1. An Ethno-archaeological Investigation of the Mandana art: A living tradition of Chambal basin
Author: Dilip Kumar Kushwaha & Pooja
Ethno-archaeology is the mirror of the consciousness of past societies. This research paper helps to
understand the continuity of past traditions. The Habitation area of present times and rock shelters
of our ancestors are cultural repositories. For a long time, humans handed down their trials and
tribulations from generation to generation in the form of folklore, folk arts and rock engravings.
Mandana art of the Meena tribe is a living tradition which is connected to the prehistoric rock art.
The ethnographic data was collected by field work, and personal interactions with people belonging
to Meena community. They make ritual paintings on the occasion of important events like,
marriage, festivals, rituals etc. The archaeological data is based on literature on rock art in the
districts of Chambal basin. The paper attempts to explore the antiquity of Mandana art and its
cultural parallelism with rock art.
2. Reconstruction of Population History of Uttarakhand Using Genetic and Archeological Data
Author: Vijay Kumar & Niraj Rai & Dinesh Kumar Azad
The Indian subcontinent, today, is one of the most densely populated and diverse- linguistically,
culturally, and genetically, parts of the world. Indian sub-continent also harbors various geo
climatic areas from Himalayan glaciers to coastal areas. Different areas of the nation are populated
by people having different morphological features. Two major DNA based studies on modern
Indian populations concluded that present-day Indians source their ancestry to multiple ancestral
components. However, several questions remain contested and unresolved. Though the overall
picture is still at best emerging, new archaeological and genetic information from the region has
started to reveal a more complex scenario of ancient human migrations and admixtures than was
previously anticipated. In this paper, we aim to go further towards a fine-grained modeling of
Uttarakhand, India using uniparental Y and mtDNA markers The Indian populations are one of the
most diverse region of the world in terms of Y and mtDNA based haplogroups. Hence, genetic
reconstruction of entire India will be challenging task but doable with a huge reference genetic
database. For studying the process of making of Indian population groups, we must understand the
process of genetic mixing and migration patterns of small sub-set of population in corroboration of
historical and archeological records. For this purpose, we have selected a small area of the
Uttarakhand, India and the period for which we can get information from archeology, literature and
genetics is from 4th millennium BC to present times. This study is intended to understand the process
of making of Indian society, its tribes, various ethnic groups, multitude of castes and classical varnas.
3. Copper Hoard Weapons and Tools kept in Shahjad Rai research institute, Baraut district Baghpat Uttar Pradesh
Author: Vijay Kumar & Amit Rai Jain
This article by Vijay Kumar & Amit Rai Jain is the catalogue of total 133 copper hoard objects kept
in Shahjad Rai Research Institute, Baraut district Baghpat Uttar Pradesh. It consists of 82 flat axes, 14
shouldered axes, 01 lugged shouldered axe, 04 flat celts, 04 bar celts, 08 khantis, 08 chisels, 03 barbed
harpoons, 01 harpoon, 04 swords, 02 antennae swords, 01 elongated piece of copper and 01 thick
peg / bent nail.
4. Geoarchaeological investigations around the Porpanai Fort using Ground Magnetic Survey
Author: Dr. A. Muthamilselvan & S. Suvish
Porpanai fort is one of the ancient forts in Tamil Nadu and most important area for archaeological
excavations due to its Chola connection. The present study aims to identify buried features,
demolished wall structures and depth of those features using ground magnetic survey in and
around Porpanai fort located in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, India. The magnetic survey is
planned with profile interval of 50m and sample interval of 20m over an area of 850 sq.m. Totally,
507 samples were collected, processed and interpreted qualitative and quantitatively. The result of
the total magnetic intensity ranged from 41073nT to 41309nT and the mean magnetic value is
41191nT. Analytical Signal map derived from magnetic data indicates the presence of circular
magnetic anomaly in the eastern and southern part of the study area. Regional, Residual and Band
pass filter anomaly obtained from analytical signal grid indicates major causative bodies in the
eastern and southern part of the area. Further, East west profiles were generated for residual,
regional and analytical signal maps which indicate the sudden decrease of magnetic values around
the distance of 800m. Depth of the causative bodies were estimated using radially averaged power
spectrum that shows depth of shallow and deep sources are 10 and 30m respectively. Euler
deconvolution method has also been applied to estimate depth of buried features using various
structural indexes 0, 1, 2, and 3 and found depth of causative bodies varies from 30 m.
