Supriya Varma
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Archaeology (South Asia)
- Pastoralism
- Migration
- Landscapes
- Waterscapes
- Urbanism
- Childhood
- Crafts
Biography
Supriya is an archaeologist with initial training in history. She subsequently developed a deeper interest in anthropology.
She completed her BA in History (Honours) from Indraprastha College, Delhi University and MA in History from Panjab University (PU), Punjab. She has completed her MPhil in Archaeology and PhD in Archaeology from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
She has taught Archaeology and History at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSUB), Gujarat; PU, Punjab; Hyderabad Central University, Telangana and JNU, New Delhi.
Her earlier work focused on the archaeology of land use, pastoralism, migration, childhood, and households in the ancient past, but in the last several years, her research has shifted to the medieval and early modern periods.
Supriya is currently co-directing an interdisciplinary project called MANDU: Monsoon, Climate, and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Times, along with Anne Casile, The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), Paris. The focus of this project is on society-environment interaction in relation to water management, climatic variability and the making of the built environment in both urban and rural contexts.
Publications
Edited Books
- Sen, S. Varma, S., & Sahu, B. P. (Eds.). (2023). The Archaeology of Early Medieval and Medieval South Asia: Contesting Narratives from the Eastern Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340416
- Trivedi, M., Kadambi, H., & Varma, S. (Eds.). (2021). Archaeologies of the Medieval in South Asia, The Medieval History Journal, 24(1 – 2). https://doi.org/10.1177/09719458211060994
- Saberwal, S. & Varma, S. (Eds.). (2005). Traditions in Motion: Religion and Society in History. Oxford University Press.
Textbook
- Roy, K., Varma, S., Menon, J., & Amrit, R. (2004). Bharat ka Itihas, Bhag 1. Class 6 History Textbook. State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Delhi. https://www.ncertbooks.guru/ncert-class-6-history-books/
Chapters in Edited Books
- Varma, S. (2023). Locating the medieval in South Asian archaeology: Resetting Field methods and practices. In S. Sen, S. Varma & B. P. Sahu (Eds.), The archaeology of early medieval and medieval South Asia: Contesting narratives from the Eastern Ganga-Brahmaputra basin (pp. 25 – 57). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340416
- Sen, S., Varma, S. & Sahu, B. P. (2023). Introduction: Trouble of thinking about the archaeology of the early medieval and the medieval in Ganges – Brahmaputra – Meghna Basin. In S. Sen, S. Varma & B. P. Sahu (Eds), The archaeology of early medieval and medieval South Asia: Contesting narratives from the Eastern Ganga-Brahmaputra basin (pp. 1 – 21). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340416
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2022). Work from home: An archaeology of household production. In U. Chakravarti, N. Dayal, B. Jagannathan & S. Singh (Eds.), Of thieves and theris, potters and pativratas: Essays on early Indian social history for Kumkum Roy (pp. 331 – 344). Primus. https://www.academia.edu/88239573/Ch_16_Jaya_Menon_and_Supriya_Varma_3_10_22
- Varma, S. (2022). Experiencing the Urban: Neighbourhoods of ancient Bhir and Sirkap. In U. Mukhopadhyay and S. Ghosh, (Eds.), Exploring South Asian urbanity (pp. 53 – 75). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003219873
- Varma, S. (2018). Material culture and childhood in Harappan South Asia. In S. Crawford, D. Hadley & G. Shepherd (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the archaeology of childhood (pp. 179 – 196). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199670697.001.0001
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2015). Mapping histories and practices of potters’ households in ancient Indor Khera (200 BCE – 500 CE). In K. Roy (Ed.), Looking within, looking without: Exploring households in the subcontinent through time (pp. 19 – 45). Primus. https://www.academia.edu/12375273/Mapping_Histories_and_Practices_of_Potters_Households_in_Ancient_Indor_Khera_200_BCE_500_CE_
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2014). Was there a temple under the Babri masjid? Reading the archaeological ‘evidence’. In A. G. Noorani (Ed.), Destruction of the Babri Masjid: A national dishonor (pp. 342 – 60). Tulika.
- Varma, S. (2008). The absence of urban centres in early historic Kathiawad. In G. Sengupta & S. Chakraborty (Eds.), The archaeology of early historic South Asia (pp. 213 – 30). Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Kolkata.
