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Supriya Varma

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Her research interests include land use, pastoralism, mobility, landscapes, waterscapes, urbanism, childhood, households, crafts, identities, heritage, and sustainability. Her earlier work focused on the archaeology of childhood and households in ancient cities, but in the last several years, her research has shifted to societies in the medieval and early modern periods. She is currently co-directing an international and interdisciplinary project called MANDU: Monsoon, Climate, and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Times.

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IISER, Pune

Ansal University

Dr. Pooja Rhine (India)

GITAM UNIVERSITY, HYDERABAD, INDIA

Ain Shams University

Shweta Choudhary

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Papers by Supriya Varma

Monumental Heritage of Mandu: Challenges for Archaeology in South Asia

Transformative Practices in Archaeology - Empowering Communities and Shaping Sustainable Futures, 2024

The abandoned medieval city at Mandu, in central India, is on the threshold of major changes prop... more The abandoned medieval city at Mandu, in central India, is on the threshold of major changes propelled by tourism-related developmental agendas of the state and private investors. Since the late 1990s, there has been a rapid transformation of what used to be a sleepy village with the ascription of an urban status through the amalgamation of the earlier Mandav village with neighbouring hamlets dispersed on the plateau. In this paper, we discuss in brief the history of Mandu, with a focus on the built monuments, and the city’s abandonment and re-occupation over time. Many of the monuments are under the protection of the central government and a few under the Madhya Pradesh government, but the vast majority remain unprotected and are in ruins. In this paper, we raise certain issues related to heritage in Mandu and the marginalisation of archaeology in heritage-related policies and strategies culminating in the inclusion of Mandu in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites. This side-lining of archaeology globally was set in motion by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) during the 1980s, where conservation was prioritised over archaeological research. We argue that a similar trajectory will follow at Mandu as well. We call for archaeologists to address this undervaluing of archaeological research more actively. Ideally, UNESCO’s Nubian template where attention was given to both conservation and archaeological research should be the benchmark for all World Heritage Sites.

Introduction: Archaeologies of the Medieval

Medieval History Journal, May 1, 2021

Archaeologists and Historians come to relate anew over the medieval, bringing their distinct insi... more Archaeologists and Historians come to relate anew over the medieval, bringing their distinct insights into these pasts, opening different questions. Archaeology has long been 'at home', in the Ancient, especially in South Asia; and obversely, Historiography frames material medieval pasts fulsomely. Both these attachments render uncanny the idea of an archaeology of the medieval. And yet, the extensive medieval 'remains' that punctuate South Asian landscapes and lives pose questions to our historical understandings from beyond the margins of tarikhs, questions whose sufficient consideration demands the expertise of both the historian and the archaeologist. It is then surprising that there are few fora where such engagements are regularly possible. Disciplinary formations and reward structures of both disciplines entail the drive to publish in different journals, and generally to attend exclusive conferences. In South Asia, the field of medieval archaeology has been transformed over the last three decades, arguably even more than the dynamic historiography has, but it does not yet have fora of its own, like the Journal of Medieval Archaeology that serves the British Isles.

Experiencing the Urban

Routledge eBooks, Aug 24, 2021

Unit-2 Approaches to the Study of Ancient Cities

IGNOU eBooks, 2018

Households at Work: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Variation in Ceramic Production in North India

Ethnoarchaeology, Jan 2, 2017

This ethnoarchaeological study, carried out in the Upper Ganga Plains of North India, contributes... more This ethnoarchaeological study, carried out in the Upper Ganga Plains of North India, contributes to our understanding of the variation that exists in the organization of household ceramic production. The paper describes techniques, tools and facilities; division of work/tasks; location of production; range of products; differences in the scale and intensity of production between rural and urban households; and interweaves the archaeological implications in relation to the locus of production, scale, intensity and specialization.

Unsettling a Region: Archaeological Landscapes and Seascapes of Saurashtra, Western India

The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2017

Is Archaeology an Immature Discipline?

Indian Historical Review, 2001

Almost three decades ago, David Clarke had bemoaned that archaeology was 'an undisciplined em... more Almost three decades ago, David Clarke had bemoaned that archaeology was 'an undisciplined empirical discipline. A discipline lacking a scheme of systematic and ordered study based upon declared and clearly defined models and rules of procedure'. 1 Even today the discipline lacks a rigorous approach be it in terminology, in the fundamental archaeological entities (attribute, artefact, artefact-type, assemblage and culture) or in spatial analysis. In this review essay, we will mainly be focusing on the third subject, that is, spatial analysis.