Subsurface features obtained from these maps were visualized, interpreted and four zones were
proposed for detailed investigation. Study indicates that magnetic method is one of the best and
most suitable geophysical procedure for geoarchaeological investigation.
5. Catalogue of Terracotta Objects Kept in Shahjad Rai Research Institute, Baraut district Baghpat Uttar Pradesh
Author: Vijay Kumar & Amit Rai Jain
This article by Vijay Kumar & Amit Rai Jain is the catalogue of 247 newly acquired terracotta objects
by Shahjad Rai Research Institute, Baraut district Baghpat. This collection contains 49 objects of
Mauryan period, 80 Objects of Sunga period, 37 objects of Kushan period, 51 objects of Gupta period,
1 object of medieval period, 3 objects of Modern period and 26 miscellaneous Objects. These objects
were recovered from the sites of Sugh district Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, Ahichchhatra district Bareilly
Uttar Pradesh, Sankissa district Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. The find spots of these objects exist in
western UP and Haryana.
6. Decorated Ceilings of Osian Temples in Rajasthan
Author: Amar Singh
Osian in district Jodhpur (Rajasthan) has a group of temples of 8th - 9th centuries and eleventh
century. The objective of this paper is to make a general survey and documentation of the temple
ceilings of Osian. The ceilings (vitanas) or the inner canopy of the mandapas are essential parts of the
temples. After the 9th century, the temples mainly of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are
adorned with samatala, ksipta, utksipta and misraka varieties as classified and described in
Samaranganasutradhara (54, 28); Aparajitaprccha (189, 4) and Prasadamandana (7, 34).These are
ornamented with lotus-petals (padmashilas), kirttimukhas, gajatalus , kolas, karnadardarikas, valikas,
campaka-buds, lotus flowers, beaded garlands scrolls, geometrical and floral designs and frequently
showing lumas, apsaras, gandharvas, dancers and musicians, with prominent padmakeshara (staminal
tube). The author classifies the ceilings of Osian temples in ten types and co-relates these with
textual descriptions.
7. Iron Metallurgy in Manipur With Reference to the Ancient Iron Smelting Sites at Kakching: An Archaeological and Empirical Approach
Author: Naorem Naresh Singh & Prof. Oinam Ranjit Singh
Iron is a metal found abundantly in the earth's crust and is considered to be one of the most
important metals for the growth and development of human civilizations. Iron smelting is the
technological process of extracting iron from its ores. Manipur is one of the eight states of North
East India, which was also an ancient kingdom with a long recorded history of its own. The growth
and advancement of the use of iron and its metallurgy in the region is a very important area of
research for the reconstruction of a precise history of technology in Manipur. This state has an iron
smelting community called the Kakchings. Historically, they are known for their expertise in the art
of iron smelting. It is also suggested that they supplied iron to the kings of Manipur as yearly tribute.
This paper focuses on the introduction of iron use and its metallurgy in the ancient kingdom of
Manipur, based on archaeological and literary sources. The significance of iron smelting sites found
in and around Kakching is also analyzed for a better understanding of the development of iron
metallurgy in Manipur.
8. A Study on Rasamancha of Bishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal, India
The Bishnupur is known as the town of Terracotta Temples of Bengal. Among the temples of
Bishnupur the Rasammancha is unique in structure. Rasamancha is not solely a temple, it’s rather the
dance floor or the dance platform of Lord Vishnu. The study deals with the specific measurements
of Rasamancha and it includes the anatomical symmetry of temple structure. The floor pattern and
the arrangement of roof are represented by the graphical presentation. The arrangement of pillars
and doorways follow the Fibonacci number, golden ratio and Pythagorean numerical ideology. The
pyramidal roof is the symbol of Universe and sky, empty sanctum has been borrowed from the
Islamic ideology. The pillars are sun symbols and are the symbol of living or the terrestrial earth
and square flat base signifies the landscape. The Rasamancha is the symbol of integrity and
assimilation of diversified cultural panorama of eastern India.
