Anthropology in Prehistoric Archaeology
The Indian Scene
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5220044 |
|---|---|
| Authors | D K Bhattacharya (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 23-31 |
| Publication date | 2000-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Human Ecology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0970-9274 • E-ISSN: 2456-6608 |
| Publisher | Kamla Raj Enterprises (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09709274.2000.11907528 |
| OpenAlex | W2770106332 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 3 |
Acculturative and historical factors apart, many cultural and civilizational traits world over have originated, evolved and taken definite shapes for adaptional of humans on specific environmental components and nichaes. In contemporary social –cultural situations inhabitants of isolated, difficult and imposing natural conditions where human adaptation, at the level of Culture, with environment sounds remarkable, Ladakh, a district of jammu and Kashmir state of India, represents a valid instance of this kind. The ladakhi society and its network of cultural patterns speaks of high degree of adaptation to specific environmental paradigm. Both culture and environment are taken in their broad meanings. As interpretive dimension, the theoretical baggage in respect of cultural ecology is critically reviewed in the light of substantivism originating from microsetting of Ladakhis. Prehistoric Archaeology in India has made tremendous success in terms of discovering a large number of very important sites. The excavations of these sites and the analysis of the antiquities retrieved are also meticulously executed, Yet we have still not have been able to identify the exact cultural status of any region of a time or the manner of dispersal of one chosen economy through time and space.The paper argues that this colossal neglect is primarily because archaeology in India. still follows the Geo-zoological methodology evolved during 1840-1870.The Universal approach of a threefold division of the past cultures adopted in Britain by Lubbock, Evans and Boyd and modified by Gabriel de Mortality in France arrived India. This Lubbocki an Approach was acceptable to the then existing environment of Baconian Science in Great Britian but in course of time culturologists could bring out inner contradiction arising in this approach. However , in India no deviation from this Lubbockian straight-jacket could be tolerated. Unforttunately the nature of the archaeological evidences from India also does not help this kind of an over simplistic approach to arrange the prehistoric cultures. In the early thirties right through sixties and seventies we have been faithfully replicating the terms paleolithie, Mesolithic, Neolithic and chalcolithic to describe our finds. The present work argues that this approach will be able to help us in understanding adaptation, population disposal, culture change or even causes of change operative during our Prehistoric past. Consequently Anthropologists should start getting involved in atleast the interpretation of these archaeologically described ‘cultures’. In this regard the status of Hunter-Gatherers studies also need to be specially geared so understand resource retrieval potentiality, energy efficiency and above all the pattern of social investments used by Hunter-Gatherers to take care of stress periods. There are numerous awkward problems in prehistory of India to which the archaeologists have stopped paying any attention. Anthropologists need to sharpen their tools of analysis and take up these issues for future studies
Adaptation (eye · Archaeology · Cultural ecology · Ethnology · Excavation · Geography · Neglect · Prehistory · Sociology · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2003 - 2020 (18) |
| Highly cited | No |