The archaeological site of Sanghol situated 40 kilometres from Chandigarh on the National Highway to Ludhiana is exceptional in many ways. One of the very few sites extensively excavated in post-Independence Punjab, it was settled as early as the second millennium BC and has continued in occupation well into the present. The cultural deposit is rich and varied, especially in its diverse range of coins, seals and sealings, and this marks Sanghol out from other contemporary settlements. The discovery of exquisitely sculpted pillars of a stone railing carefully buried in the vicinity of a Buddhist stupa brought Sanghol into the limelight in 1985 and large-scale excavations were undertaken.
Remains of Buddhist monasteries and stupas have been preserved and stand testimony to the flourishing nature of religious culture in the area. Based on unpublished data, this edited volume places the finds from Sanghol in the wider context of the archaeology of Punjab. It traces the history of archaeology in the region from the first excavation in 1830 in undivided Punjab during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1801-1839) at the Buddhist stupa at Manikyala, located north-west of Rawalpindi. Interest in the archaeology of Punjab has changed over time from a fascination for Alexander the Great and his Indian campaign in the nineteenth century, to the unchecked collection of antiquities, and to large-scale excavations at Taxila, leading finally to the establishment of museums in pre- and post-Partition Punjab to house the finds.
Changes in the research agenda of archaeologists was matched by transformation of the landscape as a result of the large-scale digging of canals in the early twentieth century and widespread agricultural operations in post-Independence Punjab. Within this wider canvas, the focus of the volume, however, remains on an in-depth analysis of the archaeology of Sanghol and its significance in the history of Punjab.
This volume traces archaeological research undertaken in Andhra Pradesh going back to the nineteenth century when the cultures of the region were explored and documented. In the 1950s, scholars conducted ‘culture-historic’ research across the physiographical regions of Andhra Pradesh, following trends in India and Old World. 1970s saw a shift from the historic approach to the development of models for the contextual study of sites, and the explanation of the archaeological record in terms of the adaptive behaviour of past societies.
The Indian sub-continent, particularly the Peninsular India, is recognised as one of the richest areas of Acheulian occupation in the Old World. This research work is a detailed study of the Acheulian Culture system in India – signifying the earliest cultural occupation here. The book examines the cultural material of the Acheulian phase in its ecological setting to throw light on the distribution pattern, nature of habitats, Quaternary deposits, mammalian and hominid remains, land use and subsistence, site formation process, genesis and chronology of the Acheulian cultural system. Incorporating his own field observations over the last three decades and more as well as integrating and synthesising the available data and evidence on Acheulian culture, Dr. R.S. Pappu presents a comprehensive understanding of the Acheulian system and, in general, behavioural patterns of early hunting and food gathering communities. He also provides an account of the progress of Palaeolithic research in India since the first discovery of Palaeolithic settlement by Foote in 1863, tracing the major projects and contributions of noted Indian geo-archaeologists.
The present Temple Complex at Lepaksi is primarily of Vijayanagara affiliation, containing an abundance of Sculptural and Architectural wealth. Its ceilings and Walls were further decorated with paintings and stucco work relating to the devine forms. The present work is the result of a systematic documentation and Study of various aspects of the complex such as architectural and sculptural depictions of the period that could be seen from the Large number of paintings and sculptural delineations. The study of the work will certainly Help the reader to assess the contemporary Traditions and beliefs, popular legends and Puranic stories. In other words it upholds a mirror of the contemporary social life of the Vijayanagara period and will also help in understanding and assessing similar Art complexes that existed elsewhere.
The archaeological site of Sanghol situated 40 kilometers from Chandigarh on the National Highway to Ludhiana is exceptional in many ways. One of the very few sites extensively excavated in post-independence Punjab, it was settled as early as the second millennium BC and has continued in occupation well into the present. The cultural deposit is rich and varied, especially in its diverse range of coins, seals and sealings, and this marks Sanghol out from other contemporary settlements. The discovery of exquisitely sculpted pillars of a stone railing carefully buried in the vicinity of a Buddhist stupa brought Sanghol into the limelight in 1985 and large-scale excavations were undertaken. Remains of Buddhist monasteries and stupas have been preserved and stand testimony to the flourishing nature of religious culture in the area.
