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MAN-002: Archaeological Anthropology

MAN-002: Archaeological Anthropology

IGNOU Solved Assignment Solution for 2021-22

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Assignment Code: MAN 002/AST/TMA/2021-22

Course Code: MAN-002

Assignment Name: Archaeological Anthropology

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor


Note: Attempt any five questions. Choose at least two questions from each section. All questions carry equal marks. The word limit for 20 marks is 500 words and for 10 marks is 250 words.


Section A


Q1) What is Archaeological Anthropology? Briefly examine its main divisions. (20)

Ans) The goal of archaeological anthropology is the same. Anthropology is the science that studies today's simple societies. India is a living museum of simple societies and cultures, including hunting-gathering societies, fishing communities, pastoral communities, and peasant societies. All of these groups coexist in various parts of the country. Aspects such as their origins and antiquity, as well as their geographical distribution, are impossible to comprehend without reference to time or temporal dimension. In this case, anthropology must rely on archaeology for guidance and assistance. Archaeology's prehistory branch comes to our aid here. Archaeological anthropology attempts to connect the ethnographic present with the archaeological past in this way.


The following are the main divisions of Archaeological Anthropology:

Culture History

C. J. Thomsen, curator of the Royal Danish National Museum of Antiquities in Copenhagen, is credited with introducing the knowledge perspective by dividing Europe's pre-literate (pre-Christian) past. Thomsen was tasked with cataloguing a vast collection of stone and metal objects, ceramics, and other antiquities that had amassed in the museum.


Reconstruction of Life Ways

Even a cursory examination of the archaeological discoveries made during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century reveals that this period saw numerous large-scale excavations in various parts of the Old World. All of the major Bronze Age civilizations that we know today were recognised as a result of these findings. The Cretan or Minoan civilization arose from Arthur Evans' work at Knossos.


New or Processual Archaeology

Publications like Gordon Childe's piecing made the first explicit attempts at developing the theoretical structure of archaeology. All three books were published in the second quarter of the twentieth century: Together the Past, Grahame Clark's Archaeology and Society, and Stuart Piggott's Approach to Archaeology.


Interpretative Archaeology

Since the 1980s, some reactions have emerged, raising doubts and objections about New Archaeology's functionalist and behavior-oriented approaches. Ian Hodder of Cambridge University was the driving force behind this reaction, which has evolved into interpretative archaeology over the last quarter-century.


Environmental Archaeology

The study of past human interactions with nature is known as environmental archaeology. It focuses on the impact of the environment on past cultures, as well as its impact on past societies' social and economic aspects. These studies are so important that Karl Butzer coined the term "archaeology" to describe them.


Ethnoarchaeology

Ethnoarchaeology is concerned with the reconstruction and interpretation of archaeological cultures using analogies or parallels drawn from the study of contemporary simple hunter-gatherer and farmers/pastoral societies. As a result, ethnography is a valuable tool for archaeological reconstruction.


Settlement Archaeology

Settlement archaeology is the study of ancient societies' societal relationships as inferred from the distribution of archaeological sites across the landscape. In the 1940s, Harvard University's Gordon Willey began investigating settlement patterns in Peru's Viru valley. These settlements reflect the natural environment, the level of technology used by the builders, and the culture's various social interaction and control institutions.”


Experimental Archaeology

For reconstructing ancient societies, archaeologists frequently use analogies drawn from experimental studies. Experimental studies have a long history, dating back over 150 years, and have proven to be extremely useful to archaeologists when other methods failed to yield results. Analogies from experimental studies, like ethnographic analogies, provide only tentative or hypothetical solutions that must be tested in the context of actual archaeological evidence.


Ethological Studies

Ethological studies are concerned with the study of various animal species' behavioural patterns. Prehistorians have found that analogies drawn from primatological research have been extremely useful in reconstructing ancient hunter-gatherer societies' behaviour patterns. Previously, research on the behaviour of monkeys and higher apes (chimp, baboon, orangutan, and gorilla) was limited to animals kept in zoos. Such research yielded only a few observations about primate behaviour.


