Reimagining South Asian Art, Culture and Archaeology

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This edited volume contains ten original research papers and essays on various aspects of South Asian art, culture, and archaeology. The authors address the broad issues of trans-disciplinarity and cultural complexity attested with the art and archaeological practices of South Asia. It opens with a serious discussion on fundamental issues of archaeology and suggests eff ective ways that would reframe the archaeological methods of the future. The focus shift from the monument-centric approach to a collaborative trans-disciplinary endeavour eventually reconceptualises archaeology as integrated into other disciplines. The voluminous rise in archaeological data generated through more so phisticated scientifi c equipment testifies the close collaboration of archaeology with science. The study of cultural sequence, urbanisation pattern, and contextual analysis of material objects with nearby sites emerging more as a recent trend projects a novel research trajectory of moving away from the conventional norms of disciplinary studies and thereby adopting inter-disciplinary perspective in art-cultural studies.

This book includes some preliminary reports of recent explorations and excavations conducted in Vangchhia (Mizoram) and Ganaur (Haryana). The report highlights the huge distribution of menhirs, petroglyphs,potteries, burial sites, and sculptural fragments all around Mizoram, thereby outlying the distinguish presence of Vangchhia culture. The volume also builds new perspectives to study the stylistic patterns, artistic developments, architectural expansion, and cultural complexity through the site-specifi c study. These studies focus on site-specifi c empirical research and demonstrate trans-disciplinarity and interdisciplinary orientation of research in ancient South Asian studies.

The papers in this edited volume are based substantially on the National Conference on 'Recent Archaeological Investigations in South Asia,' jointly organised by the Archaeological Exploration and Excavation Department, Heritage Society, Patna, and M.L.S.M. College, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga, on 29-31 July 2020. The purpose of the conference was to inquire into the entire gamut of historical knowledge and innovative methodologies adopted in the field of Archaeology and Heritage Studies over the past few decades. Recent archaeological explorations and excavations carried out in India have exposed a vast corpus of antiquarian remains ranging from stone tools to massive structural remains. Excavations carried out in various parts of India, such as Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Kalahandi (Odisha), Keezhadi (Tamil Nadu), Sanauli (Uttar Pradesh), Vangchhia (Mizoram), etc. have reported the discovery of several archaeological sites from the prehistoric age to the medieval period. These discoveries expose new sites of immense historical importance that acted as nodal points in the pan-Asian pre-modern networks of cultural exchanges.

The investigations and re-examination of sites further reflected how the discovery of fresh artifacts and new archaeological sites changed the perceived notion of material culture, urbanisation pattern, and cultural sequence of pre-modern cities. This implied a close convergence of archaeologists and historians, bringing them together to build renewed perspectives based on newly found evidence. Indeed, the intellectual agenda of such an exercise is also to broaden the current approaches on looking at the discipline itself and inculcating the interdisciplinary perspective to deepen our understanding of the past.

Recent explorations in South Asia also show a gradual shift of archaeologists from the monument-centric approach to a more nuanced study of the scattered remains to better understand the architectural complexes, structural remains, and the economic, religious, socio-political & cultural lives of the people at these urban centers. This approach is also reflected in the present volume as it discusses the recent archaeological explorations carried out in North East India and the Sonipat district of Haryana. The fundamental issues and the way ahead in archaeology further forms an integral part of the discussion in this volume. I am thankful to Dr. Amita Satyal of Nalanda University for delving into some pertinent questions on how the discoveries of new sites situate themselves in the larger archacological context of the region and what are methodological limitations attached to the current archaeological practices. The present volume also includes articles on reinterpretation of sites, artefacts, and past archaeological records based on new findings. Hope this edition will add valuable knowledge to the existing field of archaeology.

Reimagining South Asian Art, Culture and Archaeology is a prodigious book that should be read by every graduate and postgraduate student with interests in South Asian art, culture, and archaeology. This edited volume brings together a series of essays that addresses the broad issues of transdisciplinarity and cultural complexity attested with the art and archaeological practices of the region.

The theme of the present volume is a logical step forward from the theme of the conference Recent Archaeological Investigations in South Asia jointly organised by the Archaeological Exploration and Excavation Department, Heritage Society, Patna, and M.L.S.M. College, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga, on 29-31 July 2020. The conference brought together many diverse interests that clearly outline how archaeology in recent times have shifted from the materialistic outlook of the imperialistic and monumental remains of the past to a more nuanced study of urbanisation pattern, cultural intelligibility, and theatrical discourse of spatial-temporal interactions of objects with the site. The editors of this book have rightly perceived archaeology along a continuum ranging from monument-centric approach to collaborative transdisciplinary endeavour.

This volume effectively reopens a serious discussion on fundamental issues of archaeology and suggests effective ways that would reframe the archaeological practices of the future. The book also includes articles and preliminary reports of recent explorations and excavations conducted in Vangchhia (Mizoram) and Ganaur (Haryana). These reports discuss recent findings and establish a cultural coherence attached to the site while reconstructing the past despite the lack of ample literary and historical records. The volumes also bring out new perspectives to study the stylistic patterns, artistic developments, architectural expansion, and cultural complexity of the site-specific study. The amplitude of such studies focuses on site specific empirical research and demonstrates transdisciplinarity and inter-disciplinary orientation of research on ancient South Asian studies.

**Contents and Sample Pages**