South Asian Forest-Dwellers and the Making of World Histories

This special issue explores the central role of South Asian forest-dwelling communities in shaping regional and global histories from the third millennium BCE to the eve of colonial rule. Drawing on archaeological, textual, botanical and ethnographic sources, the contributions trace how forest products such as timber, spices, medicinal plants and ivory moved through upland–lowland networks and entered wider systems of exchange. Far from being peripheral, forest-dwellers were key agents in processes of exchange due to their environmental knowledge. Bringing their labour and expertise to the fore, the special issue challenges longstanding historiographical models that marginalise forest societies, offering instead a more ecologically attuned and inclusive account of South Asia’s past. Focusing on connections with the western regions (the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Gulf), it highlights the sustained influence of forest goods and knowledge across diverse civilisational contexts, while contributing to broader debates in environmental and subaltern historiography.