West Coast Sumatra in the Indian Ocean Region Interaction from the 7th to 11th Century CE

Ery Soedewo

Traces of the Nusantara (Archipelagos) interaction in the Indian Ocean trade network can be traced through archaeological data and historical records. Apart from historical sources, evidence of global interaction involving the west coast of Sumatra are also recorded in archaeological data. For example, studies of the Lobu Tua site in Barus show that it was active between the 9th and 11th centuries CE. In another part of the Tapanuli Bay, about 60 km southeast of Barus, there is the Bongal Site, which was intensively studied between 2021 and 2022. An analysis of the archaeological data from excavations at the Bongal Site shows that this site was actively engaged in global interactions between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The various foreign artifacts found in Lobu Tua and Bongal are evidence that the west coast of Sumatra was part of an ancient global trade network. Traces of these ancient interactions were not only found on the west coast of Sumatra itself. On other landmasses surrounding the Indian Ocean such as India and Ceylon similar archaeological data such as beads, pottery, and the remains of a wooden boat have been found. This paper focuses on the similarities between archaeological data in the form of artifacts and ecofacts found at sites in the Indian Ocean region from the 7th to 10th centuries CE. In addition, it will also review the distribution of water transportation modes found at archaeological sites in the Indian Ocean region.