Archaeo - Anthropology of Chhattisgarh/A.K. Sharma. Delhi, Sundeep, 2000, 167 p., figs., plates, $66. ISBN 81-7574-096-5.
Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. The background. 3. Geology and environment. 4. Megalithic sites in Chhattisgarh and Bastar. 5. Excavations at Karkabhat – Sorar – the nucleus site. 6. Inferences. 7. The views – the emerging pattern. 8. Explorations. Appendix – Intercaste relations in a Chhattisgarh village. Bibliography. Index.
"The book is a comprehensive account of recently conducted explorations and excavations by the author in Chhattisgarh. The book brings out the richness of cultural heritage, particularly during megalithic times, of Chhattisgarh. It gives a detailed account of the results of the excavations conducted by the author, at Sorar – Karkabhat – a nucleuse megalithic site. It establishes the link between central Indian megaliths and those of northeast India and shows how during the first millennium B.C. the entire country was engulfed by this great culture overpowering all natural and geographical boundaries, right from Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Manipur to Kutch. The book gives a vivid account of the life of the people during the megalithic period in Chhattisgarh. The religio-socio-economic relations between different castes in a village of the region have been comprehensively brought out, on the basis of field work by the author.
It is hoped that the book will be found useful to both archaeologists and anthropologists." (jacket)
[A.K. Sharma has also written Emergence of Early Culture in North-East India and Manipur—the Glorious Past.]