Children Playing and Learning: Crafting Ceramics in Ancient Indor Khera

Asian Perspectives, 2010

Several years ago when we were writing chapters for ancient Indian history school textbooks, a co... more Several years ago when we were writing chapters for ancient Indian history school textbooks, a colleague asked if there was any archaeological evidence on children that could be included in these chapters. We thought hard but were unable to come up with any archaeological work that actively engaged with children in ancient India. We wondered why there was no work and realized that we ourselves had actually thought little about the issue until then. In the summer of 2007, while we were excavating at the ancient site of Indor Khera, we started finding miniature vessels and began to speculate as to who could have made them. Several months later when we began a more detailed study of terracotta finds, the attributes of these miniature vessels suggested to us that these could have been made by children. In trying to substantiate this hypothesis we undertook the exercise to see how children as ''novice crafters'' (taken from Baxter 2008) had been studied elsewhere. It is only in the last decade that a considerable body of research has focused on children through material culture. Interest in children has to an extent emerged as an o¤shoot of studies on gender and archaeology, the latter itself having received attention only within the last two decades. Some of the ways that children have been made visible by archaeologists is through representation, bioarchaeological data, and the identification of some miniature objects as toys. Among the several themes that have been investigated are identifying stages of childhood, aspects of health and nutrition, child raising practices, socialization into adult roles, learning, children at work, and the meaning of childhood (

Archaeology and the Construction of Identities in Medieval North India

Studies in History, Jul 1, 2008

... Structural remains of Period I at Lal Kot consisted of random rubble walls with medium-sized ... more ... Structural remains of Period I at Lal Kot consisted of random rubble walls with medium-sized stones set in mud mortar. ... limited and hence definite plans of Rajput buildings could not be traced out.'48 In Period II too, rubble walls and floors of lime, mud, brick jelly, lime-plastered ...

Recent Studies in Indian Archaeology

Indian Historical Review, 2003

The aim of this volume, commissioned by the Indian Council of Historical Research to mark the gol... more The aim of this volume, commissioned by the Indian Council of Historical Research to mark the golden jubilee of India's Independence, was to "synthesize existing knowledge on major topics in Indian archaeology", as well as to "highlight the gaps in our current knowledge". Of the seventeen papers, twelve cover different chronological periods spanning from prehistory to the medieval. The remaining five papers are on rock art, biological anthropology, palaeomonsoon and scientific studies. Students looking for summaries of various archaeological cultures/periods and specific' themes like rock art or dating methods will find the volume particularly useful.

Material Culture and Childhood in Harappan South Asia

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jun 7, 2018

The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over... more The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over much of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. This chapter will specifically focus on two major cities, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, to discuss material culture and childhood in Harappan South Asia, including the wide range of arguably child-related objects found at these sites which provide a lens through which we can get a glimpse of quotidian activities within these two cities. Many of the artefacts that have been categorized as toys represent household chores that took place around children as well as objects (such as wheeled vehicles), animals, and birds that they routinely encountered.

Book Review: Sudeshna Guha, Artefacts of History: Archaeology, Historiography and Indian Pasts

Studies in History, Aug 1, 2017

Archaeological places: Negotiations between local communities, archaeologists and the state in India

Journal of Social Archaeology, Apr 26, 2019

Villages abandoned: The case for mobile pastoralism in post-Harappan Gujarat

Studies in History, Aug 1, 1991

In most parts of Gujarat today pastoralism is an important subsistence activity along with millet... more

