Uthara Suvrathan
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Pre-Modern Archaeology and History (South Asia)
- Indian Ocean Studies
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Digital Humanities
- Teaching Archaeology
- Landscape Studies
- Regional Archaeological Survey
- Complex Societies
- Urbanism
- State Formation
- Museum Studies
Biography
I am an archaeologist with a background in History and Anthropology. After a BA(hons.) in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University (DU), I completed an MA and MPhil in Ancient Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and a PhD in Anthropological Archaeology from the University of Michigan.
I come to the University from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai, and before that I have worked at Lehman College, Cornell University and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC.
My research draws on archaeological and textual material to examine the organisation of polities and urban centres on the margins of large socio-political systems and empires in South Asia.
I am also interested in archaeological approaches to landscape studies and in issues of pre-modern trade and contact across the Indian Ocean. Other interests include museum education, public outreach and the digital humanities.
I am currently writing a textbook on South Asian archaeology (under contract for the Routledge World Archaeology Series) with Dr Namita Sugandhi (Hartwick College).
Courses
Archaeology and History of Early South Asia
Beyond Kings, Palaces and Temples – An introduction to the history and archaeology of Early South Asia.
Publications
Chapters in Edited Books
- Suvrathan, U. (2020). Bullion, Baubles and Bowls: Reconstructing Networks of Exchange in the Indian Ocean. In H.P. Ray (Ed.), Archaeology of Knowledge Traditions of the Indian Ocean World (pp. 127 – 145). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429321856.
- Suvrathan, U. (2019). The Multivalence of Landscapes: Archaeology and Heritage. In H.P. Ray (Ed.), Decolonising Heritage in South Asia: The Global, the National and the Transnational (pp. 90 – 108). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429440380.
- Sinopoli, C. and Suvrathan, U. (2015). The City in the State. In G. Emberling (Ed.), Social Theory in Archaeology and Ancient History: The Present and Future of Counternarratives (pp. 109 – 128). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107282056.007
- Suvrathan, U. (2009). Landscapes of Life and Death: Considering the Region of Vidarbha. In U. Singh & N. Lahiri (Eds.), Ancient India: New Research (pp. 122 – 171). Oxford University Press. https://doi:10.1017/S0021911811002233
Journal Articles
- Suvrathan, U. (2018, April 19). The archaeology of roof tiles: A preliminary chronology from Karnataka. Man and Environment, XLIII (1), 79 — 90. https://www.academia.edu/36367557/2018_The_Archaeology_of_Roof_Tiles_A_preliminary_chronology_from_Karnataka_Man_and_Environment_Vol_XLII_No_1
- Suvrathan, U. (2014). Regional centres and local elite: Studying peripheral cores in peninsular India. Indian History (The Annual Journal of the Archive India Institute), 1, 89 – 142. https://www.academia.edu/5726285/2014_Regional_Centres_and_Local_Elite_Studying_peripheral_cores_in_peninsular_India_Indian_History_The_Annual_Journal_of_the_Archive_India_Institute_Vol_1
- Suvrathan, U. (2014, October 14). Spoiled for Choice?: The sacred landscapes of ancient and early medieval Banavasi. South Asian Studies, 30(2), 206 – 229. https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2014.962317
- Suvrathan, U. (2013). A fragmentary Brahmi inscription from Banavasi. Puratattva, 43, 247 – 251. https://www.academia.edu/7704787/2013_A_Fragmentary_Brahmi_Inscription_from_Banavasi_Puratattva_No_43_pp_247_251
Blog Posts
- Suvrathan, U. (2017, October 11). Tracing the many lives of religious structures. Material Religions. http://materialreligions.blogspot.com/2017/10/tracing— many— lives— of— religious.html
- Suvrathan, U. (2017, October 17). On blogging and archaeology: Why it matters. Southasian-archaeology.com. http://www.southasian-archaeology.com/2017/10/on— blogging— andarchaeologywhy— it.html
Book Reviews
- Suvrathan, U. (2021). H.P.Ray’s Coastal shrines and transnational maritime networks across India and Southeast Asia. India Quarterly, 77(2), 306 – 309. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F09749284211004291
- Suvrathan, U. (2016, June 16). Aruna Pariti’s Genealogy, time and identity: Historical consciousness in the deccan, sixth century CE – twelfth century CE. South Asian Studies, 32(2), 200 — 202. https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2016.1191788
Online Articles
- Suvrathan, U. (2020, December 2). Color, graffiti and the senses: Visitors and worshippers at Indian archaeological sites. The Jugaad Project: Material Religions in Context. https://www.thejugaadproject.pub/home/color-graffiti-and-the-senses
- Suvrathan, U. (2014). Review of craft specialization, technology and social change: A study of material culture in Iron Age and early historic South India. Dissertation Reviews (DR). http://dissertationreviews.org/material-culture-craft-production-in-south-india/
External History website: https://sites.google.com/apu.edu.in/historymajor