Ute Franke

Contextualizing Material Culture in South and Central Asia in Pre-Modern Times Ute Franke

This publication reveals contemporary views on material culture in South and Central Asia from pre-historic times up to early modern age. Megaliths, seals, pottery, beads, coins, stone and copper inscriptions, sanctuaries, architectural remains and graveyards are physical evidences of important ancient cultures, such as the Indus Civilization or the Gupta dynasty, and are presented in this volume from different (inter)disciplinary perspectives and beyond political borders. More than thirty papers written by experts from the field offer a wide chronological and geographical panorama as well as new interpretations of the archaeological finds and artefacts. The scope and variety of the content show the innovations in approach, method, technique and technology, collaboration and cross-linking of the disciplines of archaeology, art and architectural history, anthropology, philology and epigraphy. The topics, based on original scholarly research, fieldwork and archaeological excavations, provide thorough studies of the visual material in order to illuminate the human past and the cultural entanglements in South Asian pre-modern history. The articles are richly illustrated with maps, tables and photographs from the scholars' own research trips to South, Central and North India as well as Pakistan and South Tajikistan.