Indus Valley Civilization, Ancient India & the Arabian Peninsula

153 Pages·2012·2.07 MB·English

Indus Valley Civilization, Ancient India &
the Arabian Peninsula

The Library of the late Gregory L. Possehl

Professor of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania
Curator of the Asian Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology

(with completions from the libraries of Professor Maurizio Tosi, University of
Ravenna and Professor Robert H. Dyson, Jr., University of Pennsylvania

2207 titles in over 2750 physical volumes
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THE LIBRARY OF PROFESSOR GREGORY L. POSSEHL

Philadelphia Inquirer

Gregory L. Possehl; spent years digging up
history
October 23, 2011|By Walter F. Naedele, Inquirer Staff Writer

•
Gregory L. Possehl explored many archaeological sites.
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Gregory L. Possehl spent parts of his academic life on archaeological digs in South
Asia, but he also paid attention to the West Philadelphia neighborhood of the University
of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
"One of the roles the University Museum plays is as a doorway for our neighbors to see
what goes on at the University of Pennsylvania," Dr. Possehl explained in a 1985
Inquirer interview.
Speaking of a Penn exhibit on the history of Buddhism meant in part to attract
nonacademics, he noted: "This is an educational display that will be pretty, too, by the
way. We don't mind being beautiful as long as we have our message."
Dr. Possehl, 70, associate director of the University Museum from 1981 to 1992 and
chairman of Penn's department of anthropology from 1994 to 2001, died of respiratory
failure Saturday, Oct. 8, at Boston Medical Center.
"Dr. Possehl was a leading expert on the rise of the Indus civilization in India and
Pakistan," Penn biographical notes state.
That ancient Indus society, researched at more than 2,000 archaeological sites along
the Indus and Sarasvati Rivers, existed from 4300 to 1500 B.C.
To help authenticate his studies, Dr. Possehl wrote on his website, he spent nine
seasons on excavations of ancient sites in the Indian state of Gujarat.
AltaMira Press published his book, The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective.
A 2004 Penn announcement reported that the work had been named Outstanding
Academic Book for 2003 by Choice magazine, which Penn described as "the key
publication for academic librarians across the nation selecting books for collections."
He had published papers in several scholarly journals.
Dr. Possehl went far afield to share his enthusiasms with nonacademic audiences.
He was one of three lecturers on a 1981 trip to India sponsored by the Women's
Committee of the Penn Museum and the Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In a 1981 Inquirer Sunday magazine story reporting on the trip, Dr. Possehl told the
reporter accompanying the lecturers that a certain ficus tree is considered sacred by
Hindus because of its size.
"Greg, who himself is quite large at 6-3, is also regarded as special because of his
size," the reporter wrote. "When he strides through a village, people touch him for luck."
Born in Tacoma, Wash., he earned a bachelor's degree in 1964 and a master's in 1967,
both at the University of Washington, and a doctorate at the University of Chicago in
1974, all in anthropology.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gregory Possehl
Gregory Louis Possehl (July 21, 1941 – October 8, 2011) was a Professor Emeritus of
Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of the Asian Collections at
the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.[1] He has
been involved in excavations of the Indus Valley Civilization in India and Pakistan since
1964, and is an author of many books and articles on the Indus Civilization and related
topics. He received his BA in Anthropology from the University of Washington in 1964,
his MA in Anthropology from the University of Washington in 1967, and his PhD in
Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1974. He has conducted major
excavations in Gujarat (Rojdi, Babar Kot and Oriyo Timbo), Rajasthan (Gilund), and in
January 2007, began an excavation at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bat in the
Sultanate of Oman.[2]
He is an exponent of the view that the culture of the Vedic period is a direct successor
of the Indus Valley Civilization. In his book Ancient Cities of the Indus he writes that "the
first point to be emphasized is that the problem seems not to be best stated as the "end"
of a civilization, at least in the sense of a tradition, since there are abundant signs of
