Archaeology and Cultural Policy for the Indian Ocean Region: The Past, Present and Implications for the Future

The Indian Ocean stretches from the Red Sea to the South China Sea, incorporating the core littoral regions of the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Thailand in the northern sphere and the vast spread of waters connecting Africa and Australia in the southern sphere. The monsoons—wind systems that seasonally reverse direction—define the environment of this maritime space. The littoral regions of the Indian Ocean witnessed prehistoric migrations, dispersals of flora and fauna, emergence of some of the greatest civilisations (Mesopotamia, Indus, Arabian), development of maritime technologies and spread of trade networks. The Indian Ocean in antiquity was therefore much more than a watery outlier (Gupta 2002). The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is a zone whose tangible cultural heritage can provide an identity to this vast area which is today the passageway for over 80% of the world’s oil trade and which has one-third of the planet’s inhabitants. The chapter  puts forward the idea that cultural underpinnings are necessary to bring about a cohesiveness among Indian Ocean littoral states and stake-holding powers for economic and security relationships to succeed in a globalised Indian Ocean Region.