Traditions in motion : religion and society in history

Oxford University Press eBooks, 2005

INTRODUCING TRADITIONS IN MOTION: SATISH SABERWAL AND SUPRIYA VARMA BEFORE HISTORY: DEFINING TRAD... more INTRODUCING TRADITIONS IN MOTION: SATISH SABERWAL AND SUPRIYA VARMA BEFORE HISTORY: DEFINING TRADITION: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: JAYA MENON AND SUPRIYA VARMA PRINCIPALLY TEXTS: INVOKING AUTHORITY: INVESTIGATING THE SASTRAS: KUMKUM ROY THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF TRADITION : THE RAMAYANA NARRATIVE IN TWO MOMENTS: UMA CHAKRAVARTI THE ENCOUNTER OF THE SANT AND THE DACOIT: ANINDITA MUKHOPADHYAY INVOKING SORROW: MARSIYA IN NORTH INDIA: MADHU TRIVEDI TEXTS/INSTITUTIONS/PRACTICES: DEFINING RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN AMERICA: THE CASE OF AMERICAN BUDDHISM: GREGORY D. ALLES PURANIC RELIGION: THE EVOLUTION OF THE TAMIL SAIVA TRADITION: R. CHAMPAKALAKSHMI SUFISM AND SIKHISM: UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF TRADITION AND CHANGE IN THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF SINDHI HINDUS: ANITA RAINA THAPAN UNDERSTANDING TRADITIONS: STATE, CULTS AND LEGITIMACY IN THE EARLY MEDIEVAL MAHARASHTRA: AJAY DANDEKAR EXCAVATING IDENTITY THROUGH TRADITION: WHO WAS SHIVAJI?: ANANYA VAJPEYI INTEGRAT ION AND SEPARATION OF TRADITIONS: MUSLIMS AND HINDUS IN COLONIAL INDIA: SATISH SABERWAL SPEAKING OF FAITH: A CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION: ERROL D LIMA FAITH, REASON AND RELIGIOUS TRADITION: CELEBRATING SYNTHESIS GANDHI S SYNTHESIS: RUDOLF C. HEREDIA

Locating the medieval in South Asian archaeology

Routledge eBooks, Oct 17, 2022

Unit-10 Archaeology of the Early Historic Urban Centres in North India : Emergence and Characteristics

IGNOU eBooks, 2018

Ephemeral Traces: Archaeology of a Medieval Rural Settlement

Medieval History Journal, May 1, 2021

For a considerable span of human history, following the adoption of agricultural economies but pr... more For a considerable span of human history, following the adoption of agricultural economies but prior to the emergence of settlements that we label as ‘urban’, small permanent communities or ‘villages’ were the main types of settlements, as also were places intermittently occupied by mobile, nomadic groups. The context of these, however, differed from those small or rural settlements that existed within an integrated network of centres in urban and state societies. A third scenario is the case of small-scale rural settlements that may exist at the margins of complex societies and, hence, outside state/political control but could still be socially and economically networked with other centres. Thus, the concept of ‘rural’ needs to be situated and interrogated within specific political, social and economic contexts.While archaeological research has addressed village settlements in pre-urban periods, once urbanism and the state societies emerged, urban settlements became the focus of attention. Even though surveys have shown the distribution of settlements of varying sizes, we do not seem to know much about early historic and medieval villages, in terms of settlement layouts, domestic spaces, crafts, if any, or even subsistence practices. It is this lacuna that we are trying to address through our work at a small, rural settlement in the Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Some of the questions that we raise in this article deal with terms like ‘urban’, or ‘rural’, whether these should be viewed as binaries, or whether it may be more fruitful, as others have suggested, to see settlements in a continuum.

Material Culture and Childho od in Harappan Sou th Asia

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Childhood, 2018

The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over... more The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over much of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Archaeologists have suggested different chronological phases, Early (2800-2600 bce), Mature (2600-1900 bce), and Late (1900-1700 bce) for developments in the Greater Indus region, leading up to the emergence of urban centres in the Mature phase as well as the end of cities in the Late phase (Ratnagar 2006; Wright 2010). In this chapter, I will specifically focus on two major cities, Mohenjodaro and Harappa for my discussion on material culture and childhood in Harappan South Asia. The limited number of archaeological studies on childhood in South Asia is remarkable, be it the Harappan or even later peri

Locating the medieval in South Asian archaeology

Routledge India eBooks, Oct 17, 2022

Monumental Heritage of Mandu: Challenges for Archaeology in South Asia

Transformative Practices in Archaeology - Empowering Communities and Shaping Sustainable Futures, 2024