Q2) Briefly discuss the tool types and techniques of Lower Palaeolithic culture. (20)

Ans) Mesolithic tools are divided into two categories: those made of stone and those made of bone and antler. Stone tools are further divided into two types: microlith and macrolith, which refers to small and large tools, respectively.


Microliths

Microliths are the most common and prevalent tool types during this cultural phase. This is a technological continuation of the Palaeolithic period's types. Microliths are found at the end of the Palaeolithic culture, but they predominate during the Mesolithic period. Archaeologists standardise size dimensions, and 3cm is used as the length limit for determining a microlith. Furthermore, Mesolithic microliths were created using a highly skilled tool-making technique. This is most noticeable in the retouching of the tool's working edge or the blunting of the tool's hafting edge. Punch and pressure was the technique used, which evolved during the Mesolithic Features Upper Palaeolithic period. As a result, Mesolithic microlith identification is heavily reliant on the context and dates of their discovery. The notch technique was used to create the microliths. An abrupt retouch was used to make a small notch on the edge of a micro blade. The bulbar end of the blade was then removed by a slightly oblique blow with the point of a small punch, or a bone placed in the centre of the notch. The bulbar end, also known as micro-burin, is found as a waste product. The rest of the bladelet was also abruptly retouched into a microlith. However, some types of microliths could have been created without using the notch technique by retouching blades.


Geometric and non-geometric shapes are used to describe microliths. Trapeze, triangle, lunate, and crescent are examples of geometric shapes. The nongeometric types are named after their functions, such as scraper, point, knife, blade, awl, burin, and borer, or by the nature of the back blunting, such as partly, fully, or obliquely blunted blades. The microlithic technique allows for the extraction of the maximum length of edge and number of points from a small volume of stone. Small, nodular pebbles and even large artefacts can be exploited on a regular basis using this technique. As a result of the technique, permanent occupations of territories with no other stone resources are possible. The Mesolithic people took advantage of extremely sharp and hard materials such as flint, chalcedony, agate, carnelian, and other small-source materials in this way. Small, rapidly replaceable, and interchangeable, standardised, and mass-produced units, which were produced in large quantities in advance and kept ready for use during times of wear and tear, are used in the construction of composite tools. The procedure was to remove the worn-out component and replace it with a new one. A Palaeolithic tool that had broken needed to be completely replaced.


Macroliths

Macroliths are tools that are larger than a microlith but smaller than a microlith. Scrapers and other tools that are a continuation of Upper Palaeolithic types are included in this category. Axes and picks are two new types. Heavy-duty tools are what these are. These are carved out of stone, primarily flint. Flaking and forming a transverse working edge are used to create the tools. Axe and adze are terms used to describe the working edge of these tools. These were primarily associated with cultures that developed in the forest area and were used for woodworking. The pick is another type of heavy-duty tool. The working edge is pointed. The axe, adze, and picks were hafted in wooden, bone, or antler hafts, according to evidence. These tools aided users in dealing with the forest environment.


Q3) What is relative dating method? Discuss briefly various methods of relative dating. (20)

Ans) Chronology relies heavily on relative dating. In the absence of any written record or evidence, it is the ordering of events. In prehistoric archaeology and palaeoanthropology, relative chronology is crucial. Because the duration of the event is unknown in relative dating, determining the elapsed time between events is also difficult. Furthermore, there is no way to determine the temporal distance between any past event and the present. When relative time is converted to an absolute scale, all of these flaws are eliminated.


Stratigraphy

The study of layered deposits is known as stratigraphy. The law of superposition states that deposits, whether natural or cultural, form with the oldest on the bottom of the sequence and each overlying stratum younger, or more recent, than the layer below. After the strata have been observed from early to late, Worsaae's law of association can be used to date the artefacts and eco-facts of each layer. This viewpoint holds that objects found together in the same layered deposit, both natural and cultural, are of the same age. As a result, the relative dating of the super positioned deposits also dates the fossil specimens found within them. The law of association is useful in the construction of local regional sequences as well as the ordering of site historiographies.


