AltaMira Press
Pages: 288
Trim: 8¾ x 11¼
978-0-7591-0171-5 • Hardback • November 2002 • $155.00 • (£119.00)
978-0-7591-0172-2 • Paperback • October 2002 • $61.00 • (£47.00)
978-0-7591-1642-9 • eBook • November 2002 • $57.50 • (£44.00)
GREGORY L. POSSEHL is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Curator of the Asian Collections at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He has been engaged in archaeological research in Indian and Pakistan since 1964, from Iron Age megaliths to Mesolithic encampments, including directing excavations at Rojdi in Gujarat and Gilund in southern Rajasthan. Possehl has written and edited a number of important books on the Indus Civilization and related topics.
1 Preface/ The Indus Age/ Beginnings/ The Indus Civilization/ Technology/ Architecture/ Art/ Script/ Religion/ Burial Customs and Biological Diversity/ Gender/ Mohenjo-Daro/ The Middle Asian Interaction Sphere/ The Transformation of the Indus Civilization/
This volume offers the best description and analysis of the nature of [Indus] civilization. Illustrated with an abundance of line drawings, charts, and maps, the volume richly illuminates architecture, material culture, and arts and crafts....Offering thebest available presentation of the Indus civilization, this volume successfully fulfills the needs of both general readers and specialists...Essential...[f]or all those interested in ancient civilizationssss
— C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Possehl's book is more detailed, and in particular highlights his ability to synthesize information into a coherent whole. In addition he offers a number of hypotheses that will serve as catalysts for academic debate.....
—
This book by a well-known anthropologist puts together all that is known about this fascinating culture. He examines the economic, agricultural, religious and artistic aspects of this ancient civilisation and draws some startling conclusions...[The] explosive observations of the author, who...has done extensive research on the Indus civilisation, make this volume valuable for scholars, students and lay readers alike...he makes the riddle of the Indus Age all the more enigmatic....
— Jaswant Singh
...makes an important contribution to the archaeology of South Asia by bringing together a large body of information from an area that has generally been ignored and misunderstood by nonspecialists.....
— Michael P. Neeley
An accessible volume for the nonspecialist...There is a great need for such a book...the work is refreshing: Possehl takes strong stands on a variety of issues, but he presents his perspective clearly and in ways that can contribute to productive classroom discussions...this book will make a valuable launching point for undergraduate and graduate courses on South Asian archaeology or comparative courses on early states and civilizations....
— Carla M. Sinopoli
• Winner, Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award 2003