The abandoned medieval city at Mandu, in central India, is on the threshold of major changes prop... more The abandoned medieval city at Mandu, in central India, is on the threshold of major changes propelled by tourism-related developmental agendas of the state and private investors. Since the late 1990s, there has been a rapid transformation of what used to be a sleepy village with the ascription of an urban status through the amalgamation of the earlier Mandav village with neighbouring hamlets dispersed on the plateau. In this paper, we discuss in brief the history of Mandu, with a focus on the built monuments, and the city’s abandonment and re-occupation over time. Many of the monuments are under the protection of the central government and a few under the Madhya Pradesh government, but the vast majority remain unprotected and are in ruins. In this paper, we raise certain issues related to heritage in Mandu and the marginalisation of archaeology in heritage-related policies and strategies culminating in the inclusion of Mandu in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites. This side-lining of archaeology globally was set in motion by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) during the 1980s, where conservation was prioritised over archaeological research. We argue that a similar trajectory will follow at Mandu as well. We call for archaeologists to address this undervaluing of archaeological research more actively. Ideally, UNESCO’s Nubian template where attention was given to both conservation and archaeological research should be the benchmark for all World Heritage Sites.

Introduction: Archaeologies of the Medieval

Medieval History Journal, May 1, 2021

Archaeologists and Historians come to relate anew over the medieval, bringing their distinct insi... more Archaeologists and Historians come to relate anew over the medieval, bringing their distinct insights into these pasts, opening different questions. Archaeology has long been 'at home', in the Ancient, especially in South Asia; and obversely, Historiography frames material medieval pasts fulsomely. Both these attachments render uncanny the idea of an archaeology of the medieval. And yet, the extensive medieval 'remains' that punctuate South Asian landscapes and lives pose questions to our historical understandings from beyond the margins of tarikhs, questions whose sufficient consideration demands the expertise of both the historian and the archaeologist. It is then surprising that there are few fora where such engagements are regularly possible. Disciplinary formations and reward structures of both disciplines entail the drive to publish in different journals, and generally to attend exclusive conferences. In South Asia, the field of medieval archaeology has been transformed over the last three decades, arguably even more than the dynamic historiography has, but it does not yet have fora of its own, like the Journal of Medieval Archaeology that serves the British Isles.

Experiencing the Urban

Routledge eBooks, Aug 24, 2021

Unit-2 Approaches to the Study of Ancient Cities

IGNOU eBooks, 2018

Households at Work: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Variation in Ceramic Production in North India

Ethnoarchaeology, Jan 2, 2017

This ethnoarchaeological study, carried out in the Upper Ganga Plains of North India, contributes... more This ethnoarchaeological study, carried out in the Upper Ganga Plains of North India, contributes to our understanding of the variation that exists in the organization of household ceramic production. The paper describes techniques, tools and facilities; division of work/tasks; location of production; range of products; differences in the scale and intensity of production between rural and urban households; and interweaves the archaeological implications in relation to the locus of production, scale, intensity and specialization.

Unsettling a Region: Archaeological Landscapes and Seascapes of Saurashtra, Western India

The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2017

Is Archaeology an Immature Discipline?

Indian Historical Review, 2001

Almost three decades ago, David Clarke had bemoaned that archaeology was 'an undisciplined em... more Almost three decades ago, David Clarke had bemoaned that archaeology was 'an undisciplined empirical discipline. A discipline lacking a scheme of systematic and ordered study based upon declared and clearly defined models and rules of procedure'. 1 Even today the discipline lacks a rigorous approach be it in terminology, in the fundamental archaeological entities (attribute, artefact, artefact-type, assemblage and culture) or in spatial analysis. In this review essay, we will mainly be focusing on the third subject, that is, spatial analysis.

Children Playing and Learning: Crafting Ceramics in Ancient Indor Khera

Asian Perspectives, 2010

Several years ago when we were writing chapters for ancient Indian history school textbooks, a co... more Several years ago when we were writing chapters for ancient Indian history school textbooks, a colleague asked if there was any archaeological evidence on children that could be included in these chapters. We thought hard but were unable to come up with any archaeological work that actively engaged with children in ancient India. We wondered why there was no work and realized that we ourselves had actually thought little about the issue until then. In the summer of 2007, while we were excavating at the ancient site of Indor Khera, we started finding miniature vessels and began to speculate as to who could have made them. Several months later when we began a more detailed study of terracotta finds, the attributes of these miniature vessels suggested to us that these could have been made by children. In trying to substantiate this hypothesis we undertook the exercise to see how children as ''novice crafters'' (taken from Baxter 2008) had been studied elsewhere. It is only in the last decade that a considerable body of research has focused on children through material culture. Interest in children has to an extent emerged as an o¤shoot of studies on gender and archaeology, the latter itself having received attention only within the last two decades. Some of the ways that children have been made visible by archaeologists is through representation, bioarchaeological data, and the identification of some miniature objects as toys. Among the several themes that have been investigated are identifying stages of childhood, aspects of health and nutrition, child raising practices, socialization into adult roles, learning, children at work, and the meaning of childhood (