Geological Calendar

The geological calendar divides the earth's history into periods. Originally, the stratigraphic record of historical geology was organised by the relative age of the various rock formations that make up the stratigraphic record. Using various radiometric-dating techniques, this relative chronology was later converted to an absolute chronology. uranium-lead radiometric assays have dated the oldest rocks, which are Pre-Cambrian in age, to 4.6 billion years ago. The fossil content of rock units is used to date younger sub-divisions of the geological calendar in a relative sense, and isotopic decay techniques are used to date them in an absolute sense.


The table shows the geological calendar subdivisions with taxonomic breakdown into eras, periods, and epochs. The Cenozoic, or most recent epoch, is the period during which modern forms of life emerged. The Tertiary and Quaternary periods of the Cenozoic era are the third and fourth subdivisions of the geological calendar, respectively. During the last sixty-five million years, the Tertiary period saw the rise of mammals, including primates. Because it is the period of humankind, the Quaternary is crucial to the study of cultural evolution. Over the last two million years, the Quaternary fossil record has revealed the biological evolution of humans and their primate relatives.


Fluorine Test Dating

Another method of relative dating is fluorine test dating. It is because the amount of fluorine deposited in bones varies with age. The fluorine content of the oldest bones is the highest, and vice versa. The fluorine test can be used to date bones that cannot be assigned to any stratum with certainty and cannot be dated using the stratigraphic method. The rate of fluorine formation is not constant and varies from region to region, which is a flaw in this method. Chemical analysis or the X-ray crystallographic method can be used to determine the amount of fluorine present.


Nitrogen Dating

Another indicator of relative age is nitrogen. In contrast to fluorine, the amount of nitrogen in bone decreases as time passes. The nitrogen test, when combined with the fluorine test, will reveal the relative age of bone specimens. Such techniques are particularly useful when determining whether all of the bone specimens in a level are the same age or are of different ages, with their association in the level due to secondary deposition.


Q4) What is Chalcolithic culture? Examine briefly any two cultures of Chalcolithic culture. (20)

Ans) Several cultures began to use metal after the Neolithic period ended, primarily copper and low-grade bronze. Chalcolithic, which means stone-copper phase, is a culture based on the use of copper and stone. It lasted from around 2000 BC to 700 BC in India. This culture was mostly visible during the Pre-Harappan period, but it was also visible during the Post-Harappan period in some places. The majority of the population lived in rural areas near hills and rivers. The farming communities of Kayatha, Ahar or Banas, Malwa, and Jorwe correspond to the Chalcolithic culture.


Ochre Colored Pottery Culture

The Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) culture is named after a type of ceramic that is extremely rolled and fragile. It has a red ochre wash that is easily removed, hence the name. B.B. Lal discovered it in a small excavation at Bisauli and Rajpur Parsu, both in Uttar Pradesh, where Copper hoards had previously been discovered. In his excavations at Hastinapura, Lal discovered similar pottery in the levels beneath the Painted Grey ware (PGW). Later exploration and excavation in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh revealed several OCP sites.


The OCP is found in small bits at most sites, but larger fragments have been found at some sites in the upper Ganga-Yamuna doab, including Bahadarabad, Manpur, Bhatpura, Ambkheri, and Bargaon, allowing researchers to study representative forms. The pottery was treated with a thick slip and sometimes ornamented with painted black patterns, according to the better-preserved specimens from sites like Ahichchhatra. In addition, there are incised decorations. At Atranjikhera, a variety of OCP with incised patterns can be found, while Lal Qila has evidence of a fully developed OCP. The OCP habitational deposit in the form of well-made floors, mud huts, hearth, terracotta human male figurines, and bull figurines has only been discovered in Jodhpura. This indicates that, like many early farming communities of the period, the OCP people lived a sedentary lifestyle. Domesticated animal remains, such as cattle, and evidence of cultivated crops, such as rice and barley, provide additional insight into their subsistence practises.


