Recent papers on Indian Archaeology

For information:

On Dec. 2-5, three societies (Indian Archaeolgical Society, Indian
Society
for Prehistory & Quaternary Studies & Indian History & Culture
Society)
conducted their joint annual meeting at the Jiwaji University,
Gwalior. Some
important new findings were highlighted. Among the papers presented:

1) Prof. B.B. Lal: a paper and presentation on why BMAC cannot be
the origin
of "Aryans" (as a rebuttal to R.S. Sharma, Asko Parpola & others).
This was
partly based on his recent paper "Can the Vedic people be identified
archaeologically? -- An approch", in _Indologica Taurinesia_, vol.
XXXI,
2005, Torino (Italy)
2) Dr. J.P. Joshi: a lecture on the state of archaeological research
and the
Govt.'s "apathy" in the field.
3) Dr. V.D. Misra, "Stone Age Cultures, their Chronology and
Beginning of
Agriculture in the North-Central India" (to appear in _Man &
Environment_,
January-June 2007), with a lot of new data, including new dates.
4) A fine update & slide-show by Dr. Alok Tripathi of ASI on
excavations at
Mahabalipuram (he started off by saying that all press reports of
such
excavations were largely false).
5) A fascinating presentation by Dr. A.K. Gupta on the latest ISRO
findings
on the Sarasvati river.
6) Excavation report of Kopia, Dist. Sant Kabir Nagar (U.P.), by Dr.
Alok
Kanungo.
7) Dr. D. V. Sharma: a lecture and stunning slide-show on Sanauli
(Baghpat
Dist., U.P.): the site is a Harappan cemetery spread over at least
nine
acres, discovered accidentally by peasants in 2004. The area is
perfectly
flat, and but for the peasants' discovery, archaeologists would
never have
guessed the site's existence (which, I believe, might well apply to
other
yet-to-be-discovered burial sites). Some 116 graves have been found
so far.
The data is far too rich to be summarized: plain extended burials
(always
oriented north-south, often with pots in odd numbers near the head
and a
dish-on-stand below the hip, sometimes below the head), double
burials,
triple burials, symbolic burials with few or no skeletal remains
(one of
them with a standing copper antenna sword typical of Copper Hoard
culture),
a trough with charred human bones and vitrified inner walls,
suggesting
cremation, interesting ornaments including gold bangles, etc. The
site will
likely revolutionize our understanding of Harappan burials and will,
I hope,
prompt fresh search for such burial grounds elsewhere.
8) Michel Danino gave a presentation synthesizing recent research on
the
genetic composition of Indian populations; later, another
presentation on
sacred geometry (ratios & units) in Dholavira.

In the last issue (No. 36) of _Puratattva_, some related papers:
* L.S. Rao, Nandini B. Sahu, U.A. Shastry, Prabash Sahu & Samir
Diwan,
"Bhirrana Excavation -- 2005-06" (a site in Haryana spanning Kakra
Ware to
Mature Harappan cultures, one of the first in the Sarasvati region
with such
a long chronology)
* L.S. Rao, "The Harappan Spoked Wheels Rattled Down the Streets of
Bhirrana, Dist. Fatehabad, Haryana"
* Rakesh Tewari, R.K. Srivastava, K.K. Singh & K.S.
Saraswat, "Further
Excavations at Lahuradewa, Dist. Sant Kabir Nagar (U.P.) 2005-06:
Preliminary Observations"
* J.R. Sharma, A.K. Gupta & B.K. Bhadra, "Course of Vedic River
Sarasvati as
Deciphered from Latest Satellite Data"
* Nayanjot Lahiri, "Archaeological Theory: A Perspective from
outside the
Western Academy"
* D. V. Sharma, K. C. Nauriyal & V. N. Prabhakar, "Excavations at
Sanauli
2005-06: a Harappan Necropolis in the Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab" is
published
in _Puratattva_ No. 36, 2005-06, pp. 166-179 with many colour photos.
* Vishal Agarwal, "On Perceiving Aryan Migrations in Vedic Ritual
Texts"
* Michel Danino, "Genetics and the Aryan Debate"

To be noted also in the latest _Man & Environment_ (vol. XXXI, No. 2,
July-December 2006):
* L.S. Rao, "Settlement Pattern of the Predecessors of the Early
Harappans
at Bhirrana, Dist. Fatehabad, Haryana

And in the latest _History Today_, Journal of the Indian History and
Culture
Society, New Delhi, No. 7, 2006-07:
* Dileep Karanth, "India: One Nation or Many Nationalities? Ancient
Sources
and Modern Analysis", pp. 1-11.
* Vishal Agarwal, "Misrepresentation of Ancient India in American
School
Textbooks", pp. 72-89.

Regards,

Michel