Author: S Settar
Ravi Korisettar/
Editor: S Settar / Ravi Korisettar
Publisher: Manohar
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 524
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8173043213
Description
This Indian Archaeology in Retrospect attempts to take stock of the progress made in the field of Sough Asian archaeology, especially during the latter half of the twentieth century. Fifty-nine papers, spread over four volumes, are contributed by a team of scholars, well-known in the areas of their specialization.
Besides reviewing the widening horizons of empirical data, they have also identified the changing attitudes, methodologies and tools of inquiry. Besides presenting a synoptic view of our current understanding of the cultural evolution, an attempt is also made here to explore the future possibilities in this field. This is an attempt to explore, not to exhaust the entire field of prehistory. Our enquiry is not only dictated by the material brought to light so far and the nature of its significance, but also by the availability of competent and critical scholarship which could evaluate it with a depth of understanding and detachment that it deserves.
Never before an attempt of this type and in the scale has been made to critically evaluate the progress made into our past. This has become possible because of the participation of a team of upcoming as well as well-established scholars of international repute. As many as 46 Indian and about 16 European and American scholars have contributed to make this series what it is.
This volume explores the nature of the interdisciplinary research done in the fields of South Asian archaeology and Quaternary science, transcending the limits of both prehistory and protohistory. A series of fifteen papers contributed by eighteen scholars emphasize the need of a holistic approach to India’s past. The areas highlighted here include: ethnography, palaeoclimate, palynology, pedology, archaeozoology, archeobotany, bioanthropology of the living and prehistoric communities, dating, preservation and conservation methods. This volume also highlights the increasing dependence of archaeology on the natural and biological sciences, taking the tools and techniques of enquiry nearer to those employed by natural scientists.
Contents
FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION Black Soils of India: a Survey of Pedological Research since 1947 G S DASOG The Indian Monsoon: Roots, Relations and Relevance RAVI KORISETTAR AND R RAMESH Bioclimatology and Quaternary Palynology in India V M MEHER-HOMJI The Search for Fossil Man in South Asia: Retrospect and Prospect KENNETH A R KENNEDY Bio-Archaeology of Ancient India: an Integrated Perspective on the Past JOHN R LUKACS Biological Anthropology of Living Populations in Independent India: a Review RIPUDAMAN SINGH Hunter-Gatherer Studies in India: a Review ALETHA TAVARES Agro-Pastoralism in Contemporary Ethnography: Its Relevance in Explanation of Archaeological Material in India D K BHATTACHARYA AND DEEPRA BHATACHARYA Fifty years of Ethnoarchaeological Research in India: a Review PRADEEP MOHANTY AND JITU MISHRA Quaternary Vertebrate Palaeontology in India: Fifty years of Research G L Badam Fifty Years of Archaeobotanical Studies in India: Laying a Solid Foundation DORIAN Q FULLER Researches in Archaeozoology of the Holocene Period (Including the Harappan Tradition in India and Pakistan) U C CHATTOPADHYAYA Archaeometallurgical Studies in India: a Review D P AGRAWAL Progress of Archaeological Chemistry in India Anupama Kshirsagar and B C Deotare Dating of Indian Stone Age and Quaternary Deposits D P AGRAWAL Contributors Index