Archaeology as History in Early South Asia

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Preamble/Himanshu Prabha Ray and Carla M. Sinopoli. I. History of Archaeology - South Asia: 2. This history of archaeology in India: introduction/Himanshu Prabha Ray. 3. Documentation and destruction: the case of Amaravati (1797-1886)/Upinder Singh. 4. Sanchi: Destruction, restoration, restitution/Nayanjot Lahiri. 5. Bhagwanlal Indraji and the beginnings of Indian archaeology/Virchand K. Dharamsey. 6. Unravelling the picturesque: Understanding the creation of a past/Jaya Chattopadhyaya. 7. Preservation of India's archaeological heritage through archaeologists-public interaction: issues and strategies/Kalini P. Khandwalla. II. Methods, techniques and chronology: 8. Methods, techniques and chronology: introduction/Carla M. Sinopoli. 9. Origins of plant agriculture in South India/Ravi Korisettar. 10. Archaeology and history of Bangladesh: recent perspectives/Jean-Francois Salles. 11. Chronology and metal sources of South Indian images: some insights and scientific analysis/Sharada Srinivasan. 12. Beyond Vijayanagara's city walls: regional survey and the inhabitants of the Vijayanagara metropolitan region/Carla M. Sinopoli. III. Ethno archaeology in South Asia: 13. Ethno-archaeology in South Asia: an introduction and review/Bradley A. Chase. 14. Ethno-archaeology as history: the case of Santhal parganas/Ajay Pratap. 15. Palm leaf manuscripts: an Ethno-historic study/Panchanan Bhoi. IV. The archaeology of sacred space : 16. The archaeology of sacred space: introduction/Himanshu Prabha Ray. 17. Sacred architecture, sacred landscape: early Buddhism in North coastal Andhra Pradesh/Lars Fogelin. 18. Excavations at Ambaran 1999-2001: Akhnur Terracotta and discovery of Buddhist reliquary in exposed stupa/B.R. Mani. 19. The archaeology of the early temples of Saurashtra/Susan Verma. 20. An archaeological study of the temple in the Eastern Deccan/Anita R. V. Gender and Archaeology: 21. Gender and archaeology: introduction/Himanshu Prabha Ray. 22. Problematizing the archaeology of female figurines in North-West India/Deeksha Bhardwaj. Index.

"This volume fulfils a long-felt need in South Asian studies by initiating an inter-disciplinary dialogue between archaeology and history. It challenges traditional assumptions derived from text-based archaeology dating to the Alexander Cunningham era and reexamines the role of archives, monumental architecture and artifacts in the reconstruction of the past.

The first section draws attention to two emerging trends in the study of the past; one, the use of archival data for a study of the history of archaeology in South Asia, and two, the question of representation and public archaeology. The second section discusses scientific methods and techniques that have been significant in recent years in providing inputs to questions of chronology and sourcing of metal objects. Recent research stresses the identification of general patterns of human behaviour and their material consequences, which may be recognisable in the archaeological record, as discussed in the third section on Ethno-archaeology. The issue of multivocality of religious structures and negotiations between different groups is highlighted in the fourth section, while the final section discusses Gender Archaeology and indicates archaeological constructs in an analysis of the theme.

The volume thus endorses an active involvement between archaeology and history. It is hoped that this will then lead to increased inputs in the study and practice of archaeology." (jacket)