Description

Drawing on the photographic albums in the personal collection of Sir John Marshall, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902-1928, this volume is a study exploring multiple perceptions of Indian history and related scholarship produced through archaeological fieldwork during the colonial period.
 
While maintaining focus on Marshall's contributions to South Asian archaeology, the themes of the essays include the rise of archaeology as an authoritative element for historical scholarship during the 18th and 19th centuries, the preservation of monuments and historical landscapes, and the complex relationships between photography and archaeology. The book highlights major sites such as Sanchi, Sarnath, Mohenjodaro and Taxila - often referred to as Marshall's archaeological triumphs.
 
With over 100 illustrations and an extensive bibliography, this volume offers a detailed account of the investigative technique that developed into a commanding disciplinary science - archaeology - within British India.

About the Authors
Sudeshna Guha is Affiliate Lecturer in South Asian History at the Faculty
of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in Cambridge (UK).
Michael Dodson is Associate Professor of History at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Tapati Guha-Thakurta is Professor of History at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata.
Christopher Pinney is Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture at University College London.
Robert Harding is an archaeologist and Senior Research Fellow for the "Civilisations In Contact" research project, Cambridge.
B D Chattopadhyaya is a retired Professor of History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Additional Information

Published in association with The Alkazi Collection of Photography and the Archaeological Survery of India.

Praise