so, the statistical effectcreated by the inclusion of the mineralogically different coarse waresis countered. A new Principal Components Analysis of this data suggests a broadlysimilar characterisation for all these fine wares (Figure 1). However,even within this relatively homogenous dataset the new PCA suggests theexistence of subtle but very important groupings. Both the Greyware fromAnuradhapura and the IRW from Arikamedu exhibit uniformity in theircomposition and cluster on the negative side of the x-axis. Both thesegroups are differentiated from the IRW at Anuradhapura that clusters onthe positive side of the x-axis. Type 10 fine wares appear on the wholeto cluster with this latter group, although some are found with theformer. The correlation between the visually identified classes of ceramicsand the statistical clustering raises the possibility of two distinctworkshop traditions: one producing Greyware and the IRW found atArikamedu, and the other producing the IRW found at Anuradhapura. Bothworkshop traditions may have been involved in the production of Type 10fine wares. The clay used in these production centres was acquired near thehighly active rivers found alongside Arikamedu and/or Anuradhapura. Itis possible, therefore, that some of the variation unaccounted for An inclusive term (not a casualty status) applicable to personnel whose person or remains are not recovered or otherwise accounted for following hostile action. Commonly used when referring to personnel who are killed in action and whose bodies are not recovered. bythe first two principal components reflects natural weathering in claystypical of such environments. Recently, researchers analysing ceramicproduction in a riverine riv��er��ine?adj.1. Relating to or resembling a river.2. Located on or inhabiting the banks of a river; riparian: "Members of a riverine tribe ... system in Portugal utilisedScandium-normalisation to produce greater clarity in the geochemicalanalysis of such clays (Dias & Prudencio 2008; Prudencio et al.2009). The efficacy of this approach was also demonstrated by analysingRoman amphorae from three known kiln sites in the Tagus basin and SadoRiver areas. Principal Components Analysis of the raw elemental datasuggested only two geochemical groupings whereas Principal ComponentsAnalysis of the Scandium-normalised data produced three clusters thatcorrelated with the three known production centres (Dias & Prudencio2008; Prudencio et al. 2009). Although there is still much research to be done on such approachesto archaeological geochemistry--and such an approach cannot beguaranteed to enhance analysis in all situations--this technique provedvery useful for the fine ware geochemical dataset. The first twoprincipal components of the Scandium-normalised data account for 66.3per cent of dataset variation, a more than 50 per cent increase from thePCA of the raw elemental data. A scatter plot See scatter diagram. of the first two principalcomponents not only shows tighter clustering within the formally definedgroups of IRW and Greyware but also confirms the clustering of IRW fromArikamedu with the Greywares from Anuradhapura and the distinctivenature of IRW from Anuradhapura (Figure 2). Inasmuch as in��as��much as?conj.1. Because of the fact that; since.2. To the extent that; insofar as.inasmuch asconj1. since; because2. geochemical data may reflect discrete productioncentres, this analysis suggests two possible production centres for thesouth Asian fine wares (Table 1). Group A consists of the IRW fromArikamedu and the Greyware from Anuradhapura, while Group B comprisesthe IRW found at Anuradhapura. Both centres appear to be engaged in theproduction of Type 10 ceramics. A detailed analysis of the provenance of the analysed ceramicssuggests that there is also a previously unrecognised chronologicalfacet to these two groups. The majority of analysed Greyware sherds thatdefine Group A date to before Anuradhapura Phase G (dated 200 BC-AD130), that is before the period during which large-scale direct maritimecontact with the Mediterranean occurred (Figure 3). By contrast, thevast majority of IRW samples that define Group B date to AnuradhapuraPhase G and later, thus placing them in the period during which maritimecontact with the Mediterranean is thought to have been flourishing. Thischronological facet of production is critical to understanding theproduction of south Asian fine wares and I will return to it below. Where was production located? The europium anomaly The Europium anomaly, in geochemistry, is the phenomenon whereby Europium (Eu) concentration is either depleted or enriched in a rock relative to the other rare earth elements (REEs). and the sourceof south Asian fine wares Rare Earth Element “Rare earth” redirects here. For other uses, see Rare earth (disambiguation).Rare earth elements and