Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Organisers: Tiatoshi Jamir, Dept of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, India, tiatoshi@nagalanduniversity.ac.in
Michael Spate, Dept of Archaeology & History, La Trobe University, Australia, m.spate@latrobe.edu.au
Variously described as the Southeast Asia Massif, the Indo-Burma Hills or ‘Zomia’, the highlands of Southeast Asia and eastern India present a range of theoretical and methodological opportunities and challenges for archaeologists. A recognised global biodiversity hotspot, human populations of this region have been typified as comprising an equally diverse range of complex social-ecological systems argued by some scholars as being intentionally organised in opposition to lowland states. The role of mobile, swidden agriculture is argued as central to these systems and has also been hypothesised as a driver of ecological diversity. Given the dynamic nature of upland landscapes, detecting, interpreting and understanding these systems in the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record is complex. This session aims to bring together archaeologists, geographers and other cognate researchers working on all aspects of community heritage, archaeology, (palaeo)ecology and other landscape-oriented work to present and discuss their findings, challenges and propose new avenues of research in the region. Taking a broad geographic scope, we invite researchers working in highland east India, southwest China and the uplands of both mainland and island Southeast Asia.
Papers:
Stratified and Non-Stratified Societies in Nagaland: Ethno-Archaeological Research on the Agency of Megaliths
Johannes Müller, Kiel University, Germany
Tiatoshi Jamir, Dept of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, India
For years, Nagaland University in Kohima and Kiel University have been conducting ethno-archaeological and archaeological fieldwork in Nagaland. The focus of the research is on social practices and the significance of megaliths. Different patterns have been identified in this regard. In southern and central Nagaland, which historically had less stratified societies, megaliths exhibit a dispersed spatial distribution across village territories. They are erected during ‘feasts of merit’, where the wealth of richer families is distributed throughout the community. In contrast, in northern Nagaland, which is characterised by highly stratified societies, villages feature a central megalithic monument associated with the Angh-House (house of the royal chief). Hereditary power is manifested, among other things, through the control of numerous rituals that, according to oral tradition, were conducted at the megalithic monument (the Saotong). In 2023, such a central monument was excavated in the Konyak village of Shangnyu. By comparing both regions, we can discern different social developments and the varying significance of megaliths under comparable ecological and economic conditions.
The Neolithic Lithic Assemblage of Meghalaya Plateau, North Eastern India: An Appraisal
Neelima Vasudevan, Dept of Archaeology & Ancient History, Faculty of Arts, The M. S. University of Baroda, India
P. Ajithprasad, Professor (Rtd.), Dept of Archaeology & Ancient History, Faculty of Arts, The M. S. University of Baroda, India
Archaeological records of South Asia and East Asia present easily distinguishable cultural and technological patterns. For instance, the distinction between the lithic technologies of South Asia (based on bifaces) and East Asia (based on flake tools) is evident from the Palaeolithic assemblages onward. Northeast India, located between these two distinct techno-complexes must have played a crucial role in the transfer and spread of the two technologies on either side. The Meghalaya plateau, which comprises the Khasi-Jaintia hills in Northeast India, has several Neolithic sites that incorporate lithic artefacts and ceramic assemblages similar to those in Southeast Asia. A significant part of the lithic assemblages from these sites, apart from a few typologically diagnostic artefacts, consisted of amorphous flakes that might have been used as impromptu tools; a fact that has not been investigated so far. The current paper analyses the lithic assemblages of the Meghalaya plateau to assess recognizable patterning of artefacts, especially the flakes. The paper also critically reviews the Southeast Asian affiliation of the Stone Age sites of Meghalaya plateau and nearby regions.
Stories from Langa: A Community Archaeology Initiative in Nagaland, Northeast India
Tiatoshi Jamir, Dept of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, India
Michael Spate, Dept of Archaeology & History, La Trobe University, Australia
Alison Betts, The University of Sydney, Australia
David Tetso, Kohima Science College, Kohima, Nagaland, India
Mepusangba, Nagaland University, India
Limasanen Longkumer, Nagaland University, India
Chubatoshi, Nagaland University, India
Taliyanger Changkiri, Nagaland University, India
Throngso Yimkhiung, Yimkhiung Tribal Council, Nagaland
Oral traditions central to Naga ancestral sites are rich in traditional accounts of Indigenous site occupation in the region for centuries. Such ancestral sites are places of a pre-colonial past associated with a plethora of ethnohistorical accounts associated with the collective memory of descent groups and the oral tradition linked to group migration from prominent sites of dispersal. Despite such direct historical continuities observed, the participatory role and involvement of Indigenous communities in archaeological research in India is still considered largely marginal. Thus, a decolonising archaeology involving descendant communities living within proximity of archaeological sites is considered essential to explore new challenges and potentials in the study of such ancestral sites. Against this background, we present a case example from one of our joint research at Langa, an ancestral site that was once home to the Yimkhiung Nagas, with an attempt to demonstrate the relevance of such an approach to the study of ancestral sites in Northeast India.
