S. Settar & Radi Korisettar (ed.). Indian archaeology in retrospect (4 volumes).
Coningham, Robin
lxxiv+2006 pages, figures, tables. 2002. New Delhi: Manohar;
81-7304-318-3 (81-7304-319-1 [Vol. I], 81-7304-320-5 [Vol. II],
81-7304-321-3 [Vol. III], 81-7304-322-1 [Vol. IV]) hardback Rs 1250
(each vol.).
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence, the
Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research co-ordinated a
team of 62 scholars to review and present the successes of archaeology
in India since the end of the British rule. The resultant work, Indian
archaeology in retrospect, a collection of 59 chapters, forms one of the
most valuable and current resources available to scholars and students
of south Asian archaeology. The first two volumes, Prehistory and
Protohistory, are arranged in a broadly chronological format, whilst
volume III, Archaeology and interactive disciplines, identifies ways in
which natural and biological sciences have assisted the development of
Indian archaeology. Archaeology and historiography, the final volume,
offers a number of reviews of Indian theoretical and methodological
approaches over the last 50 years. Published under the patronage of the
Indian Council of Historical Research, this is by no means a myopic collection, as indicated by contributions from Indian, American,
British, German, Italian and Australian scholars. Having said that,
there is considerable pleasure in noting the presence of internationally
recognized Indian authorities, such as Paddayya writing on Indian
theory, V.N. Misra on the Mesolithic, Purushottam Singh on the
Neolithic, K. Krishnan on ceramic analysis, Nayanjot Lahiri on the work
of the Archaeological Survey of India, M.K. Dhavalikar on early farming
communities of central India, R. Korisettar & R. Ramesh on the
palaeo-Monsoon and D.P. Agrawal on dating.
The first volume, Prehistory, contains 15 chapters covering the
archaeology of India from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Iron Age. With
the exception of the Harappan civilization, which is discussed in volume
2, the archaeological sequence is systematically presented in three
chapters dedicated to the Palaeolithic, one to the Mesolithic, three to
the Neolithic, three to the Chalcolithic and two to the Iron Age. In
addition to the presence of four useful appendices, such as A list of
Upper Palaeolithic sites in India, the volume concludes with three
broader chapters on rock art, ceramic analysis and the study of beads.
Whilst the presence of three different contributions on a single subject
(such as the Neolithic) might have resulted in repetition, the editors
have successfully co-ordinated the chapters so as to complement one
another through the use of different focus. Purushottam Singh's
contribution, for example, offers a reflective summary of the Neolithic
cultures of the northern and eastern parts of south Asia, whilst
Korisettar et al. concentrate on the Deccan and Dhavalikar on Central
India. The majority of chapters are well organized and accessible, and
summarize the history of research since Independence, present the
current state of knowledge and conclude with a reflective discussion as
to the remaining issues. Most contributors also demonstrate clear
awareness of archaeological sites located outside India's current
borders; however, the paucity of references to Sri Lanka is notable.
Volume II, Protohistory, is a collection of 14 chapters reviewing
aspects of the archaeology of the Harappan civilization. Opening with a
summary by Greg Possehl of the discoveries since Independence, the
volume has two distinct foci of study--10 chapters dedicated to general
themes with a further four chapters dedicated to the archaeology of
western India. The former provide an invaluable review of the current
understanding of the Harappan civilization's site locations, script
and language, social organization, religion, craft and technological
abilities, biological anthropology and subsistence strategies. The
latter offer an alternative focus on the Harappan civilization within
western India--one of the few parts of the civilization within
India's political boundaries--demonstrating its links as well as
its distinct differences. The volume contains a number of original
syntheses and some of the demons unleashed during British rule, such as
the preoccupation with the racial identity of the civilization's
inhabitants, are finally banished by Ken Kennedy! More recent models for
the development of the Harappan civilization are also refuted, as
illustrated by Ajithprasad's reconsideration of the extent of
complexity in Gujarat prior to its assimilation. On a more critical
note, the chapter on social organization does not acknowledge the
alternative models of Rissman (1988) and Miller (1985) and there is very
puzzling disparity between the coverage of Harappan archaeobotany (73
pages) and its archaeozoology (18).
The third volume, Archaeology and interactive disciplines,
identifies ways in which natural and biological sciences have assisted
the development of Indian archaeology since Independence. Its 15
chapters review the contributions of pedology, quaternary palynology,
biological anthropology, ethnography, ethnoarchaeology, palaeontology,
archaeobotany and zoology, archaeometallurgy and chemistry. Highlights
of this volume include a very useful review of palaeomonsoonal evidence
by Korrisettar & Ramesh, a retrospect and prospect on the search for
hominids in south Asia by Kennedy as well as a summary of the last 50
years of ethnoarchaeological studies in India. There is some disparity
between linked chapters, as illustrated by a thematic approach for
archaeobotany in comparison to a culture period approach for
archaeozoology. The 15 chapters of the fourth and final volume are
collectively titled Archaeology and historiography: history, theory and
method, although the contributions on earth sciences and site formation
processes might have sat more comfortably in the volume on Archaeology
and interactive disciplines. The remaining 13 chapters contain reviews
on a series of diverse subjects, ranging from archaeological theory and
numismatics to maritime archaeological research and the application of
aerial photography. Highlights include Paddaya's review of the
history of archaeological theory in India and H.P. Ray's
archaeology of Early Historic maritime India, whilst B.B. Lal's
paper on the historicity of the Mahabharata and Ramayana only adds to
the infamous discourse surrounding the 1992 destruction of
Ayodhya's Babari Masjid.
In conclusion, the 59 chapters represent an invaluable resource and
provide companions for the two key text books for the archaeology of
this region--Allchin & Allchin (1982) and Allchin (1995). Its
bibliographic references clearly supersede both texts, although its
geographical coverage of South Asia is naturally less comprehensive. In
1949, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the last British Director-General of the
Archaeological Survey of India, offered a retrospect and prospect for
archaeology in India after Independence--his legacy is fulfilled and
these four volumes demonstrate that Indian archaeology has leapt into
its next avatar.
References
ALLCHIN, B. & R. ALLCHIN. 1982. The rise of civilisation in
India and Pakistan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ALLCHIN, F.R. 1995. The archaeology of Early Historic South Asia.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
MILLER, D. 1985. Ideology and the Harappan Civilization, Journal of
Anthropological Archaeology 4: 34-71.
RISSMAN, P. 1988. Public displays and private values: a guide to
buried wealth in Harappan archaeology, World Archaeology 20: 209-28.
ROBIN CONINGHAM
Department of Archaeological Science
University of Bradford
R.A.E.Coningham@Bradford.ac.uk