Archaeology and the Construction of Identities in Medieval North India

Studies in History, Jul 1, 2008

... Structural remains of Period I at Lal Kot consisted of random rubble walls with medium-sized ... more ... Structural remains of Period I at Lal Kot consisted of random rubble walls with medium-sized stones set in mud mortar. ... limited and hence definite plans of Rajput buildings could not be traced out.'48 In Period II too, rubble walls and floors of lime, mud, brick jelly, lime-plastered ...

Recent Studies in Indian Archaeology

Indian Historical Review, 2003

The aim of this volume, commissioned by the Indian Council of Historical Research to mark the gol... more The aim of this volume, commissioned by the Indian Council of Historical Research to mark the golden jubilee of India's Independence, was to "synthesize existing knowledge on major topics in Indian archaeology", as well as to "highlight the gaps in our current knowledge". Of the seventeen papers, twelve cover different chronological periods spanning from prehistory to the medieval. The remaining five papers are on rock art, biological anthropology, palaeomonsoon and scientific studies. Students looking for summaries of various archaeological cultures/periods and specific' themes like rock art or dating methods will find the volume particularly useful.

Material Culture and Childhood in Harappan South Asia

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jun 7, 2018

The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over... more The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over much of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. This chapter will specifically focus on two major cities, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, to discuss material culture and childhood in Harappan South Asia, including the wide range of arguably child-related objects found at these sites which provide a lens through which we can get a glimpse of quotidian activities within these two cities. Many of the artefacts that have been categorized as toys represent household chores that took place around children as well as objects (such as wheeled vehicles), animals, and birds that they routinely encountered.

Book Review: Sudeshna Guha, Artefacts of History: Archaeology, Historiography and Indian Pasts

Studies in History, Aug 1, 2017

Archaeological places: Negotiations between local communities, archaeologists and the state in India

Journal of Social Archaeology, Apr 26, 2019

Villages abandoned: The case for mobile pastoralism in post-Harappan Gujarat

Studies in History, Aug 1, 1991

In most parts of Gujarat today pastoralism is an important subsistence activity along with millet... more

Traditions in motion : religion and society in history

Oxford University Press eBooks, 2005

INTRODUCING TRADITIONS IN MOTION: SATISH SABERWAL AND SUPRIYA VARMA BEFORE HISTORY: DEFINING TRAD... more INTRODUCING TRADITIONS IN MOTION: SATISH SABERWAL AND SUPRIYA VARMA BEFORE HISTORY: DEFINING TRADITION: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: JAYA MENON AND SUPRIYA VARMA PRINCIPALLY TEXTS: INVOKING AUTHORITY: INVESTIGATING THE SASTRAS: KUMKUM ROY THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF TRADITION : THE RAMAYANA NARRATIVE IN TWO MOMENTS: UMA CHAKRAVARTI THE ENCOUNTER OF THE SANT AND THE DACOIT: ANINDITA MUKHOPADHYAY INVOKING SORROW: MARSIYA IN NORTH INDIA: MADHU TRIVEDI TEXTS/INSTITUTIONS/PRACTICES: DEFINING RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN AMERICA: THE CASE OF AMERICAN BUDDHISM: GREGORY D. ALLES PURANIC RELIGION: THE EVOLUTION OF THE TAMIL SAIVA TRADITION: R. CHAMPAKALAKSHMI SUFISM AND SIKHISM: UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF TRADITION AND CHANGE IN THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF SINDHI HINDUS: ANITA RAINA THAPAN UNDERSTANDING TRADITIONS: STATE, CULTS AND LEGITIMACY IN THE EARLY MEDIEVAL MAHARASHTRA: AJAY DANDEKAR EXCAVATING IDENTITY THROUGH TRADITION: WHO WAS SHIVAJI?: ANANYA VAJPEYI INTEGRAT ION AND SEPARATION OF TRADITIONS: MUSLIMS AND HINDUS IN COLONIAL INDIA: SATISH SABERWAL SPEAKING OF FAITH: A CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION: ERROL D LIMA FAITH, REASON AND RELIGIOUS TRADITION: CELEBRATING SYNTHESIS GANDHI S SYNTHESIS: RUDOLF C. HEREDIA

