81546 - Archaeology of Pre-Islamic Historical South Asia

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide students with the critical tools necessary to move in the complex field of archaeology pre-Islamic historical India, through detailed study of a monographic theme, different from year to year, faced by direct examination of historical, literary and archaeological sources, considered the critical perspective of scientific research. After completing the course, the student, in addition to the specialist knowledge of the monographic theme treated, is able to deal with critical sense the vast bibliography on pre-Islamic Indian archaeology and organize with rigorous methodology the sources for a archaeological research.

Course contents

The course concerns a single theme of the archaeology of India, studied in a more detailed monographic approach, with a particular concern towards critics and methodology.

The subject of the 2018-19 course is: "Royal Ideology in Indo-Parthian and Kushan period India"

The course intends to present synthetically the problems connected to tthe royal ideology of the Indo-Parthian and Kushana period.

The course also includes fundamentals of Indian culture, geography and history, necessary to provide the basis for the monographic study.

For a better adherence to the methodological perspective of the course of study, some hours will be also devoted to the knowledge of the main institutions responsible for the preservation of cultural heritage in the area and the main local and international archaeological collections, thus illustrating problems of protection and enhancement of the Indian cultural heritage.

Main Topics of the course:

• Geographical, historical, cultural and religious overview of Pre-Islamic India.
• Fundamentals of history of Indian archaeology: the Archaeological Survey of India and the major archaeological excavations of the twentieth and twenty-first century.
• Protection of the archaeological heritage in the Indian subcontinent. The main archaeological collections in the subcontinent, in Italy and in the world.
• The apsidal temple of Taxila and other possible comparisons
• The Kushan empire
• Khalchayan
• Surkh Kotal
• Mat
• The Kushan's royal ideology in the Indo-Iranian context

Readings/Bibliography

For an introduction to the pre-Islamic Indian archeology:

M. Taddei, India Antica (Le Grandi Civiltà), Milano, 1972, pp. 1-174.

C. Lo Muzio & M. Ferrandi (eds), “Buddha”, “Ashoka”, “Menandro”, “Kanishka”, “Gupta”, “Veda”, “Cosmo”, “Buddhismo”, “Jainismo”, “Induismo”, “Brahma”, “Shiva”, “Vishnu”, “Sarasvati”, “Durga”, “Lakshmi”, “Epica”, “Purana”, “Tempio Hindu”, “Stupa”, “Monastero Buddhista”, “Dharma”, “Scritture”, “Lingue”, “Yama”, “Samsara”, “Lomash Rshi”, “Sanchi”, “Taxila”, “Butkara”, “Mathura”. “Ajanta”, “Carta geografica del Subcontinente indiano”, “Cronologia”, “Musei”, “Glossario”, in India. Milano, Electa, 2008, pp. 10-33, 74-80, 86-140, 143-157, 174, 182-184, 212-214, 244-264, 270-280, 374-380.

A. Filigenzi, ‘L‘arte del Gandhāra’ e ‘L'area sacra di Butkara I’, in A. Invernizzi (ed.) Sulla via di Alessandro da Seleucia al Gandhāra, Milano, 2007, pp. 229-244.

 

Monographic section:

L. Colliva, 'Sanctuaries and ʻdynastic cultsʼ in the Indo-Iranian world: Arsacid, Indo-Parthian and Kushan evidence', Parthica, 2018, 20, pp. 89-110.

C. Lo Muzio, Archeologia dell'Asia centrale preislamica. Dall'età del Bronzo al IX secolo d.C., Firenze, 2017, pp. 117-149.

G. Verardi, ‘The Kusāna Emperors as Cakravartins, Dynastic Art and Cults in India and Central Asia: History of a Theory, Clarifications and Refutations’, East and West, 1983, 33, 1-4, pp. 228-230, 232-237.

