TRADE ROUTES OF EARLY TAMILAKAM - A STUDY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

Trade activities through the ages have promoted interactions between distant lands connected by the networks of routes. Ancient Tamil region too participated actively in the process of exchange which was facilitated by overland routes and waterways. The diverse physiographic features of Tamilakam necessitated the commodities trade with different regions. Besides the land routes linking various parts of the subcontinent, maritime networks served as important means of communication with other countries. Although literary texts including the foreign accounts throw significant lights in this regard, archeological discoveries supplement with the information that helps in better understanding in order to draw inferences in the context of trade and commerce. This paper focuses upon the excavated remains found at important sites such as Arikamedu, Uraiyur, Korkai, Alagankulam, Poompuhar (Kaveripattinam), Porunthal, Kodumanal Karur and Pattanam (Muciri/Muziris), which enable us to draw an outline of the trade routes in ancient period. The antiquities attest to the presence of various routes for establishing contacts with the coastal and inland centres.