Contrasts

This chapter examines three pertinent comparisons arising from the reconstruction of the Hermapollon’s cargo. The first concerns the size of the ships involved in the pepper trade and its relationship to both the region from which the spice was exported and the sea route by which it was transported. The pepper trade can take different forms, and the pattern detailed by the Muziris papyrus proves to be unique in the long history of the South Indian pepper trade. The second comparison concerns the Periplus’ list of the commodities available in the Limyrike emporia and the Hermapollon’s cargo as itemized in the verso of the Muziris papyrus. Finally, the third comparison concerns the size of the elephant tusks. When compared with the average weight of some sixteenth-century East African cargoes, the average weight of the tusks carried by the Hermapollon reveals the overall fine quality of the batch and, ultimately, the distinctiveness of the human–elephant relationship in India compared to East Africa.