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Center for the Study of Human Origins Department
of 25 Waverly Place telephone: |
Position:
The discovery of archaeological settlements contemporary with pre-urban and urban phases of the Indus civilization was a basis on which I initiated a Landscape and Settlement Survey along the now dry bed of the Beas River near the city of Harappa. The archaeologists on the Beas team, shown on the image (l. to r.) are myself, Suanna Selby (Ph.d. NYU 2007), Susan Malin-Boyce (Ph.D. NYU 2006), Joe Schuldenrein (President, Geoarchaeological Research Associates), M. Afzal Khan (Curator, Lahore Museum) and Mark Smith (Ph.D., NYU 2007). Our results indicate that the Beas provided an ecological niche for the agricultural, craft and pastoral production in Harappa’s hinterlands; during the earliest phases of settlement, several small settlements (including Harappa) were occupied though only Harappa grew to a large city and additional small towns and villages were settled; a shift in monsoon and winter precipitation may have caused a disruption in the river discharge of the Beas near the end of occupation of settlements. The project was supported by grants from NEH, NGS and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.
I spent a number of years excavating at Harappa and studying ceramics from its pre-urban and urban occupations. These studies have been extremely useful in providing diagnostic chronological markers in my survey. My interest in the ceramics centered around issues of craft specialization and technology. Without doubt, Harappan potters possessed highly developed technical skills. Producing a limited number of morphological forms, they experimented with pigments, surface treatments and decorative effects and created simple but aesthetically pleasing vessels.
The image to the right is a “narrative” seal from the site of Harappa. The central figure strikes a pose that is similar to many others found throughout the Near East and South Asia (from Mesopotamia through Iran and in the Indus). Two aspects of this seal interest me. First, the central figure is female, a heroine, and is depicted on a number of seals in which a female is shown taming or in combat with tigers. The image has implications for gender concepts held by people in the Indus. Second, of equal interest is the replication of a well-known image across a vast intercultural space, attesting to the interconnected world among the several cultures known throughout the region.
The destruction of archaeological sites and the looting of antiquities is a continuing concern and something I have worked on through my affiliation with the Archaeological Institute of America. I have found that undergraduates are particularly interested in this issue. My course, Discovering Archaeology in New York City, focuses on the city’s cultural heritage, the ethical issues involved in the holdings of various museums in the city, and the antiquities dealers on its east side.
NYU
Research interview with
Dr Right 2008. Water supply and history: Harappa and the Beas regional survey. Co-authored, R. Wright, R. Bryson and J. Schuldenrein. Antiquity, volume 82:37-48. PDF 2006. Preserving the Cultural and National Heritages of Afghanistan: What has been and needs to be done. Co-authored: Philip L. Kohl and Rita P. Wright. In N. Agnew and J. Bridgland, ed., Of the Past, for the future: Integrating archaeology and conservation.. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute: 251-258.2005. The Emergence of Satellite Communities along the Beas Drainage: Preliminary Results from Lahoma Lal Tibba and Chak Purbane Syal. In C. Jarrige and V. Lefevre, eds., South Asia Archaeology 2001. Paris: Editions Recherce sur les Civilisations-ADPF . Co-authored with R. P. Wright, J. Schuldenrein, M. Afzal Khan, M. Rafique Mughal:327-335. 2004. Geoarchaeological Explorations on the Upper Beas Drainage: Landscape and Settlement in the Upper Indus Valley, Punjab. Pakistan.. Co-authored: J. Schuldenrein, R. P. Wright, M. Afzal Khan, M. Rafique Mughal. Journal of Archaeological Sciences, volume 31:777-792. 2002. Revisiting Interaction Spheres—Social Boundaries and Technologies on Inner and Outermost Frontiers.: Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXVII:403-417. 2002. Prehistory of Urbanism. In Encyclopedia of Urban Cultures. Cities and Cultures around the World. Vol. 1 Melvin and Carol Ember, editors: 3-11. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier.
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