India at the Dawn of History: Essays in Memory of Sh. V. D. Krishnaswami

Asok Datta, M.A. in Archaeology and Ancient Indian History and Culture, was awarded Ph.D. degree by the University of Calcutta for his dissertation work on "Pebble-core element in India - A study on geo-cultural variation" in 1981. He was also awarded a Fellowship by the German Government in 1982 for the study of modern methods and techniques in Archaeology. He has already completed a research projection "Upper Palaeolithic culture in Midnapur District" being financed by ICHR. Dr. Datta is the author of Palaeohistory of man and his culture and Neolithic culture in West Bengal. He is also the editor of Studies in Archaeology and man and his culture. In addition, more than twenty five research papers have already been published in different research journals. At preset he is engaged in preparing a source book of Archaeology of eastern India. Dr. Datta teaches archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, Calcutta University.

Chedarambattu Margabandhu (b-1936) an alumni of the Madras Christian College, Tambaram took his M.A. degree in History in 1959 from the Madras University. He was awarded the Northwick and N.N. Airavatham Prizes of the Madras University and the Kellett Prize of the Madras Christian College for the best performance in B.A. (Hons.) and obtaining first rank in the University. He was awarded the Post-Graduate Diploma of the School of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India in 1962. The Nagpur University awarded Ph.D. degree in 1973 for his thesis “Material Culture of central and Western India and the Deccan from c. 300 B.C. – 300 A.D.” In 1962, he joined the Archaeological Survey of India and ever since for the past twenty-two years, he has participated in several excavations such as at Kalibangan, Paiyampalli, Pauni, Surkotda, Bakraur (Sujata-Kuti), Mathura, Karvan, Anhilvad Patan, Fatehabad, etc., besides several field explorations. His special field of study consists of interpretation of archaeological artifacts and other excavated data belonging to the Early Historic Period with a bearing on the material culture of the times. He has contributed more than forty papers of intrinsic value to the various Journals and Seminars on archaeology, art, architecture and aspects of material culture and technology. Presently he is the Superintending Archaeologist in the Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Circle, with headquarters at New Delhi.