| Abstract: |
This chapter has two separate sections. Firstly, the archaeology of South Asia is discussed from both descriptive and interpretative perspectives by one of India's leading archaeolgists. This is an account from 'within' the South Asian archaeological tradition, written by an author who is highly aware of the aspirations of his peers at the turn of the twenty-first century. The archaeology of Southeast Asia is not so amenable to such an approach, being divided into a much greater number of national traditions. This region is therefore described in the second part of the chapter from an 'outside' perspective, with a focus more on outstanding issues of cultural history than on issues of interpretative theory. Archaeology in the twenty-first century will doubtless have room for both approaches, indeed it will probably demand that both go hand-in-hand if wisdom and the search for truth are not to be overwhelmed by political expediency. Both regions share many significant elements of history, especially from Neolithic times onwards into the Classical Period of Hindu and Buddhist tradition. They also share archaeological traditions which are today being internalized from colonial period foundations. Both have similar problems with protection of their heritage in an increasingly commercialized world. Most importantly perhaps, both regions have a lively new generation of indigenous archaeologists who will carry the search for our common heritage into the new century with vigour.
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