Painted Gray Ware Culture

Painted Grey Ware is a thin-fabric grey pottery that is very fine, smooth, and evenly coloured. It was made of very high-quality clay that had been well-worked. On the pots, black designs, mostly simple geometric patterns, were painted. The pots' uniform colour and texture suggest highly sophisticated firing techniques. PGW appears to have been a deluxe ware, accounting for only a small proportion of the total pottery assemblage at the levels where it was discovered. It can be found alongside other types of pottery such as plain grey ware, Black and Red Ware, and black slipped ware, all of which were used in everyday life.


At PGW levels, structural remains mostly consist of wattle-and-daub and mud huts. At Hastinapura, unbaked bricks and one baked brick were discovered. Jakhera represents a culture that has progressed to a more developed proto-urban stage. Rice, wheat, and barley were cultivated at the PGW sites, indicating a subsistence economy. It is possible that double cropping was used. A few deep circular pits outside the habitation area at Atranjikhera are indicative of kachcha wells, but there is no actual evidence of irrigation facilities. Animal husbandry was also a part of the culture. For a long time, archaeologists have been fascinated by the link between iron and PGW. The impact of iron technology at the beginnings of urbanism in the Ganga valley, known as second urbanisation, has been the subject of a series of debates.


Q5) Write short note on any two of the following.

a) Relationship of geology with archaeological anthropology. (10)

Ans) Chronology is provided by geology. It provides an answer to the question of "when" man and culture emerged and evolved. The following are the main components of geology that are important for this study:


Stratigraphy

This is due to the law of superimposition in geology. Charles Lyell proposed it for the first time in 1830. The principle is that earth layers, or strata, are superimposed one on top of the other, with the lower strata indicating a younger age. This is true for deposits that have not been disturbed. The time dimension discovered in this manner is relative, primarily in terms of earlier or later and the geological layer in which an artefact or fossil remains are discovered.


Lithology

Stratigraphy and this branch of geology are inextricably linked. It provides details on the composition of each stratum. A stratum composed of materials that could only be brought down and deposited under glacial conditions could be an example.


Palaeontology

Although this approach is a part of the geological method, it can be pursued independently. The dating, reconstruction of the past environment, and recovery of early man's remains are all important aspects of palaeontology's relationship with archaeological anthropology. The study of fossils is the primary goal of palaeontology. Fossilization is a process that occurs in a fossiliferous environment. Organic and inorganic materials make up the bones of living creatures. The organic material is ossein, a bony protein. Minerals of various compositions make up the inorganic materials.


Petrology

The study of rock types is a branch of geology. The Stone Age accounts for the majority of human history. The types of rocks used in the creation of stone tools were important. Petrologists slice thin sections of various rocks and classify them into various categories. The analysis is significant because it provides information on the quality of the rocks as well as information on stone tools, their manufacturing techniques, and the skill and knowledge of stone tool makers.


b) Pleistocene epoch (10)

Ans) The Pleistocene Epoch was the first and most significant of the two epochs that make up the Quaternary Period of Earth's history, and it was during this time that a series of glacial and interglacial climatic cycles occurred. The beginning of the Pleistocene, which is also the beginning of the Quaternary Period, is marked by the base of the Gelasian Stage (2,588,000 to 1,800,000 years ago). It is associated with the Gauss-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal and is located at the bottom of a marly layer resting atop a sapropel called MPRS 250 on the southern slopes of Monte San Nicola in Sicily, Italy. 11,700 years ago, the Pleistocene epoch came to an end. The Pliocene Epoch of the Neogene Period precedes it, and the Holocene Epoch follows it.