cultural continuity in Sindh, Gujarat, the Punjab and adjacent areas of the North India."
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Articles
• 2 Books
• 3 Notes
• 4 External links
Articles
His works include:
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1967. The Mohenjo-daro floods: A reply. American
Anthropologist 69: 32-40.
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• Possehl, Gregory L., 1974. Variation and change in the Indus Civilization: A
study of prehistoric Gujarat with special reference to the post-urban Harappan.
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Chicago. x, 302 pp., ill.
Revised version published in 1980 as "Indus Civilization in Saurashtra".
• Dhavalikar, M. K., and Gregory L. Possehl, 1974. Subsistence pattern of an early
farming community of western India. Puratattva (Bulletin of the Indian
Archaeological Society) 7: 39-46.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1975. The chronology of gabarbands and palas in western
South Asia. Expedition 17 (2): 33-37.
• Kennedy, Kenneth A.R., and Gregory L. Possehl (eds.), 1976. Ecological
backgrounds of South Asian prehistory. Symposium convened at the seventy-
second annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, December
2, 1973, New Orleans. (South Asia Occasional Papers and Theses, 4.) Ithaca
NY: South Asia Program, Cornell University. 28 cm, vi, 236 pp., ill., maps. Pb
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1976. Lothal: A gateway settlement of the Harappan
Civilization. pp. 198–131 in: Kennedy, Kenneth A. R., and Gregory L. Possehl
(eds.), Ecological backgrounds of South Asian prehistory. (South Asia
Occasional Papers and Theses, 4.) Ithaca: South Asia Program, Cornell
University. Reprinted, pp. 212–218 in: Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) 1979. Ancient
cities of the Indus. New Delhi.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1977. The end of a state and continuity of a tradition: A
discussion of the Late Harappan. pp. 234–254 in: Fox, Richard G. (ed.), Realm
and region in traditional India. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
• Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) 1979. ANCIENT CITIES OF THE INDUS. Durham NC:
Carolina Academic Press & New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. 27 cm,
xv, 422 pp., 8 pl., ill. Hb ISBN 0890890935 & 0-7069-0781-7.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1979. Introduction. Pp. vii-xv in: Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.),
Ancient cities of the Indus.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1979. Radiocarbon dates for the Indus Civilization and
related sites. pp. 358–360 in: Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.), Ancient cities of the
Indus.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1979. An extensive bibliography of the Indus Civilization
including references cited in the text. pp. 361–422 in: Possehl, Gregory L., 1979.
(Ed.) Ancient cities of the Indus.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1979. Pastoral nomadism in the Indus Civilization: An
hypothesis. pp. 537–551 in: Taddei, Maurizio (ed.), South Asian Archaeology
1977, vol. I. (Istituto Universitario Orientale, Seminario di Studi Asiatici, Series
minor, 6: I.) Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, Seminario di Studi Asiatici.
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• Possehl, Gregory L., and Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, 1979. Hunter-
gatherer/agriculturalist exchange in prehistory: An Indian example. Current
Anthropology 20 (3): 592-593.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1980. INDUS CIVILIZATION IN SAURASHTRA. New Delhi:
Published on behalf of Indian Archaeological Society by B.R. Publishing
Corporation. 29 cm, xvi, 264 pp., ill., maps. Hb [Revised version of the author's
Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Chicago, 1974.]
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1981. Cambay bead-making: An ancient craft in modern
India. Expedition 23 (4): 39-46.
• Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) 1982. HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION: A
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co.
Pvt. Ltd. and American Institute of Indian Studies; Warminster: Aris & Phillips in
cooperation with American Institute of Indian Studies. 28 cm xiii, 440 pp., 93 pl.,
maps. Hb
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1982. The Harappan Civilization: A contemporary
perspective. pp. 15–28 in: Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.), Harappan Civilization: A
