MAHSA Project

More than 1,500 carvings have been recorded to date and provide an incredible insight into the lives, environments and artistic expression of hunter gatherers in this coastal region.

They are believed to data back to as far as 12,000 BP and demonstrate iconographical drawings of various animals found in the region from the Mesolithic to early historical periods including elephants, turtles, tigers, rhinoceroses, stingrays and even human forms.

Rock art forms some of the oldest and best-preserved demonstration of human creativity and can be found in regions all across India. The carvings are on the tentative list for UNESCO world heritage recognition but maybe affected and damaged by developmental projects in the area.

For this week’s Heritage Highlights we’re looking at the petroglyphs of Ratnagiri found along the Konkan coast of India. This phenomenon is a form of prehistoric rock art which occurs along the rich laterite plateaus which span this coastline.

(belated #MappingMonday !)

The hedge was built over a preestablished customs line becoming a natural barrier which as seen in this map divided India in two. It was a impediment to free travel and trade across India and became a symbol of the bureaucratic corruption and bribery which existed in the Inland Customs system (2/2)

#MappingMonday we are looking again at the British Colonial Inland Customs Line constructed using native shrubs and designed to prevent people, especially salt smugglers from passing through it. It was eventually abandoned after colonial powers took complete control of salt production. (1/2)

This is a great example of #contemporaryart and #archaeology converging - taking a closer look at how things like a hedge can spark so much inspiration and conversation. Perhaps one day an archaeologist will be able to map the hedge… (4/4)

In this installation, the artists use images and historical records to explore themes of violence, rebellion and resistance where the hedge becomes a “poetic and political space, a partition full of perforations that continue to fray, tear and rip into out present”. (3/4)

The Inland Customs Line was a barrier built in India to prevent the smuggling of salt and maintain the British monopoly on its sale. It was first established in Bengal in 1803 and grew to cover more than 4000km. The line was made of a 12ft high living hedge with staff patrolling its length (2/4)

For #HeritageHighlight we’re drawing attention to a new exhibition at the Tate Britain in London, UK where the artist duo Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser examine the archive of the Inland Customs Line and the ways in which indigenous knowledge can be used as a decolonial tool (1/4)

This map, originally drawn by A. Fraser, is the earliest map where the relief is demonstrated with hachure lines and there are important roads highlighted. It shows Lahore during the Late Sikh period with a walled central city and the gardens, villages and plains that surrounded it (3/3)

This plan on the city and environs of Lahore was drawn up in 1846, a decade during which the British began annexing the Sikh Punjab territories, installing the young Maharaja Duleep Singh as Raj soon after the first Anglo-Sikh war in 1845-46.

#MappingMonday we’re examining the history of Lahore through it’s early cartography. The map presented here is an early example of the British colonial maps of Pakistan during the tumultuous 1840s. (1/3)
'Mapping Lahore: Tracing historical geography of a city through maps' by Dr Abdul Rehman (2013)

I’m sure you’re as glad as I am that medical practices (and pain relief!) has evolved since the Stone Age! (6/6)

Coppa, A et al. 2006 Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry Nature 440, 755–756
Szücs-Csillik et al. 2015 Astronomical Orientation of the Trepanned Neolithic Woman of Burzahom, Kashmir

The edges of each drilled hole were slightly smooth suggesting that the individuals operated on were alive during the procedure and continued to use their teeth to chew. It’s not clear why they were drilled but 4 of them show evidence of caries suggesting this was some kind of dental treatment (5/6)

And in Kashmir at a Neolithic site dating back to 9000 BP archaeologists have found some of the earliest evidence for Stone Age dental work. At least 11 molar teeth were found to have been drilled using flint drill heads in a surprisingly complex procedure. (4/6).

Part of her skull had a growth indicating a brain tumour – possibly the reason for treatment. The tissue around most of the perforations is healed indicating that she survived at least some of the surgeries. Unfortunately, and perhaps needless to say she did not live for much longer after… (3/6).

At the #Neolithic site of Burzahom in Kashmir Valley in India (4000 BP) one interesting female skeleton was discovered which showed evidence of trepanations or holes in her skull. Researchers believe that these were surgically made possibly by a spiritual healer to cure her of some disease (2/6).

Inspired by our exciting and informative #Fieldwork First Aid course taken by MAHSA colleagues Vaneshree, Afifa and Daisy earlier this week we have decided to take a look at some of the ancient medical practices across Stone Age #SouthAsia (1/6).

#archaeology #heritagehighlights

Position OPEN! MAHSA is hiring a new 'Project Administrator' to help us achieve our goals. Full time, fixed term (until 30/06/29) based at Cambridge.

DEADLINE:20/07/25

Apply here:
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51769/

#job #newhire #career #admin #cambridge #universityofcambridge #archaeology

There are also thousands of inscriptions in Bactrian, Sogdian, Chinese and others carved into the rock by Silk Road travellers. This wealth of languages in one location is demonstrative of the diversity of cultural exchange which was occurring in Hunza and the #SilkRoad region at this time (3/3).

These rocks are up on a hill near the Hunza River and groups of ancient Buddhist caves and feature intricate carvings dating back to the 1st Millennium AD. The carvings are of ibexes which are placed on the rock faces to possibly signify the abundance of the animal here for passing travellers (2/3)

For this week’s #heritagehighlights we’re looking at the Sacred Rocks of Hunza which are located along the route of the ancient Silk Road in Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan. The site consists of four main boulders which feature two separate phases of engravings covering a 180m stretch (1/3).

Lal Singh surveying in the field. Black and white image

#MappingMonday we’re highlighting the life of Lal Singh a surveyor who endured dangerous conditions to #map across Asia. He worked on topographical surveys and #archaeological expeditions, aiding Aurel Stein on two of his expeditions.

To learn more click below
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/16b9...

Malina Roy and Prof Rajani recording the podcast

Podcast recording equipment

#HeritageHighlights

🎤Today, South Asian Women in the Field (SAWIF) recorded their first #podcast in the series.

In conversation with Prof Rajani we discussed the changing field of remote sensing #archaeology and what its like for women in this field.

Stay tuned for the release!

You can see from comparison with this 1921 Survey of India map and the modern-day satellite imagery the extent of the flooding and how this ancient, mounded area has now become an island in a man-made reservoir. (4/4)

In the 1954 Archaeological Survey of India began salvage operations to save the archaeology there. Archaeological remains from the ancient Buddhist settlement Nagarjunakonda revealed 30 Buddhist monasteries which were subsequently dug up and removed to the nearby village of Anupu (3/4)

The dam became one of India’s “modern temples” symbolising new industrialised technology and marking a new era of national development. However because of its construction huge areas to the south and west of the original river course were flooded causing environmental and archaeological damage (2/4)

The Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is one of the largest masonry dams in the world, providing crucial irrigation waters to its surrounding districts as well as green electricity generation for India’s national grid. Its construction in 1955 heralded the beginning of India’s Green Revolution (1/4)