The Pleistocene Epoch is best known as a period when large ice sheets and other glaciers formed repeatedly on landmasses and has been dubbed the "Great Ice Age" informally. The precise date of the onset of this cold interval, and thus the formal start of the Pleistocene Epoch, was a point of contention among geologists in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. By 1985, a number of geological societies had agreed that the Pleistocene Epoch began around 1,800,000 years ago, which corresponded to the onset of glaciation in Europe and North America. Large glaciers were formed in other parts of the world before 1,800,000 years ago, according to modern research. This fact sparked a debate among geologists about the Pleistocene's formal beginning and the status of the Quaternary Period, which lasted until 2009.



Section B



Q6) What is Neolithic revolution? Discuss. (20)

Ans) The Neolithic Revolution, also known as the Agricultural Revolution, marked the transition from small, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements and early civilization in human history. Around 10,000 B.C., the Neolithic Revolution began in the Fertile Crescent, a boomerang-shaped region of the Middle East where humans first began farming. Stone Age humans in other parts of the world began to practise agriculture shortly after. Civilizations and cities arose from the Neolithic Revolution's innovations.


The Neolithic Period is also known as the New Stone Age. Neolithic humans used stone tools, just like their Stone Age forefathers, who eked out a living as hunter-gatherers in small bands during the last Ice Age. V. Gordon Childe, an Australian archaeologist, coined the term "Neolithic Revolution" in 1935 to describe a period of radical and significant change during which humans began cultivating plants, breeding animals for food, and establishing permanent settlements. Agricultural development separated Neolithic people from their Palaeolithic forefathers. Many aspects of modern civilization can be traced back to this period in history when people began to live in communities. There was no single reason for humans to start farming around 12,000 years ago. The Neolithic Revolution's causes may have differed from region to region. Around 14,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, the Earth began to warm. Climate change, according to some scientists, was the catalyst for the Agricultural Revolution. Wild wheat and barley began to grow as the temperature rose in the Fertile Crescent, which is bordered on the west by the Mediterranean Sea and on the east by the Persian Gulf. Natufians, a pre-Neolithic people, began constructing permanent houses in the area.


Other scientists believe that advancements in the human brain have caused people to become more settled. At the earliest Neolithic settlements, religious artefacts, and artistic imagery—the forerunners of human civilization—have been discovered. The Neolithic Era began when some human groups abandoned their nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in favour of farming. It may have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of years for humans to fully transition from a lifestyle based on foraging for wild plants to tending small gardens and, later, large crop fields. The Neolithic settlement of atalhöyük in southern Turkey is one of the best-preserved in the world. Researchers have gained a better understanding of the transition from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering to an agricultural lifestyle by studying atalhöyük. At the 9,500-year-old atalhöyük, archaeologists discovered more than a dozen mud-brick dwellings. They believe up to 8,000 people may have lived here at one time. Residents had to enter their homes through a hole in the roof because the houses were so close together. The people of atalhöyük appear to have placed a high value on art and spirituality. Their dead were buried beneath the floors of their homes. Murals of men hunting, cattle, and female goddesses adorn the walls of the homes.


The archaeological site of Tell Abu Hureyra, a small village along the Euphrates River in modern Syria, contains some of the earliest evidence of farming. From 11,500 to 7,000 B.C., the village was inhabited. Tell Abu Hureyra's residents used to hunt gazelle and other game. They started harvesting wild grains around 9,700 B.C. At the site, several large stone tools for grinding grain have been discovered. The Neolithic Revolution resulted in large groups of people establishing permanent settlements based on agriculture and farming. It paved the way for the subsequent Bronze Age and Iron Age innovations, when advances in farming tools, wars, and art swept the globe, bringing civilizations together through trade and conquest.


