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• Director
• Associates
  • Clarence-Smith, W.
  • Freitag, U.
  • Pearson, M.
  • Prakash, O.
  • Ray, H. P.
  • Sheriff, A.
  • Schottenhammer, A.
  • Soodyall, H.
  • Warren, J.
  • Worden, N.
• Research Associates
  • Machado, P.
  • Vink, M.
  • Vernet, T.
• McGill Faculty Affiliates
  • Echenberg, M.
  • Elbourne, E.
• PhD Students
  • Ferguson, M.
  • Ghabrial, S.
  • Rath, Andrew
  • Serels, S.
  • Tesfaye, F.
• MA Students
  • Shivji, N.
• Graduate Assistants
  • Chowdhury, R.
  • Sayles, J.
  • Seagle, C.
• Past Affiliates

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IOWC Associates

Himanshu Prabha Ray

Himanshu Prabha Ray is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Professor Ray is an internationally-renowned archaeologist who has participated in excavations at Purana Qila, New Delhi (1971-72 & 1972-73), Mathura (1973-74), Ban Tha Kae, Lopburi Province, Thailand (December 1989), Arikamedu near Pondicherry (December 1990-February 1991), and Mahasthan, Bangladesh (February 1993) as well as in an exploratory survey of indigenous boat-building techniques on the Orissa coast (February 1996).

Professor Ray’s postgraduate lecture courses include Sanskrit, Archaeology as History: South Asia, Early Urban Centres, Seafaring & Maritime Contacts, and the Early History of Peninsular India, while her postgraduate seminar course options include Indian Art & Architecture, Historical Archaeologyand the Political History of the Satavahanas.

The recipient of a number of prestigious research awards, most recently theShivdasani Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Oxford (October-December 2005) and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Visiting Fellow in Arts at the University of Sydney, Australia (June 2005), Professor Ray is a member of the Board of the School of Social Sciences, and of the Special Committee of the Centre for Sanskrit Studies - Jawaharlal Nehru University; Archaeological Society of India, Indian Association for Prehistoric & Quaternary Studies, Indian History Congress and Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association.

Current research

• History of archaeology in India and its impact on the study of religion in the colonial and post-colonial period.
• Seafaring and Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean.
• Digital mapping of the archaeological sites of Aihole- Badami- Pattadakal through satellite imagery. JNU has sanctioned a grant under VCs Discretionary Quota for undertaking this work under its University with Potential for Excellence Programme (UPOE) and the Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre – Bangalore, a unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation is implementing it.

Publications:

Books:

• Incredible India: Monuments, Wisdom Tree & Department of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, New Delhi, 2007.
• A Historical Survey of Seafaring and Maritime Networks of Peninsular India, Lecture Series Publication – 2, Indian Council of Historical Research, Southern Regional Centre, Bangalore, 2006. (Booklet).
• The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia,Cambridge World Archaeology Series, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
• The Winds of Change: Buddhism and the Maritime Links of Early South Asia, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1994; Oxford India Paperbacks, 1999.
• Monastery & Guild: Commerce under the Satavahanas, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1986.

Edited Monographs:

• Tradition and Archaeology: Early Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean, H.P.Ray and J.-F. Salles, edited, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 1996.
• Archaeology of Seafaring: The Indian Ocean in the Ancient Period, H. P. Ray edited, Indian Council for Historical Research Monograph Series I, New Delhi, 1999.
• Archaeology as History in Early South Asia, H. P. Ray and Carla Sinopoli edited, Indian Council for Historical Research & Aryan Books International, New Delhi, 2004.
• Coins in India: Power and Communication, H.P. Ray edited, Marg Publications, volume 57, 3, March 2006.

Under Publication:

• H.P. Ray & E.A. Alpers, edited, Cross Currents and Community Networks: Encapsulating the History of the Indian Ocean World, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library - Oxford University Press, New Delhi (forthcoming 2007).
• H.P. Ray edited, Sacred Landscapes in Asia: Shared Traditions, Multiple Histories, sponsored by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson, India International Centre - Asia Project, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi (forthcoming 2007).
• H.P. Ray edited, Memory as History: The Legacy of Alexander in Asia, Aryan Books International (forthcoming 2007).
• H.P. Ray, Colonial Archaeology in South Asia (1861-1948): The Legacy of Sir
• Mortimer Wheeler Oxford University Press, New Delhi (under review).

Published Research Papers:

1970-1979:

• “Anthropomorphic Ornaments in Early Indian Sculpture”, Puratattva, vol VII, 1973.
• “Sakti Cult in the Seventh to the Ninth Centuries AD”, in UV Singh, ed., Archaeological Congress & Seminar: 1972, Kurukshetra, 1976.
• “Zoomorphic Ornaments in Early Indian Sculpture”, in R. Subramanyam, ed., Sri M.S. Sarma Commemoration Volume, Hyderabad, 1976

1980-1989:

• “Ahar”, “Jaina”, “Jorwe”, “Monastic Establishments”, “Navdatoli-Maheshwar”, “Nevasa”, “Personal Ornaments”, “Pottery – Glazed Ware” in A. Ghosh, ed., Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, New Delhi, 1989.
• “Trade in the Western Deccan during the Satavahana Period”, Studies in History, vol I, no 1, 1985, pp 15-35.
• “Inscribed Potsherds – a Study”, Indica, Journal of the Heras Institute, Bombay, vol XXIV, no 1, 1987, pp 1-14.
• “Early Historical Urbanisation – the Case of the Western Deccan”, World Archaeology, vol XIX, no 1, 1987, pp 94-104.
• “Yavana Presence in Ancient India”, Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol XX, no 1, 1988, pp 311-25.
• “Early Buddhist Caves in the Western Deccan”, Expedition, vol XXX, no 2, 1988, pp 39.
• “Early Trade in the Bay of Bengal”, Indian Historical Review, vol XIV, nos 1&2, July 1987-January 1988.
• “Early Maritime Contacts between South and Southeast Asia”, Journal of South East Asian Studies, vol XX, no 1, 1989, pp 42-54.
• “Early Historical Settlements in the Deccan – an Ecological Perspective”, Man and Environment, vol XIV, no 1, 1989, pp 103-8.
• “Early Historical Trade – an Overview”, Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol XXVI, no 4, 1989, pp 437-57.

1990-1999:

• “Seafaring in the Bay of Bengal in the Early Centuries AD”, Studies in History, vol VI, no 1, 1990, pp 1-14
• “In Search of Suvarnabhumi: Early Sailing Networks in the Bay of Bengal”, Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, no 10, 1991, pp 357-65.
• “East Coast Trade in Peninsular India – c BC 200 to 400 AD”, A.J. Gail, ed., South Asian Archaeology, Berlin, 1993, pp 573-84.
• “A Resurvey of Roman Contacts with the East”, TOPOI, vol 3/2, 1993, pp 479-91.
• “The Western Indian Ocean and the Early Maritime Links of the Indian Subcontinent” Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol XXXI, no 1, January-March 1994, pp 65-88.
• “Kanheri: Archaeology of an Early Buddhist Pilgrim Centre in Western India”, World Archaeology, vol XXVI, no 1, June 1994, pp 35-46.
• “Satavahanas” & “Mauryan and post-Mauryan Developments”, in G. Burenhult, ed., Old World Civilizations, Harper Collins, 1994, pp 72-7.
• “Trade and Contacts”, in R. Thapar, ed., Perspectives in Ancient Indian History, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1995, pp 142-67.
• “Maritime Archaeology: the Ethnographic Evidence”, Man and Environment, vol XXI, no 1,1996, pp 74-85.
• “Coastal Trade in the Bay of Bengal”, in J. Reade, ed., Indian Ocean in Antiquity, Kegan Paul International, London, 1996, pp 351-64.
• “Seafaring and Maritime Contacts: an Agenda for Historical Analysis”, Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol XXXIX, no 4, 1996, pp 422-31.
• “The Parallel Tradition – Early Buddhist Narrative Sculpture”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, vols LIV-LV, Sir William Jones Commemoration Volume, Pune, 1996, pp 349-56.
• “Buddhism and Trade in Early Historical India”, in D. Mitra, ed., Explorations in Art and Archaeology of South Asia, Calcutta, 1996, pp 545-56.

2000-2006:

• “South and Southeast Asia: The commencement of a lasting relationship”, in K. van Kooij and Marijke Klokke, eds., Fruits of Inspiration, Studies in honour of Prof J.G. de Casparis, Leiden, 2001, pp. 407-21.
• “Shipping in the Indian Ocean: An Overview” & “Seafaring in Peninsular India in the Ancient Period: Of Watercraft and Maritime Communities” in David Parkin and Ruth Barnes edited, Ships and the Development of Maritime Technology in the Indian Ocean, London: Routledge Curzon, 2002: 1-27; 62-91.
• “The Apsidal Shrine in Early Hinduism: Origins, Cultic Affiliation, Patronage”, World Archaeology, 36,3, 2004: 343-359.
• “Roundtable Review of Michael Pearson, The Indian Ocean”, International Journal of Maritime History, XVI, 1, June, 2004: 153 – 197.
• “Far-flung fabrics – Indian textiles in ancient maritime trade”, Ruth Barnes edited, Textiles in Indian Ocean Societies, London: Routledge Curzon, 2005: 17-37.
• “The Axial Age in South Asia: The Archaeology of Buddhism (500 BC – AD 500)”, Miriam T. Stark edited, Archaeology of Asia, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006: 303-323.
• “The Archaeology of Bengal: Trading Networks, Cultural Identities”, Journal of the Eonomic and Social History of the Orient,Volume 49, Number 1, 2006, pp. 68-95.
• “Inscribed Pots, Emerging Identities: The Social Milieu of Trade”, Patrick Olivelle edited, Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Professor Ray also regularly reviews books for the Indian History Review, Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Asian Perspectives, International Journal of Maritime History, and Biblio.

Upcoming Events

• 
• IOWC Visiting Lecturer: Himanshu Prabha Ray
  28 November 2008, 5-7pm
  The Greeks in the Western Indian Ocean and the Coming of Islam

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• 
• International Conference on Debt & Slavery
  7-9th May, 2009
  Please note the timeline for submission of papers has changed.

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