The Colonial Archaeology of Taxila: A historiographical analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/2.2.24Keywords:
Cunningham, Marshall, South Asia, Sirkap, archaeology, survey, diffusionismAbstract
Like other major archaeological sites of South Asia, the history of archaeological research at Taxila has now been one and a half century old. Taxila is situated in the Rawalpindi district of the Punjab, Pakistan. Various scholars since the mid-nineteenth century have worked in the area in order to explore and investigate its ancient history and society. Amongst them, Sir Alexander Cunningham and Sir John Marshall, both of whom served as Director Generals of the Archaeological Survey of India, stand conspicuous. This paper deals with their work and ideas, with a focus on Taxila, about the history and archaeology in the South Asian context along with assessing the colonial thought in their research works. The approach here is historiographical with a focus on socio-cultural and ethnic re/constructions by both these pioneering archaeologists. As we know that writers and researchers cannot be separated from the thought of the age they are living in, the intellectual contexts of the work of Cunningham and Marshall has also been elaborated.
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