This award supports the US-India Cooperative Research: Excavations at Gilund. US PI Gregory Possehl, University of Pennsylvania will conduct joint research with Vasant Shinde of Deccan College, Pune. Gilund is an early food producing and Bronze Age site located in Rajasthan, India. Possehl and two graduate students will participate in the excavation, along with Shinde's research team from Deccan College. The investigators will reconstruct a comprehensive picture of the life of the ancient inhabitants of Mewar region. Archaeologists and laboratory facilities at Deccan College, including collections for palaeobotany and archaeozoology, will be used. Indian X-ray diffraction and atomic absorption expertise and hardware will make it possible to complete extensive "sensing and sourcing" studies.
Scope: This research will add to the growing body of literature that strives to determine the distinctive qualities of Indus civilization sub-regions and will contribute to knowledge of archaic states. The US and Indian PIs are eminently well qualified and partnerships among researchers will advance theoretical interests in both countries. The collaborative nature of this project and the substantial financial contributions on the Indian side make this an ideal project for support from the Division of International Programs (INT). INT and the Archaeology, Archaeometry and Systematic Collections Program jointly support this project.
