Title & Author:

Ancient cities of the Indus / edited by Gregory L. Possehl

Publication:

New Delhi : Vikas, [1979]
©1979

Description:

xv, 422 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, maps, plans ; 28 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 364-420) and index.
pt. 1. Civilization. -- Editor's introduction -- Civilizations as things thought about / Robert Redfield -- The urban revolution / V. Gordon Childe -- The natural history of urbanism / Robert McC. Adams -- The cultural evolution of civilizations / Kent V. Flannery -- pt. 2. The nature of the Indus civilization. -- Editor's introduction -- The Harappan civilization : new evidence and more theory / Walter A. Fairservis, Jr. -- The origin, character and decline of an early civilization / Walter A. Fairservis, Jr. -- The present state of research on the Indus Valley civilization / M. Rafique Mughal -- pt. 3. Papers of historical interest. -- Editor's introduction -- Harappa / Sir Alexander Cunningham -- First light on a long-forgotten civilization / Sir John Marshall -- Remarkable discoveries in India / A.H. Sayce -- The new links between Indian and Babylonian civilizations / C.J. Gadd and Sidney Smith -- pt. 4. Contacts with the West : chronological considerations. -- Editor's introduction -- Seals of ancient Indian style found at Ur / C.J. Gadd -- Further links between ancient Sind, Sumer and elsewhere / E.J.H. Mackay -- Trade mechanisms in Indus-Mesopotamian interrelations / C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky -- Of dice and men / George F. Dales -- A dated seal impression connecting Babylonia and ancient India / Briggs Buchanan -- A "Persian Gulf" seal from Lothal / S.R. Rao -- pt. 5. Mesopotamian and Persian Gulf maritime trade with India. -- Editor's introduction -- The seafaring merchants of Ur / A. Leo Oppenheim -- On the location of Dilmun / Peter B. Cornwall -- The Indus civilization and Dilmun : the Sumerian paradise land / Samuel N. Kramer -- Contacts between Lothal and Susa / S.R. Rao -- pt. 6. Major settlements of the Indus civilization. -- Editor's introduction -- Harappa and Mohenjo daro / Sir John Marshall -- Stratigraphy at Mohenjo daro / H.T. Lambrick -- New investigations at Mohenjo daro / George F. Dales -- Kalibangan : a Harappan metropolis beyond the Indus Valley / B.K. Thapar -- The Harappan "port" at Lothal : another view / Lawrence S. Leshnik -- Lothal : a gateway settlement of the Indus civilization / Gregory L. Possehl -- pt. 7. The environment. -- Editor's introduction -- The prehistoric climate of Baluchistan and the Indus Valley / Robert L. Raikes and Robert H. Dyson -- The Indus Valley culture / Gurdip Singh -- Monsoon over the Indus Valley during the Harappan period / C. Ramaswamy -- Early domesticated animals in India and Pakistan / F.R. Allchin -- Early cultivated plants in India and Pakistan / F.R. Allchin -- pt. 8. The Indus script. -- Editor's introduction -- A brief survey of work to date on the Indus script / Arlene R.K. Zide -- Study of the Indus script through bi-lingual parallels / Iravatham Mahadevan -- Inscribed copper tablets from Mohenjo daro : a preliminary analysis / B.M. Pande -- pt. 9. The post-urban phase of the Indus civilization. -- Editor's introduction -- Harappan chronology and the Rig Veda / Sir Mortimer Wheeler -- The mythical massacre at Mohenjo daro / George F. Dales -- The end of the ancient cities of the Indus / Robert L. Raikes -- The decline of the Harappans / George F. Dales -- The Indus flood plain and the "Indus" civilization / H.T. Lambrick -- The "Cemetery H" culture / H.D. Sankalia -- pt. 10. The Radiocarbon chronology. -- Editor's introduction -- Archaeological and radiocarbon chronologies for protohistoric South Asia / George F. Dales -- Radiocarbon dates and reality / Elizabeth K. Ralph, H.N. Michael and M. Han -- Radiocarbon dates for the Indus Civilization and related sites -- pt. 11. An extensive bibliography of the Indus civilization including references cited in the text.

Summary:

"My study of the Indus Civilization has brought to light a body of excellent literature on various aspects of this ancient urban complex which has not been incorporated into the three or four standard sources frequently cited in secondary literature. Most of this supplementary material is in journals and other periodicals, often difficult to locate even in the best libraries. Yet, it constitutes an essential source for a comprehensive study of this civilization. To bring some of this literature together within a single volume was a major motivation behind the preparation of this book. An attempt to correct a certain imbalance in our understanding of this civilization is of equal importance. Too often it has been the standard source, especially Sir Mortimer Wheeler's The Indus Civilization (1968), to which scholars have turned for information and interpretation. There is no doubt about the excellence of Wheeler's book, but it is still largely a reflection of his perspective. In a sense, then, Ancient Cities of the Indus was compiled in an effort to introduce a range of opinion and interpretation of issues too often considered settled."-- Introduction

ISBN:

0706907817 hardback
9780706907810 hardback
0890890935
9780890890936

Subject:

Indus civilization.
Civilisation de l'Indus.
Mohenjo-Daro Site (Pakistan) Civilization.
Lothal Site (India) Civilization.
India Antiquities.
Pakistan Antiquities.
Mohenjo-Dāro (Pākistān : Site archéologique) Civilisation.
Lothal (Inde : Site archéologique) Civilisation.
Inde Antiquités.
Pākistān Antiquités.

Added entries:

Possehl, Gregory L., editor.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 286137
Call No.: BIB 226269
Status: Available