• ISBN13: 9780195692006
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: Archaeology
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: August 16, 2007
• Pages: 328
• Original Price: 595.0 INR
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 360 grams

Did the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans come into India from the northwest, or were they indigenous to India and identical with the people of the Indus Civilization? This volume brings together significant writings to illustrate the historical development of the Aryan debate. The selection includes early discussants of the idea, such as William Jones, and also modern archaeologists, historians, and modern interrogators such as Romila Thapar, Shereen Ratnagar, M. B. Emeneau, and M. A. Mehendale. Trautmann describes the opposing interpretations in their political context, demonstrating clearly why the Aryan debate is such contested territory in the academy as well as in the public domain.

Thomas R. Trautmann Marshall Sahlins Collegiate Professor of History and Anthropology, University of Michigan, USA.