Explores the types of ships, methods of navigation and modes of water-borne trade in the Indian Ocean region and the way they affected the development of distinctive settlements against a changing but strong sense of regional identity.

1: Shipping in the Indian Ocean: An Overview; 2: Seafarings, Ships and Ship Owners: India and the Indian Ocean ( ad 700-1500); 3: Seafaring in Peninsular India in the Ancient Period: Of Watercraft and Maritime Communities; 4: Archaeological Evidence on Shipping Communities or Sri Lanka; 5: Pre-Modern Sri Lankan Ships; 6: Classifying Vessel-Types in Ibn Ba????a's Ri?la; 7: Navigational Methods in the Indian Ocean 1; 8: The Rise and Fall of Hadhrami Shipping in the Indian Ocean, c.1750 - c.1940; 9: Continuity and Adaptation by Contemporary Swahili Boatbuilders in Kenya; 10: The Historical Context of the Construction of the Vattai Fishing Boat and Related Frame-First Vessels of Tamil Nadu and Beyond; 11: Yami Boats and Boat Building in a Wider Perspective