Q7) Discuss various characteristic features of civilization with respect to Harappan culture. (20)

Ans) In the years 1920–22, two of Harappan civilization's most important sites were excavated. Harappa, on the Ravi River, and Mohenjo-Daro, on the Indus River, were the two cities. D. R. Sahani excavated the first, and R.D. Banerjee excavated the second. The Harappan civilization, which is one of the world's oldest civilizations, has been dated between 2600 B.C. and 1900 B.C. based on archaeological findings. Because the majority of its settlements were discovered in and around the plains of the river Indus and its tributaries, it is also known as the "Indus Valley civilization." However, it is now known as the Harappan civilization because Harappa was the first site to reveal the civilization's existence. Furthermore, recent archaeological discoveries suggest that this civilization extended far beyond the Indus Valley. As a result, it is better to refer to it as the Harappan civilization. It is India's first urban culture, and it coexisted with other ancient civilizations around the world, including Mesopotamia and Egypt. Because the script of that period has yet to be deciphered, our knowledge of the Harappan people's life and culture is based solely on archaeological excavations. Harappan civilization did not emerge out of nowhere. It grew out of earlier Neolithic village cultures over time. Better technology for exploiting the fertile plains of the Indus River is thought to have resulted in increased agricultural production.


This resulted in a larger surplus, which was used to feed and maintain non-agricultural workers such as artisans, administrators, and others. It also aided in the promotion of trade and exchange contacts with far-flung regions. It brought prosperity to the Harappans, allowing them to build cities. Around 2000 BC, several regional cultures emerged in various parts of the subcontinent, all of which relied on stone and copper tools. Outside of the Harappan zone, Chalcolithic cultures were not as rich and flourishing. These were primarily of a rural nature. The origins and development of these cultures can be traced back to 2000 BC–700 BC. These are non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures that can be found in Western and Central India.


The following are some of the civilization's distinguishing characteristics in relation to Harappan culture:

  1. This civilization spanned much more than the Indus Valley. Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Kalibangan, and Lothal were the major cities of the Indus valley civilization.

  2. Personal hygiene, town planning, the construction of burnt-brick houses, ceramics, casting, forging of metals, and the manufacture of cotton and woollen textiles are all important aspects of Indus Valley civilization.

  3. The Mohenjo-Daro people had the best bathing facilities, drainage system, and personal hygiene knowledge.

  4. Since there was occasional warfare, they were also aware of plant medicine.

  5. The town planning and other characteristics suggest that an indigenous culture developed that was homogeneous.

  6. Cities, government, religion, social structure, writing, and arts and architecture are the six most important characteristics of a civilization.

  7. The city of Harappa was divided into two sections: the upper town (also known as the Citadel) and the lower town. The following are some of the characteristics of Harappan town planning: Granaries: The granary was Mohenjo-largest Daro's structure, and Harappa had about six granaries or storehouses.

  8. Cities, government, religion, social structure, writing, and arts and architecture are the six most important characteristics of a civilization.


Q8) Megalithic is a living tradition among many Indian tribes. Elaborate your answer with examples. (20)

Ans) From the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age and the Early Historic period, various communities practised the large-scale erection of megaliths. The practise of erecting megaliths, however, is still practised by tribals in North-eastern, Eastern, Central, and South India. The reasons for the construction of megaliths are unclear. In this case, we can learn about megaliths' associations by looking at the practises of tribes that still use megaliths in their religious beliefs, such as the Gadabas, Gonds, Kurumbas, Marias, Mundas, Savaras, Garos, Khasis, Nagas, Karbis, Tiwas, and Marams. These tribes continue to erect megalithic tombs for the dead. Megalithism is a living tradition that can be considered. Stone menhirs are planted and worshipped by the Gonds, Kurumbas, Morias, and Savaras, who also erect wooden pillars. Some of the wooden pillars have a curved top with a rounded projection to represent a human head. The stone menhirs and wooden posts are thought to represent their gods or, on rare occasions, the spirit of the dead by these tribes. Different tribes have different beliefs about the stone and wooden menhirs erected in connection with death rites. The Gonds believe that a stone contains the spirit of the dead. As a result, it is thought that the souls of the dead are kept in wooden pillars and stone menhirs.


