1. Language, material culture and ethnicity: Theoretical perspectives

Erdosy, George

doi:10.1515/9783110816433.1

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 15 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…While archaeology sometimes reveals evidence for migrations and the diffusion of ideas and cultural traits in South Asia, it also, much more commonly, indicates substantial continuity over long time periods. The notion of invading hordes of Indo-Aryans imposing a new culture and religion during the protohistoric period, for example, has had to be rather tempered in the light of archaeological evidence suggesting much more small-scale population movements and substantial incorporation into existing societies (Erdosy, 1995;Kennedy, 1995;Shaffer, 1984;Shaffer and Lichtenstein, 1995). Evidence for continuities in local archaeological sequences is increasingly suggesting that many aspects of the state-level societies that developed on the subcontinent during the historical period can probably be traced back to prehistoric developments, rather than external influences.…”

Section: ■ Archaeology's Contribution To the Study Of Castementioning

confidence: 99%

Orientalism, ideology and identity

Boivin¹

2005

Journal of Social Archaeology

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While many would argue that the preoccupation with caste in South Asian anthropology can be linked to an essentializing and orientalist project that has increasingly come under fire in post-colonial and subaltern studies, this article suggests that within South Asian archaeology it is, in contrast, the almost complete neglect of caste that hints at deeper problems within the discipline. After attempting to identify why caste has been largely omitted from archaeological studies in South Asia, the article goes on to explore some of the issues that archaeologists will have to consider if they are going to begin to explicitly address caste in their research, including the relationship between caste and material culture, time, place, agency and ideology. The article concludes by examining the reasons why archaeologists need to address caste, and the ways in which archaeology can contribute to a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of caste and its development and contemporary relevance in South Asia.

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Section: ■ Archaeology's Contribution To the Study Of Castementioning

confidence: 99%

Orientalism, ideology and identity

Boivin¹

2005

Journal of Social Archaeology

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The role of Hazarewal populations in the peopling of South Asia: A dental morphology investigation

Akbar

Ullah

Ahmad

et al. 2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Objectives: This study seeks to accomplish three objectives: assess the biological impact of historically documented Pathan-speaking populations on present-day Hazarewal ethnic groups, determine consilience in patterns of relationships identified by molecular genetics and dental morphology analyses, and determine which of the current models for the peopling of the Indian subcontinent is best supported by dental morphology analysis. Materials and Methods: Dental morphology traits were scored with the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System among living members of 18 ethnic group samples from South Asia in northern Pakistan and 13 prehistoric samples from south-central Asia and South Asia. Affinities were summarized with raw percentages and Smith's MMD. Affinities based on the former were accomplished with correspondence analysis and principal components analysis. Affinities based on the latter were undertaken with neighbor-joining cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. Results: Biodistances based on 17 tooth-trait combinations suggest the human biological history in South Asia is dominated by long-standing continuity, but this continuity is not absolute. There is no evidence for influx of Central Asians or Pathan influences on Hazarewal ethnic groups. Instead, gene flow likely occurred, albeit from other sources, near the beginning of the Holocene and at the beginning of the Iron Age. Discussion: Consilience in results obtained with molecular genetics and dental morphology analyses is good. Both indicate long-standing population continuity over time and clinal variation emanating from Hazarewal to the south and east. However, dental morphology suggests an early Holocene influx of exogenous genes, perhaps from southern Iran, while ruling out a steppe-based influx during the mid-2nd millennium BC.

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