Before goods were properly imported in the Maldives, people only received tealeaves, sugar, rice and flour as the basic components from overseas. Even in the 20th century, many Maldivians lived in poverty due to the isolation between islands and social status gap. Maldivians lived so indifferently from the world, it became a social time-capsule to the stone-age era.

The national museum situated in the Central Male’ City, you will find a wide variety of Fine China dishes, a luxury Maldivians did not possess. Especially for the fact that most of the porcelain plates were given as gifts from countries overseas, and Maldivian royalty did not realize these plates were used during dining. Although most royalties understood the purpose of dishes, they were not fond of using them as using dishes was not part of Maldivian culture; along with cutlery.

The alternative to plates were the broad shaped banana leaves; the oval-shaped readily available green was used like a mat where food was served on. However, as time developed Maldivians excelled in Metalworking where they may have used scrap metal or imported metal as a source to create cups and plates. From ruins left from the Utheem Dynasty times in Utheem, Haa Alif Atoll, pots and plates were found buried underground; this about was five centuries ago.

With no records found, Maldivians and other historians can only speculate on conspiracies and folklore. The Maldives had developed popularity in the Asian-African trade routes, making it very likely that Maldivians had access to pots, pans and plates. However, considering the extreme poverty, some islands might have lived a different culture compared to others. Yet, the culture and traditions remained as a constant throughout the centuries.