Natural Resources and Settlement Pattern in Hilly District of Assam – An Ethnoarchaeological Study
Shikharani Sabnis, Institute of Pre-and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Germany
Natural resource utilisation has been studied mostly from precise angles in archaeological research, such as for settlement organisation or food habits. However, ethnoarchaeological data shows that most resources are used in multiple ways spanning different spheres of social, cultural, economic, and political arenas.
The tribes of Northeast India have a close relationship with the natural resources surrounding them. During a recent ethnoarchaeological field survey, we came across the use of natural resources in different aspects of food preparation and consumption, construction, material culture or for ritualistic purposes. For instance, besides the practical use for different activities, the use of bamboo utensils for serving holds special social importance. This social importance is also reflected in ritual activities, in which natural materials play a significant role in the form of divine representation, as well as in the ritual processes themselves. Thus, ethnoarchaeological research at the micro-level may provide a better understanding of prehistoric human migrations and early human colonisation in the region and for this, the North Cachar and Karbi Anglong district of Assam are ideal areas for research.
On the basis of available data on the overarching use of material culture for consumption, as well as social and political purposes, this paper aims to understand human-environment relations in prehistoric societies, with a focus on natural resource utilisation by comparing the still evident role of natural resources among the present ethnic groups. It will discuss the gaps, especially in prehistoric material culture and its interpretation. An integrated approach examining the different scales of the archaeological and ethnographic record in the region can shed light on different aspects of ways of living, including usually invisible yet abundant materials.
Megalithism as a Confluence of History, Memory and Archaeology
Jangkhomang Guite, Dept of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, India
Studies on the megalithic culture have gone a long way now and diverse insights on the social life of prehistoric and historical megalithic societies have been explained. It is also a well-established idea that megalithism is but culture-specific and are still in practice in many parts of the world. This paper examines one of the culture-specific megalithism practiced until recent times among the Zo (Kuki, Chin and Mizo) ethnic group (linguistically, ‘Kuki-Chin Group’) of the southern Himalayas (Mizoram and Manipur states in India and Chin state in Myanmar). The unique features of this tradition are the pictographic motifs engraved (incisions) all over the stone faces, consisting of humans, animals, ornaments, weapons, and other material cultures. The motifs inform not only the meanings and purpose of the tradition itself but also the lived world of their social, cultural, and economic lives, and the ideological, ecological and eschatological beliefs of the people who had erected them. It also mapped the territorial extent of a collective cultural and ethnic space and informs, in particular, the collective commemorative events, social merits, and social continuity at the least, and, the warrior tradition and eschatological belief in the broadest sense. It argues that megalithism informs not only the archaeology of the people who did not write but also their history and memory in which archaeologists must provide the methods, meanings and memoirs of megalithic societies.
Beyond the Plain: Rethinking the Spatial and Social Landscape of the Plain of Jars through Site 102
Nicholas Skopal, Dept of Archaeology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Souliya Bounxayhip, Dept of Heritage, Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Laos
While the Plain of Jars is often assumed to be concentrated in the plains of northern Laos, most jar sites are positioned in mountainous landscapes overlooking the lowlands. Despite their significance, many of these remote sites remain largely unexplored, with research focused on larger, more accessible locations. Site 102, an understudied ridge-top site in the mountainous northwest of Xieng Khouang Province, challenges existing interpretations of these megalithic landscapes. Spread along a ridgeline, Site 102 consists of small clusters and isolated jars, with one notable jar positioned near a large carefully arranged field of medium-sized stones. Similar features were recorded by French archaeologist Madeline Colani in the 1930s but remain largely uninvestigated. Preliminary investigations regarding this field of stones suggests it may either represent a rare highland occupation site or cemetery associated with the stone jars. This paper examines Site 102’s role in highland mortuary and settlement practices, contributing to broader discussions on mobility, site selection, and human-environment interactions in upland Southeast Asia.