contemporary perspective.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1982. Discovering ancient India's earliest cities: The first
phase of research. pp. 405–413 in: Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.), Harappan
Civilization: A contemporary perspective.
• Possehl. Gregory L., 1984. Archaeological terminology and the Harappan
Civilization. pp. 27–36 in: Lal, B.B., and S.P. Gupta (eds.), Frontiers of the Indus
Civilization: Sir Mortimer Wheeler Commemoration Volume. New Delhi:
Indian Archaeological Society.
• Kennedy, Kenneth A. R., and Gregory L. Possehl (eds.) 1984. STUDIES IN THE
ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEOANTHROPOLOGY OF SOUTH ASIA. New
Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. and American Institute of Indian
Studies. 25 cm, viii, 144 pp., ill., maps.
• Lyons, Elizabeth, and Heather Peters, 1985. Buddhism: History and diversity of a
great tradition. With contributions by Chang Ch'eng-mei & Gregory L. Possehl.
Philadelphia: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania. 28 cm, 64 pp., ill.,
map. ISBN 0934718768.
• Possehl, Gregory L., 1986. KULLI: AN EXPLORATION OF AN ANCIENT
CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH ASIA. (Centers of Civilization, 1.) Durham, NC:
Carolina Academic Press. 29 cm, viii, 168 pp., ill. Hb ISBN 0890891737.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1986. African millets in South Asian prehistory. pp. 237–256 in:
Jerome Jacobson (ed.), Studies in the archaeology of India and Pakistan. New Delhi:
Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. and American Institute of Indian Studies.
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Possehl, Gregory L., 1987-1988. Indian Archaeology, A Review: Guide to excavated
sites 1953-54 through 1983-84. Puratattva (Bulletin of the Indian Archaeological
Society) 18: 113-172.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1989. RADIOCARBON DATES FOR SOUTH ASIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY. (Occasional publication of the Asian Section.) Philadelphia:
University Museum, University of Pennsylvania. 28 cm. 60 pp.
Possehl, Gregory L., and M. H. Raval, 1989. HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION AND ROJDI.
With contributions from Y. M. Chitalwala et al. Leiden and New York: E. J. Brill; New
Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. and American Institute of Indian Studies.
29 cm, xv, 197 pp., 46 pl., 80 ill., 5 maps. ISBN 9004091572 & 81-204-0404-1.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1990. Revolution in the urban revolution: The emergence of Indus
urbanization. Annual Review of Anthropology 19: 261-282.
Possehl. Gregory L., 1990. An archaeological adventurer in Afghanistan: Charles
Masson. South Asian Studies 6: 111-124.
Possehl, Gregory L., and Charles Frank Herman, 1990. The Sorath Harappan: A new
regional manifestation of the Indus urban phase. pp. 295–319 in: Taddei, Maurizio, with
P. Callieri (ed.), South Asian Archaeology 1987, vol. I. (Serie Orientale Roma 66: I.)
Roma: Istituto per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente.
Rissman, Paul C., and Y. M. Chitalwala, 1990. Harappan Civilization and Oriyo Timbo.
With contributions from Gregory L. Possehl et al. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing
Co. Pvt. Ltd. and American Institute of Indian Studies. 25 cm, xi, 155 pp., ill. ISBN 81-
204-0484-X.
Possehl, Gregory L., and Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, 1990. Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia
(1908–1989). American Anthropologist 92: 1006-1010.
Possehl, Gregory L., and M.H. Raval, 1991. A report on the excavations at Babar Kot:
1990-91. S.l. 16 p. Submitted to the ASI.
Possehl, Gregory L., and Paul C. Rissman, 1992. The chronology of prehistoric India:
From earliest times to the Iron Age. pp. 465–490 in vol. I and pp. 447–474 (Fig. 1-13,
tables 1-14 and References) in vol. II of: Ehrich, Robert W. (ed.), Chronologies in Old
World archaeology, 3rd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1992. The Harappan cultural mosaic: Ecology revisited. pp. 237–
244 in vol. I of: Jarrige, Catherine (ed.), South Asian Archaeology 1989. (Monographs in
World Archaeology, 14.) Madison WI: Prehistory Press.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1992. The Harappan Civilization in Gujarat: The Sorath and Sindhi
Harappans. The Eastern Anthropologist 45 (1-2): 117-154.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1992. A short history of archaeological discovery at Harappa. In:
Meadow 1992a: 5-11.