rare earth metals are a collection of sixteen chemical elements in the periodic table, namely scandium, yttrium, and fourteen of the fifteen lanthanoids (REE) data are an important feature of Coninghamet al's research and have the potential to illuminate the basicgeochemistry of the clay used in the production of both fine and coarsewares. Coningham et al. argue that REE concentrations point to anIndian, rather than a Sri Lankan, origin for all south Asian fine wares,including Greyware (Ford et al. 2005: 918). To do this they focus on theeuropium europium(yrō`pēəm)[from Europe], metallic chemical element; symbol Eu; at. no. 63; at. wt. 151.96; m.p. about 820°C;; b.p. about 1,600°C;; sp. gr. 5. (Eu) anomaly, which is generally regarded as a sensitive indexof geological origins. They conclude that: ... all the REE profiles discussed above (i.e. those of fine andGreywares) display a significant negative europium anomaly (i.e. thereis less europium in the sample than would be predicted from the otherREE abundances). Four of the six coarse wares analysed from Anuradhapurado not demonstrate a negative europium anomaly, whereas the singlesamples of coarse wares from Arikamedu, Kantarodai and Mantai do show anegative anomaly (as do two of the six from Anuradhapura, of course).The evidence is equivocal EQUIVOCAL. What has a double sense. 2. In the construction of contracts, it is a general rule that when an expression may be taken in two senses, that shall be preferred which gives it effect. Vide Ambiguity; Construction; Interpretation; and Dig. , but suggests on balance that Anuradhapura isnot the source of the clay used to manufacture the fine wares discussedin this article' (Ford et al. 1995: 917). [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] Chondrite-normalised plots are presented in support of thisassertion. Coningham et al. appear to have assessed the Eu anomaly on thedifficult-to-see visual representation of the chondrite-normalised plotsrather than the calculation of the normalised value of Eu divided by itsnormalised theoretical level (i.e. Eu/[check]/(Sm*Gd)). In Figure 4, wehave plotted the chondrite-normalised value of Eu against itstheoretical level. Contrary to Coningham et al.'s arguments, allbut one of the sampled ceramics has a negative Eu anomaly (i.e.Eu/Eu*<l). Furthermore, four of the eight coarse ware samples fromSri Lanka (two from Anuradhapura, one from Mantai and one fromKantarodai) cluster with the fine wares from both south Indian and SriLankan sites. In addition, several of the fine ware samples fromArikamedu are outliers from the main fine ware group and exhibit Eu/Eu*values that are closer to four of the coarse ware samples fromAnuradhapura. In short, there seems little correlation between knowngeographical origin and the assessed europium anomaly. Potentialmeasurement problems are also suggested by the one sample (no. 111) forwhich repeat REE values are reported. One value (.64) for this sample iswithin the normal range for the dataset while the other (.75) is closeto the 'outlier' range. In conclusion, assessment of the Euanomaly does not hold the potential to discriminate the locationproduction for the analysed dataset of south Asian fine wares. [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] Although the geochemical evidence does not help in determining thelocation for these production centres there is circumstantialarchaeological evidence that Greyware--a defining component of GroupA-was produced on the Indian mainland (Ford et al. 2005:917). The factthat nearly all of the sherds from Arikamedu also fall within this groupmakes it likely that Group A was produced somewhere in south-easternIndia. Group B consists solely of sherds from Anuradhapura. As notedabove, there is nothing in the geochemical data that rules out ceramicproduction in Sri Lanka and in the absence of any firmer evidence, wehypothesise Verb 1. hypothesise - to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds; "Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps"conjecture, hypothesize, speculate, theorise, theorize, hypothecate, suppose that Group B is produced somewhere in Sri Lanka, probably inthe northern part of the island. Only further geochemical analysis andarchaeological research can confirm or refute this hypothesis. [FIGURE 4 OMITTED] Combining the chronological, geochemical and archaeological datatogether suggest, therefore, that Greyware and IRW have distinctchronological and distributional characteristics. Discussion Coningham et al. have emphasised throughout their scholarship thatthe fine wares of southern India and Sri Lanka are the product of a'single long-running major ceramic production centre' (Ford etal. 2005: 918); one that remained unaffected by the flourishing ofIndian Ocean trade in the last centuries BC. Our analysis of thepublished