The Archaeology of Coastal Bengal

Description

Research work on coastal Bengal has mostly focused on maritime trading networks. In a clear departure from the existing scholarship, this volume questions the linearity of considering trade as the sole determinant of creation of settlement in the coastal regions. Focusing on settlement strategies, Chattopadhyay unravels how human societies, through successive generations, have adapted to the coastal environment and bioregime.
First-hand data, procured through extensive fieldwork, forms the sound basis of this work. From structural remains, ceramic and bone implements, and stone tools, to terracotta figurines and inscriptions, a vast array of sources, including epigraphic and literary sources, is analysed. Significantly, the volume also highlights the interconnection between coastal geography and the hinterland.
Chattopadhyay’s meticulously researched work offers a geographical and temporal frame which allows the research on coastal Bengal to be viewed as an integral part of the archaeological developments in not only the subcontinent but also the adjoining region of the Southeast Asian countries.

About the Author
Rupendra Kumar Chattopadhyay is Paresh Chandra Chatterjee Professor of History, Presidency University, Kolkata, India.

Table of contents

List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgements
Prologue
1. Historiography
2. Quaternary of the Bengal Coast
3. Geophysical Features of Coastal West Bengal
4. Distribution of Sites/Settlements
5. Assemblage Analysis
6. Inscriptions and Coastal Life
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Index
About the Author