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South Asian Archaeology Lab

by Brian Thuok last modified October 15, 2008 05:53 PM

 

The South Asian Archaeology Lab was established in 2002 and is directed by Monica L. Smith, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Archaeology Program. The lab highlights the archaeology of South Asia, the area encompassed by the modern-day countries of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. South Asia provides a wealth of exciting archaeological data, starting from the Paleolithic period hundreds of thousands of years ago to the Indus Valley (Harappan) periods, the Early Historic era, and the medieval period with its palaces and temples that continue to grace the modern landscape of the Indian subcontinent.

Please correspond with the lab’s director, Monica L. Smith, for further information about the research programs and student opportunities being developed in the South Asian Lab.

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The Construction of Value

Scholars from Aristotle to Marx and beyond have been fascinated by the question of what constitutes value. The Construction of Value in the Ancient World makes a significant contribution to this ongoing inquiry, bringing together in one comprehensive volume the perspectives of leading anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, linguists, philologists, and sociologists on how value was created, defined, and expressed in a number of ancient societies around the world. Based on the basic premise that value is a social construct defined by the cultural context in which it is situated, the volume explores four overarching but closely interrelated themes: place value, body value, object value, and number value. The questions raised and addressed are of central importance to archaeologists studying ancient civilizations: How can we understand the value that might have been accorded to materials, objects, people, places, and patterns of action by those who produced or used the things that compose the human material record? Taken as a whole, the contributions to this volume demonstrate how the concept of value lies at the intersection of individual and collective tastes, desires, sentiments, and attitudes that inform the ways people select, or give priority to, one thing over another.

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