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Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) 1992. SOUTH ASIAN ARCHAEOLOGY STUDIES. New
Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. and American Institute of Indian Studies;
New York: International Science Publisher (1993). 24 cm, x, 266 pp., ill., map. Hb ISBN
81-204-0734-2 & 1881570177.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1992. Walter Ashlin Fairservis, Jr. pp. 1–12 in: Possehl, Gregory L.
(ed.), South Asian archaeology studies.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1992. Toymakers and trade: A notice of early twentieth century
commerce between Philadelphia and India. pp. 261–266 in: Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.),
South Asian archaeology studies.
Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) 1993. HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION: A RECENT
PERSPECTIVE. 2nd revised ed. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. an
American Institute of Indian Studies. 28 cm, xv, 595 pp., 120 pl., maps, index. Hb ISBN
81-204-0779-2.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1993. The date of Indus urbanization: A proposed chronology for
the Pre-Urban and Urban Harappan phases. pp. 231–249 in: Gail, Adalbert J., and G.
R. Mevissen (eds.), South Asian Archaeology 1991. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
Possehl, Gregory L., and Maurizio Tosi (eds.) 1993. HARAPPAN STUDIES, Vol. 1. New
Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 71 pp. Pb INR 395. ISBN 81-204-0819-5.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1994. The Indus Civilisation. Man and Environment 19 (1-2): 103-
113.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1994. Of men. pp. 179–186 in: Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (ed.),
From Sumer to Meluhha: Contributions to the archaeology of South and West Asia in
memory of George F. Dales, Jr. (Wisconsin Archaeological Reports, 3.) Madison, WI:
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1994. RADIOMETRIC DATES FOR SOUTH ASIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY. (An occasional publication of the Asia Section.) Philadelphia: The
University of Pennsylvania Museum. 122 pp.
Possehl, Gregory L., and Dinker P. Mehta, 1994. Excavations at Rojdi, 1992-93.
pp. 603–614 in: Parpola, Asko, and Petteri Koskikallio (eds.), South Asian Archaeology
1993, vol. II. (Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae B 271: II.) Helsinki:
Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1996. Meluhha. pp. 133–208 in: Reade, Julian (ed.), The Indian
Ocean in antiquity. London: Kegan Paul International in association with the British
Museum.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1996. Climate and the eclipse of the ancient cities of the Indus.
pp. 193–244 in: Dalfes, H. Nüzhet, George Kukla and Harvey Weiss (eds.), Third
millennium BC climate change and Old World collapse. (NATO ASI, Series 1: Global
Environment Change, vol. 49.) Berlin & New York: Springer.
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Possehl, Gregory L., 1996. INDUS AGE: THE WRITING SYSTEM. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press; New Delhi: Oxford IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
29 cm, xiv, 244 pp., 16 pl. Hb ISBN 0-8122-3345-X & 81-204-1083-1.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1997. The transformation of the Indus Civilization. Journal of World
Prehistory 11 (4): 425-472. Reprinted in Man and Environment 24 (2), 1999: 1-33.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1997. The date of the Surkotada cemetery: A reassessment in
light of recent archaeological work in Gujarat. pp. 81–87 in: Joshi, Jagat Pati (ed.),
Facets of Indian Civilization: Recent perspectives. Essays in honour of Professor B. B.
Lal. New Delhi: Aryan Books International.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1997. Seafaring merchants of Meluhha. pp. 87–100 in: Allchin,
Bridget (ed.), South Asian Archaeology 1995. Cambridge: Ancient India and Iran Trust;
New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1997-1998. An Harappan outpost on the Amu Darya: Shortughai,
Why was it there? Indologica Taurinensia 23-24: 57-70, 1 fig.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1998. Sociocultural complexity without the state: The Indus
Civilization. pp. 261–291 in: Feinman, Gary M., and Joyce Marcus (eds.), The archaic
states. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1998. Did the Sarasvati ever flow to the sea? pp. 339–354 in:
Philips, C. S., D. T. Potts and S. Searight (eds.), Arabia and its neighbours: Essays on
