Introduction
V
•i)
That similarly, on the East African coast, the transfer of nautical technology to coastal Iron Age
cultivators stimulated the development of Swahili maritime culture
•j) That the expansion of Arab
shipping in the Indian Ocean from the 10th century onwards obscured the Austronesian origins of local seafaring through the
replacement of boat types
and maritime terminology
•k)
Finally, if the Indian Ocean was criss-crossed by experienced Austronesian navigators from an
early period, then
settlement would be expected on many Indian Ocean islands. Although most islands were
apparently unoccupied at first European contact, they may still have been reached by Austronesians and that more extensive
archaeology will reveal
this