Based on unpublished data, this edited volume places the finds from Sanghol in the wider context of the archaeology of Punjab. It traces the history of archaeology in the region from the first excavation in 1830 in undivided Punjab during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1801-1839) at the Buddhist stupa at Manikyala, located north-west of Rawalpindi. Interest in the archaeology of Punjab has changed over time from a facination for Alexander the Great and his Indian campaign in the nineteenth century, to the unchecked collection of antiquities, and to large-scale excavations at Taxila, leading finally to the establishment of museums in pre-and post-partition Punjab to house the finds. Changes in the research agenda of archaeologists was matched by transformation of the landscape as a result of the large-scale digging of canals in the early twentieth century and widespread agricultural operations in post-independence Punjab. Within this wider canvas, the focus of the volume, however, remains on an in-depth analysis of the archaeology of Sanghol and its significance in the history of Punjab.
This book presents four significant fortifications of South India, namely Daulatabad, Mudugal, Gandikota and Gutti, each of which furnishes evidence of the excellence of the military architecture developed in the Kingdoms of the Deccan between the 13th and the 18th centuries.
The main purpose of this study is to analyse the building techniques in order to establish the typology of the works and to bring into focus a reliable method to identify and date them, an investigation which permits to show the evolution of the defence systems in this part of the Indian peninsula, considering their adaptation to the progress of artillery.
The report on the Kodumanal human skeletal series is important in many ways. The site of Kodumanal is one of the best excavated, best attended and best reported Early Historic-Megalithicsites of the Indian peninsular region. The report deviates from the conventional anthropological design, and follows bio-cultural approach which provides information on many important facets of this bygone population. For the first time in Indian archaeology the human remains recovered from the excavation are not looked as isolated pieces of evidence for mere description of bodily features, but anthropologists and the excavator are joining hands while interpreting the biological features in terms of literary, epigraphical and archaeological data.
Early village farming cultural phase is a significant chapter of world archaeology. In India, recent discoveries and researches have contributed significantly towards the development of knowledge about this momentous cultural interlude. The present work is concentrated on early village farming culture of hitherto less known area of eastern and north eastern part of this subcontinent. Developed from an ethnoarchaeological approach, the book Early Village Farming Culture, focused on Neolithic (as it is popularly known) cultural pattern of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland.
This volume vividly documented neolithic cultural remains of each and every reported sites of this vast area, however stray its occurrence may be. These dumb remains are further corroborated with relevant ethnographic accounts to reconstruct different facets of the culture in discussion.
Every available resource that ranges from material culture to religion is scanned in the light of ancient cultural remains or traditions survived among present day tribal folks to deduce considerable understanding of this crucial phase of human history. Hopefully this challenging endeavour of the author, to give a better shape to Neolithic culture of the region, will prove itself to be a thought provoking work in generating academic interest and inspiration to pursue more such ventures for the development of Indian archaeology.
The volume traces the history and development of painting in Tamil Nadu — from its beginnings in the form of rock art to modern schools of art.
As an archaeologist Shereen Ratnagar has been long involved in studying the enigma of early kin-organized, small-scale and non-specialized societies, which lack private landed-property and are free of a money economy; societies that we call tribal. Having conducted ethno-archaeological research amongst tribal people in eastern Gujarat, she spent a few months living with them to investigate how, in spite of their miniscule land holdings, they are able to raise crops regularly, year after year. Far from being abject or primitive, tribal people schedule their subsistence in a rational way, which is diversified in more ways than one, and families are self-sufficient to a considerable extent. That households think years ahead, is also abundantly clear from their provisions for the storage of food. Being Tribal attempts to define tribal society, traces tribal migrations in history, and examines their modes of agricultural production. This book also comes to the conclusion that tribal culture is robust, and that Indian society owes it to the tribal population-repeatedly displaced and marginalized in the interests of the powerful-to give them full scope to live out their destinies in their own way.