For those not attending lessons, the following bibliography is added:

For an introduction to the pre-Islamic Indian archeology:

AA. VV., “La regione dell'Indo”, “Swat”, “Gandhara”, “Panjab”, “Sind” “Bir-kot-ghwandai”, “Butkara”, “Charsada”, “Taxila”, “La pianura gangetica”, “Mathura”, “Sonkh”, “Bengala”, “Orissa”, “La regione dei Vindhya e il Rajasthan”, “Maharashtra e Gujarat”, “La frontiera Indo-Iranica”, “Bamiyan”, “Fondukistan”, “Hadda”, “Tapa Sardar” in Enciclopedia Archeologica, III. Asia, Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, 2005. pp. 505-510, 511, 512-514, 516-520, 527-528, 534, 535-536, 539-542, 545-547, 556-557, 580-582, (can be found also at site www.treccani.it).

 

Monographic section:

G. Verardi, ‘The Kusāna Emperors as Cakravartins, Dynastic Art and Cults in India and Central Asia: History of a Theory, Clarifications and Refutations’, East and West, 1983, 33, 1-4, pp. 225-282.

However, it is strongly recommended that non-attending students contact the teacher to arrange a specific programme and bibliography.

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Among the texts used by the teacher for the preparation of the frontal lessons, BUT NOT REQUIRED FOR THE ORAL EXAM, it is worth mentioning:

Aśvaghoṣa, Le Gesta del Buddha, a cura di A. Passi, Milano, 2000 (1a edizione 1979).

M. Bussagli, L’arte del Gandhāra. Torino, 1984.

L. Colliva, ‘The Apsidal temple of Taxila. Traditional hypotheses and new possible interpretations’, in A. Hardy (ed.) The Temple in South Asia, London, 2007, pp. 21-27.

L. Colliva, ‘The Excavation of the Archaeological Site of Barikot (Bīr-kot-ghwandai) and its Chronological Sequence’, in Journal of Asian Civilizations, 2011, 34/1, pp. 157-91.

Erdosy, G. ‘Taxila: Political History and Urban Structure’, in M. Taddei & P. Callieri (eds) South Asian Archaeology 1987, Roma, IsIAO, 1990, pp. 657-674.

J.M. Kenoyer, Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, Oxford, 2004 (1a edizione 1998).

L.M. Olivieri, ‘Outline History of the IsIAO Italian Archaeology Mission in Pakistan (1956-2006)’, East and West, 2006, 56, 1-3, pp. 23-41.

C. Pieruccini, L’arte dell’India. Vol.I , Torino, 2020.

M. Taddei, India (Archaeologia Mundi, Enciclopedia Archeologica), Ginevra, 1976.

M. Taddei, Arte narrativa tra India e mondo ellenistico, Roma, IsMEO, Conferenze 5, 1993.

The list will be updated during the course.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons with direct and critical examination of the archaeological and iconographic documentation through projection of images and distribution of didactic material (when possible also uploaded on the "Virtuale" site).

The aim of the course is to introduce the student to the main problems of the proposed research theme. Emphasis is placed on the methodological approach to research, in order to stimulate the student's critical reflection.

Assessment methods

The examination consists of an oral interview to assess the critical and methodological skills matured by the student and the acquisition of basic knowledge in the field of Indian archaeology.

The evaluation will take into account the student's ability to orientate within the sources and the bibliographic material in order to obtain useful information that will enable him to explain themes and problems and to know how to connect them.

In addition to the contents, students will be evaluated on the ability to synthesize and analyse archaeological themes and the ability to express themselves adequately and with appropriate language.

Full acquisition of these skills and an exhaustive knowledge of the matter will be assessed with excellence marks (27-30).

A predominantly mnemonic acquisition of course's contents and discontinuous language and logical skills will be assessed with discrete marks (24-26).

A minimum level of knowledge of the course contents combined with training gaps or inadequate language and logical skills will be evaluated with marks slightly above the sufficiency (18-24).

The absence of a minimal acquisition of the course contents combined with inadequate verbal expression and logical skills will be considered insufficient.

Teaching tools

Projection of images and distribution of didactic material in pdf, when possible also via the "Virtuale" site.

Office hours

See the website of Luca Colliva