Nalanda, Srivijaya and Beyond

Nalanda, Srivijaya and Beyond
Author: Gauri Parimoo Krishnan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9789810999124

Recent studies of intra-Asian trade and Buddhist networks have brought fresh perspectives to the understanding of the pre-modern interaction between South and Southeast Asia. Through centuries of selective adaptation and localization of intellectual, cultural, aesthetic, and economic exchanges Buddhist art in Asia has continued to thrive. Fresh research and archaeological data help locate centres of exchange which catalysed the process of localization. This collection of essays, based on a conference held in conjunction with On the Nalanda Trail: Buddhism in India, China and Southeast Asia, an exhibition organized by the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, is a re-exploration of Buddhist art, archaeology, and epigraphy. Focussing on ancient monastic centres and temples such as Nalanda, Mainamati, Kizil, Kedah, Dulesi, and Longxingsi Dabeige, papers in this volume offer newer perspectives on aspects of text-image-inscription correlation. This volume is an attempt at interdisciplinary study of cross-cultural trails that lead to localized Buddhist practice patterns and artistic diversities.

Decolonising Heritage in South Asia

Decolonising Heritage in South Asia
Author: Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2018-09-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0429802862

This volume cross-examines the stability of heritage as a concept. It interrogates the past which materialises through multi-layered narratives on monuments and other objects that sustain cultural diversity. It seeks to understand how interpretations of “monuments” as “texts” are affected at the local level of experience, even as institutions such as UNESCO work to globalise and fix constructs of stable and universal heritage. Shifting away from a largely Eurocentric concept associated with architecture and monumental archaeology, this book reassesses how local and regional heritage needs to be balanced with the global and transnational. It argues that material objects and monuments are not static embodiments of culture but are, rather, a medium through which identity, power and society are produced and reproduced. This is especially relevant in South and Southeast Asian contexts, where debates over heritage often have local, regional and national political implications and consequences. Reevaluating how traditional valuation of monuments and cultural landscapes could help aid sustainability and long-term preservation of the heritage, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of South and Southeast Asian history, heritage studies, archaeology, cultural studies, tourism studies and political history as well.

A History of Southeast Asia

A History of Southeast Asia
Author: Anthony Reid
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 1118512952

A History of Southeast Asia: Critical Crossroads presents a comprehensive history of Southeast Asia from our earliest knowledge of its civilizations and religious patterns up to the present day. Incorporates environmental, social, economic, and gender issues to tell a multi-dimensional story of Southeast Asian history from earliest times to the present Argues that while the region remains a highly diverse mix of religions, ethnicities, and political systems, it demands more attention for how it manages such diversity while being receptive to new ideas and technologies Demonstrates how Southeast Asia can offer alternatives to state-centric models of history more broadly 2016 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Textbook in the Humanities

The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World

The Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World
Author: Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2020-11-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000220672

This book examines knowledge traditions that held together the fluid and overlapping maritime worlds of the Indian Ocean in the premodern period, as evident in the material and archaeological record. It breaks new ground by shifting the focus from studying cross-pollination of ideas from textual sources to identifying this exchange of ideas in archaeological and historical documentation. The themes covered in the book include conceptualization of the seas and maritime landscapes in Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese narratives; materiality of knowledge production as indicated in the archaeological record of communities where writing on stone first appears; and anchoring the coasts, not only through an understanding of littoral shrines and ritual landscapes, but also by an analysis of religious imagery on coins, more so at the time of the introduction of new religions such as Islam in the Indian Ocean around the eighth century. This volume will be of great interest to researchers and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, Indian Ocean studies, maritime studies, South and Southeast Asian studies, religious studies and cultural studies.

A View from the Highlands

A View from the Highlands
Author: Mai Lin Tjoa-Bonatz
Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2019-11-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 9814843024

This book analyses the rise of the settlement system in the heartland of the Minangkabau region in the highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It explores the regional settlement pattern arising from Adityavarman’s highland interregnum (c. 1347–75), and provides the first attempt to place the archaeological remains and the landscape of Tanah Datar, a fertile plain in the highlands of West Sumatra, in a cultural historic synthesis. The core of this research consisted of excavations at Bukit Gombak and Bukit Kincir. Bukit Gombak was a central place in Adityavarman’s kingdom, and provides evidence of the organization and material development of this political entity. Surveys uncovered other settlements that could be examined in relation to each other and to sites from earlier and later periods, and used to sketch out the settlement history of Tanah Datar from prehistoric times to the colonial period. The book consists of detailed studies of metal, ceramics and glass finds by laboratory-based specialists as well as careful descriptions of stone, clay and other finds.

Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks across India and Southeast Asia

Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks across India and Southeast Asia
Author: Himanshu Prabha Ray
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2020-07-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000166511

This book breaks new ground by examining trans-oceanic connectivity through the perspective of coastal shrines and maritime cultural landscapes across the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. It covers a period of expanding networks and cross-cultural encounters from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The book examines the distinctiveness of these shrines, and highlights their interconnections, and their role in social integration in South and Southeast Asia. By drawing on data from shipwreck sites, the author elaborates on the material and religious intersections and transmissions between cultures across the seas. Many of these coastal shrines survived into the colonial period when they came to be admired for their aesthetic value as ‘monuments’. As nation states of the region became independent, these shrines were often inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on account of their Outstanding Universal Values. The book argues that in the 21st century there is a need to promote the cultural connectivity of the past as transnational heritage on UNESCO’s global platform to preserve and protect our shared heritage. The volume will be essential reading for academics and researchers of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, history of South and Southeast Asia, religious studies, cultural studies, and Asian studies.

Buddhism and Law

Buddhism and Law
Author: Rebecca Redwood French
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2014-07-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0521515793

This volume challenges the concept of Buddhism as an apolitical religion without implications for law.

Heritage

Heritage
Author: Daniela Turcanu-Carutiu
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2022-09-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1839696206

This Edited Volume “Heritage - New Paradigm” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters, offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of social sciences and humanities. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the social sciences and humanities research area. All chapters are complete in themselves but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on social sciences and humanities and opens new possible research paths for further novel developments.

Tibet and India

Tibet and India
Author: Kurt Behrendt
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2014-02-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1588395499