Transformative Practices in Archaeology

Alok Kumar Kanungo, associate research professor at IIT Gandhinagar and adjunct associate professor at Flinders University, was born in Odisha and grew up in close contact with many indigenous communities of eastern and northeastern India. For the past two and half decades, Kanungo has researched field archaeology, ancient technologies, archaeometry, ethnoarchaeology, and indigenous archaeology, resulting in 16 books and more than 80 research articles and book chapters. He has been a Fulbright, Humboldt, British Academy, Rakow, ICG, Homi Bhabha, SPARC, ICHR, and Bead Society fellow and collaborated on an NSF-funded project. Kanungo has travelled and documented the rich heritage of the Nagas of Northeast India, and the Bondos and Juangs of Odisha, both in the field and in museums across Europe and the United Kingdom. Placing the Intellectual rights of indigenous people and/or crafts persons at the forefront of his research, he has worked in many domains of repatriation, and the overlapping spheres of anthropology, history, and archaeology. He has lectured in many universities and research institutes in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the USA.Claire Smith has a robust record of leadership in research, teaching and administration. Her academic life is driven by three passions: The first is to convey the sophistication of Indigenous cultures and the unique accomplishments of Indigenous Australians. The second is to contribute to global equity and to intellectually enrich archaeology by eroding the many barriers faced by scholars in low-income countries, especially those who do not normally publish in English. The third is to nurture the next generation of scholars who make a difference. Since 1990, she has conducted successful long-term research with Aboriginal communities in remote areas of Australia. Her leadership within a global context has been enacted as the twice (for 10 years)-elected President of the World Archaeological Congress and as Editor of the Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (2nd most highly cited and 3rd most downloaded work in Springer’s Humanities, Social Sciences and Law Collections for 2014). She is the author/editor of 16 books and more than 220 publications in English, Spanish, Catalan, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese and Japanese. In 2018, the Royal Anthropological Institute awarded Claire Smith the Lucy Mair Medal and Marsh Award for sustained research with Australian Aboriginal communities that has contributed to human dignity. Nishaant Choksi received his PhD in anthropology from the University of Michigan, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Kyoto University in Japan. Currently, he is an assistant professor of social sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, in Gujarat, India. His research areas include the study of script and writing systems, language and performance, the aesthetic component of language, cultural politics of heritage, and issues of self-governance and livelihood. Choksi examines these themes mainly in the Adivasi communities of India, with whom he has been conducting ethnographic research for almost two decades. His ongoing field projects include work with Bhili speakers in eastern Gujarat, Mundari speakers in Jharkhand, Santali speakers in West Bengal, and collaborative projects with communities in Northeastern India.

• Foreword.- Preface.- Introduction.- I. UNSETTLING ARCHAEOLOGY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE.- Chapter 1: Unsettling Archaeology as a Tool to Raise Self-Respect and Well-Being.- Chapter 2: Traditional Knowledge Systems and Archaeology in India: Problems and Perspectives.- Chapter 3: Cultural Heritage and Public Responsibility: Can We Create Citizen Archaeologists?.- Chapter 4 : Memory and Material Culture among the Displaced Indigenous Communities of the Narmada Valley, Western India .- Chapter 5 :Interplay of Archaeological Numismatic and Articulation of Agency Practise: Narratives of Care .- Chapter 6: Data and their ‘After Lives’: Knowledge Production and Consumption in Community-based Research .- Chapter 7:Braiding Knowledge: Developing an Interpretative Theoretical Agenda that Integrates Indigenous Worldviews .- Chapter 8:Engaging with the Heritage of Maritime Populations of the Lanta Bay: A Community-based Archaeological and Ethnographic Project (the Lanta Bay Project, Thailand) .- Chapter 9: The Discreet Charm of Things: An Archaeo-anthropological Perspective .- Chapter 10:Archaeology and Cultural Policy for the Indian Ocean Region: The Past, Present and Implications for the Future.- II. HERITAGE SUSTAINABILITY AND MANAGEMENT.- Chapter 11:The Case of Hatra in the Iraqi Jazira .- Chapter 12: Monumental Heritage of Mandu: Challenges for Archaeology in South Asia .- Chapter 13; Evolving a Sustainable Collaborative Mechanism for Management of Built Heritage of India: The Case of 'Adopt a Heritage Project’ .- Chapter 14:Commodification and Illicit Trade of Indian Antique Coins: Narrative of Cultural Heritage Sustainability.- Chapter 15: Living Megalithic Culture: Descriptive Study of Ossuaries among the Khasis in Ummat and Sohbar Villages, Meghalaya .- Chapter 16:Indigenous Water Management System in Pudukkōṭṭai Region – A Case Study of Sluice Technology Karaigowder Rajan, Academic and Research Advisor, Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department .- Chapter 17:Nagas and Megaliths: A Knowledge System .- Chapter 18:Beyond Salt as Food: Artisanal Salt Making in Matikhrü, Nagaland .-  Chapter 19:Deking Piichang: Vanishing Clay pottery tradition among The Apatani of Arunachal Pradesh .- Chapter 20:From Coal to Culture: Archaeological Investigations in “India’s Energy Capital” Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh and Sustainable Development in the Region.- Chapter 21:More than a Country Liquor: Madhuca longifolia as a Facilitator of SDGs.