Bureaucratic Archaeology: State, Science, and Past in Postcolonial India

Bureaucratic Archaeology is a unique ethnography that explores the relationship between archaeology, bureaucracy, and science in postcolonial India, focusing on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It reveals how the micro-practice of archaeology is connected to the production of archaeological knowledge, which is used to shape political and religious identities and is even presented as evidence in court cases. The book offers a rare inside perspective of a postcolonial bureaucracy and demonstrates how the ASI assembles and produces knowledge in a distinct way from the Euro-American epistemological tradition.

Format: Hardback
Length: 358 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Bureaucratic Archaeology is a comprehensive ethnography that delves into the intricate interplay of archaeology, bureaucracy, and science in postcolonial India, with a particular focus on the operations of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This book unveils a profound connection between the micro-practices of archaeology within the trenches of the ASI and the production of archaeological knowledge, which is then wielded to shape political and religious identities and serves as indisputable evidence in the highest courts of India. This unique ethnography offers a rare insider's perspective on the daily workings of a postcolonial bureaucracy, shedding light on the social, cultural, political, and epistemological landscape of ASI archaeologists. By meticulously unraveling the social, cultural, political, and epistemological ecology of ASI archaeologists, this book demonstrates how the postcolonial state assembles and produces knowledge. Moreover, it stands as the first comprehensive monograph on the workings of archaeology in a non-Western world, showcasing how archaeological practice deviates, transforms, and generates knowledge outside the Euro-American epistemological tradition.

Bureaucratic Archaeology is a comprehensive ethnography that delves into the intricate interplay of archaeology, bureaucracy, and science in postcolonial India, with a particular focus on the operations of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This book unveils a profound connection between the micro-practices of archaeology within the trenches of the ASI and the production of archaeological knowledge, which is then wielded to shape political and religious identities and serves as indisputable evidence in the highest courts of India. This unique ethnography offers a rare insider's perspective on the daily workings of a postcolonial bureaucracy, shedding light on the social, cultural, political, and epistemological landscape of ASI archaeologists. By meticulously unraveling the social, cultural, political, and epistemological ecology of ASI archaeologists, this book demonstrates how the postcolonial state assembles and produces knowledge. Moreover, it stands as the first comprehensive monograph on the workings of archaeology in a non-Western world, showcasing how archaeological practice deviates, transforms, and generates knowledge outside the Euro-American epistemological tradition.

Weight: 618g
Dimension: 163 x 241 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781316512395