The Morias' practises of applying turmeric and oil to wooden and stone pillars demonstrate their reverence for them. They sacrifice a buffalo, offer rice, and worship these stones, believing that they contain the spirit of the dead. Before sowing, the Savaras present the seeds in front of the pillars and sacrifice animals to ensure the seeds' fertility. Similarly, the Kurumbas approach their ancestors' megalithic monuments, pleading with them to assist them in overcoming their difficulties. The Gonds give three reasons for erecting pillars and dolmens: “first, so that the spirits of the dead do not wander after death; second, so that they do not worry or harm the descendants; third, so that they can assist by bringing rain and driving away the evil spirits.”


The tribal people's practises indicate that they believe the spirit of the dead resides in the stone or wooden pillars that they erect. These pillars are revered and worshipped, and various offerings are made to them. If the spirits are satisfied, they can grant boons; however, if they are not satisfied, they can cause harm. A 'headless' anthropomorphic statue was discovered in the middle of a megalithic site in Mottur, Tamil Nādu. The megalith is known as Valiyar Vadu (house of Valiyar), and the anthropomorphic statue is known as Valiyar Daivam (god of the Valiyars). In this area, there is a fascinating tradition about the Valiyar current. The Valiyars were pygmies with a stature of 10 to 15 cm, according to legend. With the help of rabbits, they used to plough the fields. They learned that there would be fire rain on one occasion. They would perish if they stayed there. They decided to leave the area in order to avoid being burned to death, and they asked their god to accompany them. When their god refused to accompany them, they severed his head and carried it away. As a result, the statue is devoid of a head. Some communities may regard the megalithic, anthropomorphic statue as a representation of their god, according to this tradition.


Q9) What do understand by Public Archaeology? Examine the role of public archaeology in heritage management. (20)

Ans) Public archaeology is a branch of archaeology concerned with raising public awareness of cultural heritage and the importance of preserving it. It also encourages archaeologists to think like a layperson when it comes to his or her immediate or distant past. Since time immemorial, certain ruins have been linked to the people of a particular location, and it is still intricately linked to them in the form of a living practise. At a specific time of year, the concerned community holds a festival in honour of the relics. Furthermore, people are encouraged to initiate social customs by their thoughts and respect for them. For instance, the Megalithic monuments of various shapes and sizes of the Karbis of Assam's Karbi Anglong have been plentiful since ancient times. Dilip Medhi organised three public functions in the name of "Megalithic Monument Conservation Day" at Tengralangso and Kamarpha in 1997, Tika in 1998, and Nongjrong in 1999, with the active participation of the local people. As a result, Public Archaeology spread the message of cultural heritage and resource conservation to the general public, who became actively involved in the preservation of archaeological remains and cultural sites. Commemorate their Megalithic practise, Naga communities hold a stone pulling festival.


The debate over archaeological heritage management has spread to many parts of the globe. Because of political issues in some countries, where conflicting places seek support in international bodies and their guidelines for protecting cultural heritage, this movement is gaining traction. Others place a greater emphasis on the economic aspect, with tourism being described as the driving force behind the protection process. Several standards and guidelines have been developed in many countries over the years. In the case of the preservation and safeguarding of archaeological and cultural heritage, the Venice Charter warns that, despite the existence of intergovernmental measures that promote global action, each State's effective implementation should not be overlooked. The case studies presented in this article deal with the relationship between tourism and archaeological heritage. Cases from European countries will be presented first, followed by cases from other American countries, and finally, Brazilian cases.


Several authors have written about the subject, particularly Copeta and Giocomo, who discuss the creation of tourist routes that incorporate diverse cultural heritage, including archaeological sites. Chivu and Ramres, Novella and Barreira-Bassols emphasise the importance of planned tourism as an alternative to disorderly development in order to protect local heritage. Shoup, Baraldi, and Zan suggest ways to integrate the public and private sectors; Villalobos, as well as Sugiura and Nieto, present reflections on the unequal visibility given to archaeological heritage, which, due to a lack of legal protection or even the establishment of identity, relegates part of their heritage to abandonment; Griffith and Nieto present reflections on the unequal visibility given to archaeological heritage, which, due to a lack of legal protection or even the establishment of identity, re These authors, along with others, contributed to the research's conception.


