The Archaeology of Buddhism in the Maldives

Excavation of a Buddhist Monastery at Kaashidhoo

Egil Mikkelsen (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

412 Seiten

2025
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-72243-9 (ISBN)

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Before the 12th century the Maldives was a Buddhist society with stone-built monasteries. Excavations of one on Kaashidhoo reveals the importance of cowrie shells for the islands’ prosperity and offers a fresh model for the Maldives’ conversion to Islam.

Part of a Buddhist monastery dating to A.D. 200–1500 was excavated between 1996 and 1998 on the island of Kaashidhoo in the Maldives, uncovering extensive ruins and human graves.

This book compares the findings with those from monasteries elsewhere in Asia, investigating the spread of cowrie shells, Chinese stoneware and South Asian earthenware. It documents all known Buddhist sites, sculptures and artefacts in the Maldives, presenting new evidence of Buddhist life, religious behaviour, funerary practice, faunal history and trading networks.

The book offers a fresh interpretation of the conversion from Buddhism to Islam in the Maldives.

Egil Mikkelsen, born in Oslo 1945, Ph.D. (1987), University of Oslo, is Professor emeritus in archaeology and former Museum director at that university. He has published monographs and articles on Scandinavian prehistory, the Viking Age and the Medieval period, relations with the Islamic world and the Buddhist Maldives.

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

List of Tables

Abbreviations

1 Introduction to the Maldives

2 Early Written Sources on the Maldives

1 The First Settlers

2 Some Early Written Accounts on the Maldives

3 The Pre-Islamic Maldive Society and the Outside World, Based on Written Sources

4 The Spread of Buddhism

3 Maldive Archaeology

1 Excavations Carried Out by Maldivians

2 The Thor Heyerdahl Expeditions, 1983–1984

3 Mirani Litster, 2016

4 Shiura Jaufar, 2016–2017

5 Excavations at Kinolhas, North Maalhosmadulu (Raa) Atoll, 2017

6 Maldives Heritage Surveys

4 Archaeological Excavations at Kaashidhoo, 1996–1998

1 Introduction to Kaashidhoo

2 Excavation and Documentation Methods

3 The Excavations of the Ruin Area

4 The Cemetery: Graves and Buddhist Funerary Practice

5 Building Stages

6 Buddhist Monasteries: A Comparative Study between the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka

7 Architecture: Interpretations of the Structures at the Monastery at Kaashidhoo

8 Artefacts: Coin, Metal Objects, Stone Artefacts, Ceramics, and Beads

9 Chronology

10 Faunal Remains: Bone Fragments and Molluscs

11 Some Glimpses into Daily Life: The Laity and the Monks

12 Trade

5 Cowrie Shells in Maldive Buddhism

6 The Spread of Cowrie Shells

1 The Spread of Cowrie Shells in Asia

2 The Spread of Cowrie Shells into Europe

7 The Conversion to Islam

8 Conclusions

1 The Cowrie Shells

2 Early Settlers—Different Religions

3 A Buddhist Society in the Maldives—the Kaashidhoo Monastery as a Case Study

4 The Conversion from Buddhism to Islam

5 Chronology

AppendixA: Imported Stoneware Finds from China and South-East Asia by Ran Zhang, Durham University, United Kingdom

AppendixB: Catalogue of Decorated Earthenware from Kuruhinna Tharaagandu

AppendixC: An Archaeological Find of Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea (Schweigger 1812)) and Associated Finds of Sea Turtle, Domestic Fowl, and Fish from Kaashidhoo, the Maldives by Leif Jonsson, Gothenburg University, Sweden

AppendixD: Buddhist (Pre-Islamic) Sites in the Maldives

AppendixE: Archaeological Finds of Buddhist Origin in the Maldives

References

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	13.05.2025
Reihe/Serie	Brill's Indological Library ; 63
Verlagsort	Leiden
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	808 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
ISBN-10	90-04-72243-2 / 9004722432
ISBN-13	978-90-04-72243-9 / 9789004722439
Zustand	Neuware