geochemical data indicates that this is not the case. Thereare at least two geographically and chronologically distinct fine wareproducing systems, the existence of which has serious ramifications forour understanding of the impact of seafaring trade across the IndianOcean. We concur with Coningham that prior to the second century BC, theproduction of fine wares was centralised within southern India and SriLanka. Greyware, the chronologically earlier ceramic of Group A, wasproduced in south-eastern India and exported to regional centres such asAnuradhapura in Sri Lanka. The movement of Greywares across somedistance suggests that the authority of those consuming these elitewares extended well beyond the immediate settlement and had region-wideresonance. It is likely, but remains to be tested by further fieldwork,that these distribution networks reflect long-standing and deeplyembedded social structures that shared processes of legitimisationacross southern India and Sri Lanka. Coningham et al. argue that this continues unabated into the secondand first centuries BC. It is our contention that there was abifurcation BifurcationA term used in finance that refers to a splitting of something into two separate pieces.Notes:Generally, this term is used to refer to the splitting of a security into two separate pieces for the purpose of complex taxation advantages. in Group A fine ware production in the second century BCthat coincided with an intensification of maritime trade. This maritimetrade was originally encouraged by economic growth under the MauryanEmpire Mauryan empire(c. 321–c. 185 BC) In ancient India, a state centred at Pataliputra (later Patna) near the junction of the Son and Ganges (Ganga) rivers. (Ray 1994: 75-6; Schenk 2006: 140) but, as indicated by amphoraefinds in India (Will 1996), included contact with the Mediterranean. Twofine ware traditions emerge, both of which contain similar geologicalinputs but different decorative--or visual--repertoires. One branch ofGroup A production is represented by IRW which is decorated in a fashionthat clearly betrays foreign influence (Begley 1988: 440) while theother branch continues the Greyware production typical of the periodbefore 200 BC. It is at this time that Group B production also emerges,characterised by IRW and Type 10 fine ware production in Sri Lanka. Shifts in the consumption of fine wares after 200 BC, speak of newnetworks of exchange and production. Whereas Greyware continues to beproduced at a single centre and exported to other cities such asAnuradhapura, and presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. Arikamedu, the IRW consumed at both ofthese sites is produced nearby and seems destined only for that city. Incontrast to Greyware, the production and consumption of IRW is thereforeregionalised. Although it is found at some inland sites, principallyalong river systems, it is mostly found at coastal settlements on theeast coast of India suggesting a possible link to maritime trade (Schenk2006). We suggest that the production of this new elite ware was linkedto the emerging power of a new class of maritime merchants whose wealthand prestige was increasing but was still limited to the centres theyinhabited and traded from. The lucrative nature of this trade is no moreclearly indicated than by the rapid growth of Arikamedu in Phase C inthe first century BC. At this time, a large reservoir was constructedand along the reservoir there operated a series of workshops whichproduced metal, glass, semi-precious stone, ivory and shell (Begley1983: 472). This newly developed wealth can be contrasted to olderexisting forms of political-economy that were probably based on agrarianproduction. That maritime merchants either traded or consumed IRW is indicatedby its wide distribution across the Indian Ocean. From Berenike in Egypt(Tomber 2000) to Sembiran in Indonesia (Ardika & Bellwood 1991), IRWis found at ports that supplied a range of consumable and luxury goodsto and from India and the Mediterranean. IRW sherds with Tamil or Brahmiscript graffito indicating ownership suggest that Indian traders wereresponsible for the distribution of this ceramic (Begley 1988: 430).That these merchants preferentially used or traded IRW over other southAsian fine wares is indicated by the corpus of south Asian fine waresfound at distant trade sites. At Sembiran in Bali, for example, 117 ofthe 120 sherds of south Asian fine wares are of IRW; only two Type 10sherds were found (Ardika & Bellwood 1991). The production of IRW may be defined, therefore, as a form ofattached (Costin 1991) or tethered specialisation in which pottery wasproduced on demand for a specific group within society, in this casemaritime merchants. This new elite ceramic was adorned with innovativeand exotic decoration and would have not only served as a fine tablewarebut