- Varma, S. (2006). Ethnography as ethnoarchaeology‑A review of studies in the ethnoarchaeology of South Asia. In G. Sengupta, S. Roychoudhury & S. Som (Eds.) Past and present: Ethnoarchaeology in India (pp. 27 – 42). Pragati Publications and Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Kolkata.
- Varma, S. (2006). Changing settlement patterns in Kathiawar. In B. P. Sahu (Ed.), Iron and social change in early India (pp. 210 – 219). Oxford University Press.
- Saberwal, S. & Varma, S. (2005). Introduction. In S. Saberwal & S. Varma (Eds.), Traditions in motion: Religion and society in history (pp. 1 – 20). Oxford University Press.
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2005). Defining tradition: An archaeological perspective. In S. Saberwal & S. Varma (Eds.), Traditions in motion: Religion and society in history (pp. 23 – 49). Oxford University Press. https://www.academia.edu/14846418/Defining_Tradition_An_Archaeological_Perspective
- Varma, S. (2003). In the absence of mounds: Shifting villages, pastoralism and depopulation. In R. C. Heredia and S. F. Ratnagar (Eds.), Mobile and marginalized peoples: Perspectives from the past (pp. 121 – 44). Manohar. https://www.academia.edu/14846358/In_the_Absence_of_Mounds_Shifting_Villages_Pastoralism_and_Depopulation
Journal Articles
- Varma, S. (2021). Between history and anthropology: Finding a new home for archaeology. Social Scientist, 49 (11 – 12), 59 – 76. https://www.academia.edu/71002812/Between_History_and_Anthropology_Finding_a_New_Home_for_Archaeology
- Trivedi, M., Kadambi, H. & Varma, S. (2021). Introduction: Archaeologies of the medieval. The Medieval History Journal, 24 (1 – 2), 10 – 16. https://doi.org/10.1177/09719458211060994
- Varma, S., Menon, J. & Nair, D. (2021). Ephemeral traces: Archaeology of a medieval rural settlement. The Medieval History Journal, 24(1 – 2), 281 – 319. https://doi.org/10.1177/09719458211052719
- Pokharia, A. K., Trivedi, A., Tripathi, D., Srivastava, C., Tewari, D. P., Menon, J., Varma, S., Srivastava, A. & Vaishali. (2020). Palaeodiet, palaeoecology and palaeoenvironment during 1200 BCE – 300 CE in the Ganga Plain: A palaeoethnobotanical and palynological approach. The Palaeobotanist, 69, 1 – 25. https://www.jpsonline.co.in/index.php/jop/article/view/27
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2019). Archaeological places: Negotiations between local communities, archaeologists, and the state in India. Journal of Social Archaeology, 19(2), 141 – 161. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469605319845437
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2018). (February 7). Was there a temple under Babri Masjid? Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) Engage. http://www.epw.in/engage/article/was-there-temple-under-babri-masjid-enter-ayodhya-excavation-site-through-interactive.
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2017). Households at work: An ethnoarchaeological study of variation in ceramic production in north India. Ethnoarchaeology: Journal of Archaeological, Ethnographic, and Experimental Studies, 9(1), 1 – 29. https://doi.org/10.1080/19442890.2017.1278862
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2016). Terracotta anvils and dabbers from potting households in ancient Indor Khera (200 BCE – 600 CE). Pratnatattva, 22, 9 – 19. https://www.academia.edu/30649878/Terracotta_Anvils_and_Dabbers_from_Potting_Households_in_Ancient_Indor_Khera_circa_200_BCE_600_CE
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2011). Craft quarters at the edge of a settlement: Indor Khera 200 BCE – 300 CE. Journal of History and Social Sciences, II(I), 1 – 18. https://www.academia.edu/3616265/Craft_Quarters_at_the_Edge_of_a_Settlement_Indor_Khera_200_BCE_300_CE
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2011). Everyday objects, pottery production and non-elite houses in the medieval period at Indor Khera. Journal of History and Social Sciences, II(I), 34 – 47. https://www.academia.edu/3616339/Everyday_Objects_Pottery_Production_and_Non_Elite_Houses_in_the_Medieval_Period_at_Indor_Khera
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2010). Reading archaeological evidence: Ceramic and terracotta production at Indor Khera (200 BCE – 500 CE). Indian Historical Review, 37(2), 187 – 216. https://doi.org/10.1177/037698361003700201
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2010). Children playing and learning: Crafting ceramics in ancient Indor Khera. Asian Perspectives, 49(1), 85 – 109. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42928773
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2010). Was there a temple under the Babri Masjid? Reading the archaeological ‘evidence’. Economic and Political Weekly, XLV(50), 61 – 72. https://www.epw.in/journal/2010/50/verdict-ayodhya-special-issues/was-there-temple-under-babri-masjid-reading
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (2008). Archaeology and the construction of identities in medieval north India. Studies in History, XXIV(2), 173 – 93. https://doi.org/10.1177/025764300902400202
- Menon, J., Varma, S., Dayal, S. & Sidhu, P. B. (2008). Indor Khera revisited: Excavating a site in the upper Ganga plains. Man and Environment, XXXIII(2), 88 – 98. https://www.academia.edu/3616381/Indor_Khera_Revisited_Excavating_a_Site_in_the_Upper_Ganga_Plains
- Menon, J., Varma, S., Sidhu, P. B. & Dayal, S. (2005). Investigation of an early historic site in Uttar Pradesh: Indor Khera. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in History and Archaeology, 2(1), 157 – 60.
