Sea of Treasures: A Cultural History of Ancient Indian Ocean Trade
Jeremy A. Simmons
Price:
$45.00/£38.00
ISBN:9780691280141
Published (US):Jul 21, 2026
Published (UK):Sep 15, 2026
Pages:368
Size:6.13 x 9.25 in.
【内容简介】
古代世界的互联程度远超人们通常的想象。横跨印度洋的海上航线绝非边缘通道，正是这些航线使得跨区域联系成为可能。在《珍宝之海》一书中，杰里米·西蒙斯提出了一个审视印度洋贸易的全新视角——从贸易商品及其输入所带来的消费模式切入。他超越了对远航技术或“印度-罗马”经济交换机制的常规讨论，转而关注流动中的物品所产生的影响：印度洋进口商品如何塑造了整个古代世界人类的生活面貌。
通过对地中海盆地与印度次大陆的文献及考古资料进行双重考察，西蒙斯追溯了一系列感官与智识层面的交融互动。这些互动将人群与物品——无论是香料、钱币、宝石等实体物件，还是信息与艺术风格等无形存在——紧密交织在一起。书中各章节分别探讨了不同类型的文化接触及其体验效应：包括罗马人对印度洋产品的强烈反应；香料与酒类等消耗品的食用实践；装饰品的社会文化价值；奢侈品的间接传播及其仿制品的泛滥；以及精英阶层对珍贵商品知识的获取途径。
借助关于物品、物质构成及其在人类活动中作用的理论探讨，西蒙斯通过对消费行为的整体性理解，呈现出一部印度洋贸易的文化史。通过质疑长期以来关于地中海在印度洋贸易中占据主导地位的假设，他拓展了我们对全球亚欧非世界的认知——这个世界孕育了人类与日益丰富的物质之间持续发展的关系网络。（AI翻译）
The ancient world was a far more interconnected place than is often assumed. Maritime routes across the Indian Ocean, by no means peripheral, made these connections possible. In Sea of Treasures, Jeremy Simmons puts forth an entirely new perspective on Indian Ocean commerce, starting with commodities of trade and the patterns of consumption that resulted from their importation. Looking beyond the mechanics of long-distance travel or the economics of “Indo-Roman” exchange, Simmons considers the consequences of objects in motion: how Indian Ocean imports shaped the lives of humans throughout the wider ancient world. In his exploration of textual and archaeological sources from both the Mediterranean basin and the Indian subcontinent, he traces a series of sensuous and intellectual engagements that entangled people and things both tangible and intangible, from spices, coins, and gemstones to information and artistic style.
Each chapter addresses a different encounter and its experiential effects, including Roman outrage at Indian Ocean products; ingestion of consumables such as spices and alcohol; adornment and its sociocultural value; indirect exposure to luxury goods and the proliferation of imitations; and elite access to knowledge about treasured commodities. Drawing on theoretical discussions relating to objects, their material composition, and their roles in human activity, Simmons offers a cultural history of Indian Ocean trade through a holistic understanding of consumption. By interrogating long-held assumptions about Mediterranean dominance in Indian Ocean trade, Simmons expands our understanding of a global Afro-Eurasian world—one that afforded relationships with an ever-widening array of things
“This book is ambitious, tackling in a novel way a subject that has seen much discussion in recent years. Simmons’s range is impressive, and the rich combination of sources drawn from the Roman world and from the Indian subcontinent is the product of deep and wide study.”
—Astrid Van Oyen, author of The Socio-Economics of Roman Storage: Agriculture, Trade, and Family
“A valuable addition to the field, this provocative and engaging book is distinctive in its focus on commodities and the ways in which they inform human activity, relationships, and senses of self.”
—Matthew Cobb, author of Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade: From Augustus to the Early Third Century
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