the needs of many neighboring villages and hence was overworked. The art of the goldsmith seems to have caught the fancy of foreign markets and Tamil made ornaments were shipped to foreign lands mainly from karur. Ship building Shipbuilding was a native industry in Tamilakam. Ocean craft of varying sizes, from the small catamaran which was a bunch of logs tied together to the big ships with mast and sail, were used in Tamil ports. Among the smaller crafts were ambi and padagu that were used as ferries across rivers and the timil which was a fishing boat. Pahri, Odam, Toni, Teppa, and Navai were other smaller craft. The large ship was called Kappal had masts (Paamaram) and sails (Poy). Other industries Carpentry was practised as a hereditary profession. Sons of the carpenters learned their trade at an early age by making small toycarts for children. The carpenter assisted in home construction, ship building and chariot making. Making jaggery cakes out of the sugarcane juice, in rural factories was an organized activity. Forestry involved the growing of trees that produced aromatic wood such as sandal. People living in the coastal areas depended on fishing for their subsistence. The anglers had a small leather pouch attached to one end of the rod into which the fish were thrown and secured. Salt manufacture was the only other industry of the sea coast which was largely practised. Pottery, rope making, chank-cutting, gem cutting, manufacture of leather sheaths for war weapons, dealing in conches and ivory, manufacture of bangles and the making of religious structures such as temples, procession cars and images are other industries mentioned often in contemporary literature. Baskets made of wicker for containing articles of domestic use like grains and other dried articles of consumption were also very popular. References Notes Bibliography External links History of Pearl fishery Treasures of the deep Tamil history Tamil economics Tamil-language literature Economic history of Tamil Nadu Ancient Tamil Nadu Industrial history of India Embroidery in India