The Indian Ocean has been a zone of human interactions throughout world history. As a body of water, of course, it has not been host to a civilization, and for this reason, it has been neglected in standard studies of world history for decades.

The evidence collected on each era of Indian Ocean history for this website illustrates a wide variety of interactions that took place during more than ten thousand years of human history, and a much longer prehistoric period.

How to Use An Ocean of Paper; General Search; Historical Background; Types of Contracts; People; Property Types; Currency in the Indian Ocean; Places; Locating Waraqas; The Origins of An Ocean of Paper; Bibliography

Indian Ocean in World History Overview for Students Selections from each era . Geographic Features: Indian Ocean Description. The Indian Ocean covers 68,536,000 square kilometers (26,461,897 square miles) and covers 20% of the world's ocean surface. There are five commonly recognized oceans in the world.

Their role was neither small nor temporary; they constituted a core feature of the Omani world of the Indian Ocean, and their presence in both South Arabia and East Africa is highly visible even today.

history in the Indian Ocean was different. Read the short sections below as background to your exploration of each era’s map icons on “The Indian Ocean in World History” online resource. Under the heading and dates for each era, the reading describes what historians believe happened during each era, how interactions developed, how

The Indian Ocean stretches in a giant arc from east Africa to Arabia, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. From prehistoric times on, people living around the shores of the Indian Ocean migrated, gathered the wealth of the sea's resources, built seafaring ships, made and grew things to use and to trade with others near and far.

An Ocean of Paper. An Ocean of Paper; How to Use An Ocean of Paper; General Search; Historical Background; Types of Contracts; People; Property Types; Currency in the Indian Ocean; Places; Locating Waraqas; The Origins of An Ocean of Paper; Bibliography

The sources used in researching entries for the Indian Ocean in World History website are provided in the Bibliography section, below. Abdul-Wahab, S. "Characterization of Water Discharges from Two Thermal Power/Desalination Plants in Oman." Environmental Engineering Science 24, no. 3 (April 2007): 321-337.

This is an excellent, friendly technology for integrating history and geography in high school geography classes. The combination makes it a perfect resource for new and experienced teachers.