Abstract

How can anthropologists address contemporary issues in Indian archaeology? How do we cross disciplinary boundaries, and national ones, while still making knowledge claims? The practice of archaeology in the Indian Republic is influenced by an ideology of ‘fundamental unity’ throughout India and by Hindu nationalism. Up until recently, many Indian archaeologists interpreted these ideas in terms of the Vedic origins of Indian civilization and they assumed cultural continuity between contemporary and prehistoric societies. Under this model, the archaeological record in India is explained through a correlation between material culture, and either language, biological traits or both. This view assumes that Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas, is unchanging and that the Vedic texts themselves are a static archive of traditions which, thus, can be used to interpret the archaeological record. In this paper, I will examine Aryan mythology as reflected in the conflation of material culture and social structure in Indian archaeology. I will discuss how “strange sciences,” broadly defined, offer opportunities to create and maintain knowledge claims, as well as challenge them.