INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE EDUCATION: Historiographical and Sociological Dimensions

• Type: English
• Pages: xxiv + 498
• Format: Hard Bound
• ISBN: 9788173056031
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Publisher: Aryan Books International
• Size: 17 cm x 25 cm
• Product Year: 2018

The twenty essays comprising this volume, some hitherto unpublished, represent additions to the small steps taken by me to strengthen the debate on general theoretical and methodological issues in Indian archaeology. The results of these efforts are already published as three books entitled Multiple Approaches to the Study of India's Early Past (2014), Revitalizing Indian Archaeology: Essays in Theoretical Archaeology (2016) and Methodological Issues in Indian Archaeology (2017). Three or four themes run through the present collection of essays. The first six essays seek to correct the mistaken equation of historiography with history of archaeology and argue that we stand to gain fresh insights into the discipline by undertaking a contextual examination of the contributions of earlier workers comprising both cartographers and antiquarian workers. Then there are three essays that emphasize the need for problem-oriented field investigations in prehistory, protohistory and early historical archaeology. The serious threats posed to the preservation of archaeological sites, especially the medium and small-size ones, due to the various ongoing land development schemes in different parts of the country, ranging from housing expansion to major river irrigation projects, constitute another major theme dealt within this volume. The essays in Part II shift the focus from epistemology to axiology and examine the larger societal dimensions of the study of the past. It is argued that there is a clear need to initiate regular sociological investigations of people's perceptions of the past and their use in day-to-day life in the country. The identity crisis that is being experienced now in the country, as reflected in the increasing number of conflicting statements about heritage emanating from both academic and public domains, render these investigations doubly relevant. In particular, attention is drawn to the necessity of instituting a comprehensive scheme of value-based heritage education at both pedagogic and public levels.