- Silk Road
- Trade remained agricultural at its base
- Indian Ocean
- allowed travel to Middle East and East Asia
- Tamils were most active
- Traded cotton, silk, dyes, gold, ivory
- Imported from Middle East and Rome
- pottery, wine, metals, slaves, gold
- Trading with Southeast Asia
- Transported manufactured goods, Indian artistic and architectural styles
- Caravan trade developed with China
- Division of Labor