Locating the medieval in South Asian archaeology

Routledge eBooks, Oct 17, 2022

Unit-10 Archaeology of the Early Historic Urban Centres in North India : Emergence and Characteristics

IGNOU eBooks, 2018

Ephemeral Traces: Archaeology of a Medieval Rural Settlement

Medieval History Journal, May 1, 2021

For a considerable span of human history, following the adoption of agricultural economies but pr... more For a considerable span of human history, following the adoption of agricultural economies but prior to the emergence of settlements that we label as ‘urban’, small permanent communities or ‘villages’ were the main types of settlements, as also were places intermittently occupied by mobile, nomadic groups. The context of these, however, differed from those small or rural settlements that existed within an integrated network of centres in urban and state societies. A third scenario is the case of small-scale rural settlements that may exist at the margins of complex societies and, hence, outside state/political control but could still be socially and economically networked with other centres. Thus, the concept of ‘rural’ needs to be situated and interrogated within specific political, social and economic contexts.While archaeological research has addressed village settlements in pre-urban periods, once urbanism and the state societies emerged, urban settlements became the focus of attention. Even though surveys have shown the distribution of settlements of varying sizes, we do not seem to know much about early historic and medieval villages, in terms of settlement layouts, domestic spaces, crafts, if any, or even subsistence practices. It is this lacuna that we are trying to address through our work at a small, rural settlement in the Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Some of the questions that we raise in this article deal with terms like ‘urban’, or ‘rural’, whether these should be viewed as binaries, or whether it may be more fruitful, as others have suggested, to see settlements in a continuum.

Material Culture and Childho od in Harappan Sou th Asia

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Childhood, 2018

The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over... more The Harappan Civilization came up in the mid-third millennium bce over an area that extended over much of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Archaeologists have suggested different chronological phases, Early (2800-2600 bce), Mature (2600-1900 bce), and Late (1900-1700 bce) for developments in the Greater Indus region, leading up to the emergence of urban centres in the Mature phase as well as the end of cities in the Late phase (Ratnagar 2006; Wright 2010). In this chapter, I will specifically focus on two major cities, Mohenjodaro and Harappa for my discussion on material culture and childhood in Harappan South Asia. The limited number of archaeological studies on childhood in South Asia is remarkable, be it the Harappan or even later peri

Locating the medieval in South Asian archaeology

Routledge India eBooks, Oct 17, 2022

Recent Studies in Indian Archaeology

Varma Guha Artefacts Sage

Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia: Contesting Narratives from the Eastern Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin (South Asian Edition)

by Swadhin Sen and Supriya Varma

The Edited Volume is dedicated to the fond Memory of Prof. Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya

The Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia

The Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia, 2023

This book looks at the ways in which archaeological methods have been used in debates concerning ... more This book looks at the ways in which archaeological methods have been used in debates concerning the early medieval and medieval periods in South Asia. Despite the incorporation and use of archaeological data to corroborate historical narratives, the theories and methods of archaeology are largely ignored in and excluded from the dominating, institutionalized, and hegemonic disciplinary discourses. The volume offers contesting insights, polemical narratives, and new data from archaeological contexts to initiate a debate on many foundational premises of archaeological and historical narratives. It focuses on the much-neglected region of the Eastern Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin as a spatial frame to do this and studies themes such as spatial and temporal scales of concepts and methods, multi-scaler factors and processes of continuity and changes, the settlement archaeology of the alluvial landscape, changing patterns of agrarian transformation, and material cultures, including coins, inscriptions, pottery, and sculptures, in their contexts in sub-regional, regional, and supra-regional intersections. Dedicated to historian Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya, this volume presents a crucial and unprecedented intervention in the study of the early medieval and the medieval periods. It will be useful for scholars and researchers of archaeology, ancient history, medieval history, water history, earth sciences, palaeoecology, historical ecology, epigraphy, art history, material culture studies, Indian history, and South Asian studies in general. Swadhin Sen has been teaching in the Department of Archaeology of Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, as a Professor. He has directed several excavations and undertaken full-coverage surveys in the northern part of Bangladesh. He has conducted ethnoarchaeological and ethnoecological studies in the northwestern and southwestern parts of Bangladesh. Currently he is directing research projects on the palaeoecology of Bengal and the archaeology of dynamic terrain of Bengal. His fields of interest also include politics of the pasts, critical studies of heritage, archaeologies of religions, popular culture of landscape and waterscapes, and cultural politics of ecology. He loves conversation with people and is passionately entangled with water and rivers.

