Bharhut: A Reassessment

Hawkes, Jason

doi:10.1080/02666030.2008.9628677

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…14 Survey of the site also revealed a similar range of artefacts as those noted at Deur Kothar, including terracotta, shell, and semi-precious beads, as well as a large number of cast and punch-marked coins ranging in date from the third to first centuries BCE. 15 As at Deur Kothar, the presence of this material indicates that some of the activities that took place at Bharhut had an economic dimension.…”

Section: The Sites Of Deur Kothar and Bharhutmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…12 As a result of this exclusive focus on the sculptural material, and their continued importance to the study of South Asian history, the picture of the site has always been unclear. 13 A recent survey of the visible surface remains of the site has shown that in addition to the main stupa and its railing, there would also have existed two smaller stupas and associated monastic buildings ( Figure 5). These are still visible on the surface of the site as structural features constructed of stone and burnt bricks.…”

Section: The Sites Of Deur Kothar and Bharhutmentioning

confidence: 97%

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One Size Does Not Fit All: Landscapes of Religious Change in Vindhya Pradesh

Hawkes

2014

South Asian Studies

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The last three decades have witnessed renewed interest in archaeological studies of Buddhism in South Asia. As a result, it is now generally accepted that the activities that took place at Buddhist sites, and the relationships between monastic communities and wider society, did not necessarily conform to the orthodox picture of Buddhism received from their texts. Ironically, however, many of these more 'heterodox' approaches to the study of Buddhism conform to (and, in doing so, perpetuate) the idea that Buddhism was a single monolithic entity that behaved and operated in the same way across the subcontinent. Recent landscape surveys carried out in the Vindhyan region of central India have sought to explore the wider societal contexts of two contemporary early Buddhist sites, Deur Kothar and Bharhut. This paper will present the salient features of this work through comparison of these sites and their surrounding landscapes, and demonstrate that both of these sites had very different histories, and existed within contrasting social settings. Neither corresponds to the standard model of early Buddhist sites, which in turn raises a number of questions regarding the applicability of a universal model of ancient Buddhism in South Asia.

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Section: The Sites Of Deur Kothar and Bharhutmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: The Sites Of Deur Kothar and Bharhutmentioning

confidence: 97%

One Size Does Not Fit All: Landscapes of Religious Change in Vindhya Pradesh

Hawkes

2014

South Asian Studies

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“…45. See, for example, the ways in which the examination of early Buddhist sites and monuments, such as Amaravati (Fogelin 2006), Bharhut (Hawkes 2008(Hawkes , 2009, Karad ( Rees 2010), and Sanchi (Shaw 2007) have been invested with new perspectives. 46.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding the “Early Medieval” in South Asian Archaeology

Hawkes¹

2014

asi

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The concept of an “early medieval” period (c. 600–1300 c.e. ) in the study of South Asia’s past is well established, yet remains ill defined and poorly understood. As a result, debates regarding grand explanative frameworks, not to mention the meaning and use of the term medieval, have dominated the study of the period. Important though these concerns are, what underpins them, and something that is rarely considered, is how sources and methodologies affect the study of the period. Historiographic review of scholarship on the early medieval reveals that from its inception, the period has been studied exclusively through the examination of documentary sources and monumental remains within the fields of history, literary and religious studies, and art history. Archaeology has been used to support historical theories, largely in order to provide further empirical “proof ” of a perceived decline in trade and urbanism. The continued use of archaeological evidence in this way has meant that the full potential of archaeological inquiry has not been fulfilled, and the impetus for new archaeological research has been stifled. As a result, the early medieval is arguably the most poorly represented period archaeologically in the entire subcontinent. Critical assessment of the limited amount of archaeological evidence that does exist reveals a number of methodological and theoretical concerns that bring into question its applicability and use. These shortcomings not only force one to question historical interpretations, but also limit what can be said, archaeologically, about the period. It is argued that many of the wider uncertainties surrounding the definition and meaning of the early medieval stem from this absence of archaeological research. What is urgently needed is a revitalization of the archaeological approach to the study of the period; some ways are suggested in which this might be achieved in terms of methodological approaches, and questions that could be asked.

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“…Although the wider manifestation of these patterns beyond the spatially restricted study area thus remains unknown, the resulting dataset is important for assessing text-driven theories regarding modes of interaction between monastic and lay populations, and offers useful parallels to similar, although more broadly dispersed patterns documented during the SSP [1][2][3]40,41 . In recent years, other similar projects focusing on historical socio-economic, agrarian and religious landscape dynamics have proliferated, from those dealing with Buddhist contexts 6,[42][43][44][45][46] , to those more aligned with later Hindu traditions [47][48][49] .…”

Section: Survey Archaeology In the Indian Subcontinentmentioning

confidence: 99%

A ‘Reflexive’ Multi-Stage Survey Methodology for Historical Landscape Research in Central India:Field-Walking, Local Knowledge, and Satellite Imagery as Archaeological Site Prospection and Mapping Tools in the Sanchi Survey Project

Shaw¹

2017

Current Science

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The present article evaluates the relative usefulness of systematic versus unsystematic field-walking, local knowledge frameworks and satellite imagery as archaeological prospection and mapping tools for the Sanchi Survey Project (SSP) in central India. While the satellite imagery proved helpful as a supplementary site prospection and mapping tool during later phases of the project, initial site identification was more effectively facilitated through ground-based explorations, and a 'reflexive' approach that included a sensitivity to local memory and the continued currency of archaeological sites in today's socio-ritual landscape. Set within discussions of the role of local traditions in 'reflexive' field methodologies, as well as broader public archaeology discourse, the article stresses the importance of local perceptions of place and history in the development of a regionally specific research design.

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Bharhut: A Reassessment

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

One Size Does Not Fit All: Landscapes of Religious Change in Vindhya Pradesh

One Size Does Not Fit All: Landscapes of Religious Change in Vindhya Pradesh

Finding the “Early Medieval” in South Asian Archaeology

A ‘Reflexive’ Multi-Stage Survey Methodology for Historical Landscape Research in Central India:Field-Walking, Local Knowledge, and Satellite Imagery as Archaeological Site Prospection and Mapping Tools in the Sanchi Survey Project

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