Written by a group of distinguished scholars and illustrated with eighty-four colour photographs this collection of essays pertains to different aspects of ethno-archaeology with definite focus on crucial issues, such as the relevance of ethnohistoric accounts and the role of analogy as an explanatory tool in understanding the material culture and world view of past societies. It also discusses various problems that continue to plague this particular research strategy. The problem of presenting ethnographic data to archaeological record as a direct historical analogy results in an uncritical imposition of the present onto the past. This book seeks to examine the methodological problem and reviews the on-going debates on the definition and scope of the discipline with special reference to India. It is a first step towards reassessing, and reviewing the discipline with a much more critical perspective. This volume will be of use to the readers across the discipline of history, philosophy, anthropology, archaeology and heritage management.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gautam Sengupta
Gautam Sengupta is currently the Director of Archaeology and Museums, Government of West Bengal and the Secretary. Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Kolkata. He completed his Phd from the University of Calcutta and taught at Visva Bhaarati, Santiniketan, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong between 1979-90. He was a Charles Wallace Visiting Fellow of the Ancient India and Iran Trust at Cambridge in 1995, a Visiting Scholar, Maisson Science de L’homme Paris, as well as President, Archaeology Section of the Indian History Congress, Calcutta Session (1995). His main area of research relates to historical archaeology and art history of Eastern and North-eastern India.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Suchira Roychoudhury
Suchira Roychoudhury is a Fellow at the Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Eastern India. She is also a Gust Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology, University of Calcutta. Her interests include settlement archaeology, and archaeological theory.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sujit Som
Dr. Sujit Som retired as Director-in-Charge of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal. He has actively promoted anthropological and folkloristic research in India and contributed significantly to the development of museums in the country. He has co-edited several books in the fields of museology, anthropology and folklore. He is also associated with the Bhimbetka World Rock Art Heritage and the Majuli World Heritage Site.
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