Archaeology as history in early South Asia /Himanshu Prabha Ray

This volume fulfills 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 Alexender 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 behavior and their material consequences, which may be recognizable in the third section on Ethno-archaeology. The issue of multivocality of religious structures and negotiations 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.