also, through its foreign-inspired decoration, communicated adifferentiated social status at a time of increasing economic and socialreadjustment. Conclusion Careful and detailed analysis of the geochemical and archaeologicaldata on the production of IRW in south Asia suggests a complex image ofthe social and economic change brought around by long-distance maritimetrade. No scholar today would argue, as some claim Wheeler did, thatsouth Asian society 'advanced' as a result of contact with theMediterranean. Nor can it be argued that contact with the Mediterraneanwas a stimulus for the emergence of Indian Ocean trade. Such tradeexisted prior to Mediterranean contact and continued long after itdissipated. Contact with the Mediterranean, however, brought aboutchanges in material culture production, at least at maritime sitesand/or sites that were heavily involved with trade. In this paper wehave hypothesised that the growing power Growing Power is an urban agriculture organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It runs the last functional farm within the Milwaukee city limits and also organizes activities in Chicago. of a new maritime merchantclass led to attached production of a new elite ceramic, IndianRouletted Ware. Although produced locally, this new pottery wasdecorated in a fashion that was deliberately foreign and thusreferential to the importance of maritime trade as the economic basisfor new social divisions within ancient south Asian society. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Prof. Alan Pollard (University of Oxford) forproviding the geochemical data that is the focus of this paper. Prof.Rita Wright (Anthropology, NYU NYU New York UniversityNYU New York Undercover (TV show)); Prof. Daniel Ports (Archaeology,University of Sydney The University of Sydney, established in Sydney in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" Australian universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance. ); Prof. Don Barber Don Barber (born December 2, 1964 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a retired National Hockey League forward. He played in 115 games with the Minnesota North Stars and Winnipeg Jets. He scored 25 goals and 32 assists. (Geology, Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College,at Bryn Mawr, Pa; undergraduate for women, graduate coeducational; opened 1885 by the Society of Friends, with a bequest from Joseph W. Taylor of Burlington, N.J. Modeled on a group curriculum plan at Johns Hopkins Univ. ); DrCameron Petrie (Archaeology, University of Cambridge); Dr Hoyd Weeks(Archaeology, University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a leading research and teaching university in the city of Nottingham, in the East Midlands of England. It is a member of the Russell Group, and of Universitas 21, an international network of research-led universities. ) and Dr Derek Kennet(Archaeology, University of Durham (body, education) University of Durham - A busy research and teaching community in the historic cathedral city of Durham, UK (population 61000). Its work covers key branches of science and technology and traditional areas of scholarship. ) read drafts of this paper. TwoAntiquity reviewers provided invaluable feedback on this paper. I wouldlike to thank them for the very useful comments--any errors that remainare my responsibility. Received: 27 July 2009; Revised: 24 February 2010; Accepted: 13March 2010 References ARDIKA, I.W & P.S. BELLWOOD. 1991. Sembiran: the beginnings ofIndian contact with Bali. Antiquity 65: 221-32. BEGLEY, V. 1983. Arikamedu reconsidered. American Journal ofArchaeology 87:461-81. --1988. Rouletted ware at Arikamedu: a new approach. AmericanJournal of Archaeology 92: 427-40. COSTIN, C.L. 1991. 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Ancient lndia 2:17-124. WILL, E.L. 1996. Mediterranean shipping amphoras from the 1941-1950excavations, in V. Belgley (ed.) The ancient port of Arikamedu: newexcavations and researches 1989 to 1992 (Memoires Archeologiques 22):317-49. Pondichery: Centre d'Histoire et d'Archeologie, EcoleFrancaise d'Extreme-Orient. Peter Magee, Department of Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College, 101North Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr Bryn Mawr(brĭn mär), uninc. town (1990 est. pop. 10,000), Montgomery co., SE Pa., a residential suburb of Philadelphia. It is the seat of Bryn Mawr College (for women), opened in 1885 by the Society of Friends. , PA 19010, USA (Email:pmagee@brynmawr.edu)Table 1. Summary of south Asian fine ware production groups. Group A Group BCeramic types Greyware IRW (Anuradhapura) (Anuradhapura) Type 10 (Anuradhapura) Type 10 IRW (Arikamedu) (Anuradhapura)Location of South-eastern India (?) Sri Lanka nearproduction Anuradhapura (?)Chronology c. 500 BC-AD 300 c. after 200 BC-AD 300