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Ethno Marine Archaeology' is a monograph of collected papers on Ethnographical Studies of South Indian boats and new interpretations of archaeological data on the maritime contacts of the subcontinent in two sections: Ethnographic Studies and Marine Archaeology. Both the sections have a lead article, which initiates the study of the respective section. Ethnic background of South Indian history provides the opening for the archaeology section, and a note on the significance of ethnographic documentation of the sailing craft of the subcontinent provides the needed opening discussion for the study. This monograph presents articles by several scholars in the field, and in addition to maritime archaeology, historical aspects and representations of the maritime activity in art are featured here. The papers provide a fresh interpretation of the latest data on the subcontinent's maritime archaeology and a closer picture of the near-shore operations and difficulties in underwater search operations. Further, there is a special paper on the underwater explorations and new findings in the West Coast of India.

The section on ethnographic documentation of South Indian boats is prepared by the editor himself, who is engaged in this work since 1988. The boats are classified by their routes and building techniques, and the routes include The Rafts, The Log Boats, The Sewn Boats, The Outrigger Boats and Nailed Plank Built Boats.

It is hoped that this monograph will prove to be a valuable new addition to the current literature and will lead to better understanding and deeper probes in this field.