traditions in motion.pdf

https://scroll.in/article/857249/interview-can-the-mahabharata-actually-be-treated-as-literal-history

Call for papers! craft and sustainability in South Asia

by Adam S Green, Jaya Menon, and Supriya Varma

Small hand-made goods are a signature of India’s present material cultures. From high-value ornam... more Small hand-made goods are a signature of India’s present material cultures. From high-value ornaments to art pieces to everyday things, an enormous range of Indian goods are made in small numbers by relatively small groups of people. In a world economy marked by flux – shifting demands marked by international trade and transnational communities, rapidly transforming work regimes, and urban migrations– it is striking that relatively low levels of mechanization and high levels of individual skill and attention remain so central in India’s material world. In light of increasing calls for small-scale, local and sustainable production, this pattern warrants further analysis. Is the prevalence of hand-made goods the result of a surfeit of hands, or is large-scale production of hand-made goods interwoven with social collectivities that have an apparent propensity to thrive in the South Asian context?

Craft and Sustainability in South Asia is an academic workshop that will be held in Delhi, India on 5-6 March, 2020. If you are interested in joining the workshop, please submit a paper title and 500-word abstract to [email protected] by 31 October.

More details at craftandsustainability.org.

Trouble of thinking about the archaeology of the early medieval and the medieval in Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin

by Swadhin Sen and Supriya Varma

Co-authored chapter, 2020

In the pre-colonial historical discourses of South Asia, some periods and issues have gained more... more In the pre-colonial historical discourses of South Asia, some periods and issues have gained more traction than the others. Temporal frames, such as, the early medieval and the medieval, for example, are central to the debates and discussions on various registers. This chapter focuses on conceptual, discursive and institutional aspects of vibrant debates on various issues of these periods. Perception and practice of archaeology have, concurrently, been attended to as the main frame of reference for unsettling the ways archaeology is practiced as well as archaeological data are treated in historical discourses. It is claimed that there is an essentialised and reified perception and usage of archaeological data in the history writing which is dominated by textual, epigraphic and art historical sources. The traditions of archaeological practice pertaining to these historical periods, it is asserted, are characterized by de-contextualized understanding of objects, typological dating and classification of material culture. An inclination to a pan-Indian homogenization, and object/monument -centric surveying and excavation is normalised. By arguing for a rethinking of the normalized and dominating traditions, the chapter has tried to tease out the foundational and historically formed fractures as well as mutual sharing by both archaeology and history. At the same time, the framework and rationales of this volume are framed in the space of Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin lying at the periphery of central and north India – centric standards.

Evolution of Animal-Based Food Economy from Painted Grey Ware to Northern Black Polished Ware Cultures in Indor Khera, Bulandshahr District, Uttar Pradesh: A Comparative Analysis

by Arefa Chimthanawala and Supriya Varma

8th International Congress of Society of South Asian Archaeology, 2024

This study investigates animal-based subsistence during the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) and Northern ... more This study investigates animal-based subsistence during the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) and Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) cultures using faunal material from Indor Khera, Uttar Pradesh. Employing a convergent design, the research integrates quantitative and qualitative analyses. Quantitative methods include species diversity, taxonomic and anatomic identification (NISP), taphonomic observations, the minimum number of individuals (MNI), estimates of meat consumption, and age determinations. The qualitative analysis examines stratigraphic context, taphonomic modifications, and bone density versus food utility.

Results indicate that Indor Khera, located on the right bank of the River Chhoiya, was a prosperous site during the Early Historic period, supported by abundant natural resources. The presence of clayey soil at depths below three meters suggests a perennial water source, essential for survival. Macrobotanical remains show a diet supplemented by local flora, while the faunal assemblage, dominated by herbivores, reflects diverse subsistence practices, including hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, and agriculture. Proximity to forests and grasslands facilitated hunting of wild animals like Sambar (Cervus unicolor) for meat and antlers. Cut and chop marks on bones indicate the use of sharp iron tools. The diet also included small birds and freshwater fish, highlighting the importance of fishing.

Despite being based on material from a single trench, the study provides valuable insights into the faunal economy and subsistence strategies of Indor Khera's inhabitants, illustrating their adaptation and evolution from PGW to NBPW cultures.