- Varma, S. (2003). Ayodhya — archaeology, history and politics. Ababhash, 43 – 63. https://www.academia.edu/36363145/Ayodhya_Archaeology_History_and_Politics
- Varma, S. & Menon, J. (1999). The development of “Harappan culture” as an archaeological label: A case of Kathiawar. The Indian Historical Review, XXVI, 1 – 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/037698369902600101
- Varma, S. (1991). Villages abandoned: The case for mobile pastoralism in post-Harappan Gujarat. Studies in History, VII(2), 278 – 300. https://www.academia.edu/20214120/Villages_abandoned_The_case_for_mobile_pastoralism_in_post_Harappan_Gujarat
- Varma, S. (1990). Changing settlement patterns in Kathiawar. Studies in History, VI (2), 137 – 62. https://www.academia.edu/20213940/Changing_Settlement_Patterns_in_Kathiawar
Online/Open Learning Material/Chapters in Textbooks
- Varma, S. (2017). Approaches to the study of ancient cities. Block 1 Unit 2 (pp. 19 – 35). MA Course. Urbanization in India. Department of History, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/44386
- Varma, S. (2017). Early historic cities in the Taxila valley: Archaeological perspectives, Block 3 Unit 14 (pp. 78 – 108). MA Course. Urbanization in India. Department of History, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/44407
- Varma, S. (2017). Archaeology of the early historic urban centres in north India: Emergence and characteristics, Block 3 Unit 10 (pp. 5 – 28). MA Course. Urbanization in India. Department of History, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/44411
- Varma, S. (2010). Recent trends in historical interpretations: Environment, technology and regions, Chapter 1.4.2, History of India upto circa 750 CE. National Mission for Education, New Delhi (online). https://vle.du.ac.in/
- Varma, S. (2010). Archaeological narratives of Central India and the Deccan (1000 BCE – 300 CE), Chapter 2.5.3, History of India upto circa 750 CE, National Mission for Education, New Delhi (online). https://vle.du.ac.in/
- Varma, S. (2010). Cultures in transition: The archaeological picture – South India, Chapter 2.5.5, History of India upto circa 750 CE, National Mission for Education, New Delhi (online). https://vle.du.ac.in/
- Varma, S. (2006). From the beginning of time: Human origins in Africa, Theme 1 (pp. 8 – 28). Themes in World History. Class XI History Textbook. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/kehs101.pdf
- Varma, S. (2006). Hunting gathering, early farming society, pastoralism, Block 1, Unit 2. MA Course. Evolution of social structures in India through the ages. Department of History, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/22237
Reports
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2016). Excavation at Rohana Khurd, District Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, Indian Archaeology 2011-12 — A Review (pp. 94 – 105). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2016). Excavation at Indor Khera, District Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, Indian Archaeology 2005-06 — A Review (pp. 102 – 103). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2015). Excavation at Indor Khera, District Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, Indian Archaeology 2008-09 — A Review (pp. 102 – 114). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Menon, J. & Varma, S. (2014). Exploration at Indor Khera, District Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, Indian Archaeology 2004-05 — A Review (pp. 156 – 59). Archaeological Survey of India.
- Varma, S., & Menon, J. (1998). Maheshwar Hydroelectric Project: Submergence of a rich archaeological heritage. Submitted to the Madhya Pradesh Government.