prehistorical and historical developments presented in honour of Beatric de Cardi.
Brussels: Brepols.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1998. Introduction of African millets to the Indian subcontinent.
pp. 107–121 in: Pendergast, H. D. V., N. L., Etkin, D. R. Harris and P. J. Houghton
(eds.), Plants for food and medicine. Kew: The Royal Botanic Gardens.
Possehl, Gregory L., 1999. INDUS AGE: THE BEGINNINGS. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press; New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. 29 cm, xxxvi,
1063 pp., 580 b/w ill. Hb ISBN 0-8122-3417-0. Reviewed: Asko Parpola, The Times
Higher Education Supplement, 3 Dec 1999, p. 24.
Possehl, Gregory L., and Praveena Gullapalli, 1999. The Early Iron Age in South Asia.
pp. 153–175 in: Pigott, Vincent C. (ed.), The archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World.
(MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology, University Museum
Monograph, volume 16.) Philadelphia: The University Museum, University of
Pennsylvania.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2000. Harappan beginnings. pp. 99–112 in: Lamberg-Karlovsky,
Martha (ed.), The breakout: The origins of civilization. (Peabody Museum Monographs,
9.) Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum, Harvard University.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2000-2001. The Early Harapopan phase. Bulletin of the Deccan
College Post-Graduate and Research Institute 60-61: 227-241, 10 figs.
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Possehl, Gregory L., 2000-2001. The Mature Harapopan phase. Bulletin of the Deccan
College Post-Graduate and Research Institute 60-61: 243-251, 2 figs.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2002. THE INDUS CIVILIZATION: A CONTEMPORARY
PERSPECTIVE. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. 29 cm, xi, 276 pp., ill., maps. Pb
ISBN 0-7591-0172-8. Hb ISBN 0-7591-0171-X.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2002. Fifty years of Harappan archaeology: The study of the Indus
Civilization since Indian independence. pp. 1–46 in: Settar, S., and Ravi Korisettar
(eds.), Protohistory: Archaeology of the Harappan Civilization. (Indian archaeology in
retrospect, vol. II.) New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research & Manohar.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2002. Archaeology of the Harappan Civilization: An annotated list
of excavations and surveys. pp. 421–482 in: Settar, S., and Ravi Korisettar (eds.)
Protohistory: Archaeology of the Harappan Civilization. (Indian archaeology in
retrospect, vol. II.) New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research & Manohar.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2002. Indus-Mesopotamian trade: The record in the Indus. Iranica
Antiqua 37: 322-340.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2003. The Indus Civilization: An introduction to environment,
subsistence, and cultural history. pp. 1–20 in: Weber, Steven A., and William R. Belcher
(eds.), Indus ethnobiology: New perspectives from the field. Lanham MD: Lexington
Books.
Shinde, V., G. L. Possehl and M. Ameri, 2005. Excavations at Gilund 2001-2003: The
seal impressions and other finds. pp. 159–169 in: Franke-Vogt, Ute, & Hans-Joachim
Weisshaar (eds.), South Asian Archaeology 2003. (Forschungen zur Archäologie
aussereuropäischer Kulturen, 1.) Aachen: Linden Soft Verlag e. K.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2007. The Indus Civilization. Chapter 9 in: Hinnells, John R. (ed.),
Handbook of ancient religions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Joshi, Jagat Pati, 2008. Harappan architecture and civil engineering. Foreword by
Gregory L. Possehl. (Infinity Foundation series.) New Delhi: Rupa & Co., in association
with Infinity Foundation. ISBN 978-81-291-1183-8.
Possehl, Gregory L., 2010. Review of: Parpola, Asko, B. M. Pande and Petteri
Koskikallio (eds.), 2010. Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, Volume 3: New
material, untraced objects, and collections outside India and Pakistan. Part 1: Mohenjo-
daro and Harappa, in collaboration with Richard H. Meadow and J. Mark Kenoyer.
(Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, Humaniora 359; Memoirs of the
Archaeological Survey of India, No. 96.) Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia. Journal
of the American Oriental Society 130 (2).
Possehl, G. and M. Witzel. Vedic. In: P.N. Peregrine and M. Ember, eds., Encyclopedia
of Prehistory, Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Published in conjunction with the