The challenge of mapping through bibliographic research and discussing the main investigations involving Tourism and Archaeological Heritage at different times and places, under different theoretical and methodological approaches, was the relevance of this survey of the state of knowledge. This research led to the creation of a new postulate, dubbed the Management Reference Model for the Development of Tourism in Archaeological Sites, which is presented here. It was possible to conduct analyses using this survey in conjunction with other bibliographic references, allowing for the promotion and definition of the reference categories of the management model for the development of tourism in archaeological sites, which was the main goal of this reflection.


Q10) Write short note on any two of the following.

a) Narmada Man (10)

Ans) The discovery of a fossilised skull in the central Narmada valley in Madhya Pradesh, India, in 1982 marks the first scientifically documented evidence of human skeletal remains from the Indian subcontinent, dating from the late Middle Pleistocene period (300,000 to 150,000 years ago). On the north bank of the Narmada river, Dr. Arun Sonakia of the Geological Survey of India discovered the fossil exposed on the ground surface of a thick Quaternary sediment of fluvial origin and embedded in a fossiliferous gravel conglomerate. This is about forty kilometres northeast of Hoshangabad town, near the village of Hathnora. The left side of the cranial vault, most of the base of the skull, and the left half of the brow ridges and orbit are among the parts of the specimen that have been preserved. As a result, it is a calvaria rather than a complete skull with upper and lower jaws. Teeth are not present. In 1997, Dr. A. A. Sankhyan of the Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta, announced the discovery of a hominid right clavicle from Middle Pleistocene deposits in the Hathnora region during field explorations between 1983 and 1992, a bone that he associates with the Narmada Man calvaria and describes as belonging to a female the size of a modern adult pygmy of "stocky" build.


Aside from scholarly debates, Dr. Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, an American investigator, expanded on de Lumley's findings by conducting a thorough examination of the calvaria using measurements, morphological analyses, and statistical procedures to support the hypothesis that Narmada Man should be reclassified as an early Homo sapiens. The crania of the specimen were compared to those of other Middle Pleistocene hominid fossils, with which it shared a number of anatomical similarities. The archaeological evidence does not rule out the possibility that Homo erectus lived on the Indian subcontinent, but no Homo erectus fossils have been found. The Narmada calvaria is significant because it shows that early sapiens used the Acheulian tool tradition in a region of the world that lies between the more abundant hominid fossil sites in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Far East. At the time of writing, it is the oldest hominid fossil discovered in India.


b) Applied Archaeology (10)

Ans) The term "Applied Archaeology" refers to the application of archaeological data or knowledge for the benefit of the general public. The importance of archaeology as a contributor to the body of human knowledge is the most important aspect of its applicability. Apart from this fundamental use, which is common to all knowledge-building systems, the field of "Applied Archaeology" has emerged as a new discipline with significant financial implications.


Landscape studies, industrial studies (Industrial Archaeology), community and public studies, including museum studies (Public Archaeology and Museology), built environment, planning and development studies, entertainment industry, and tourism and other related disciplines have all benefited from archaeological knowledge. Applied Archaeology is concerned with all of these aspects.


Industrial archaeology is a sub-discipline of Applied Archaeology that emerged in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. The goal of this branch is to investigate the relics of industrialisation, which necessitates the development of new techniques in addition to those used in other branches of archaeology. This branch has made significant contributions to the study of the effects of industrialisation on the environment and human beings. The relationship between transportation and power systems to mines, quarries, and iron work has been demonstrated by Stephen Hughes of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments (UK). Industrial archaeology and built environment studies are considered integral parts of Applied Archaeology at the University of Salford's centre for Applied Archaeology. The Garbage Project of William Rathje, based in Tucson, Arizona, is an important experiment in this field, in which archaeological methods were used to better understand the consumption patterns of modern urban populations. Business houses can easily use the information gathered from these types of experiments to develop marketing strategies, advertisement campaigns, and so on.

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