ANTH 361. Archaeology of South Asia.

This course explores the archaeology of South Asia from prehistoric through early historic times focusing on the region covered by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. We will investigate the shifting materiality of social landscapes, political, ritual and ecological practices. The course interrogates a number of anthropological themes including human evolution, social organization, food production, craft production, trade and exchange, the transition(s) to urbanism, the development of socio-political inequalities and institutions, regional and supra-regional polities and religious traditions. We will address some of the historiographical and epistemological problems with using archaeological data to produce narratives of South Asia’s past.