13th Round Table on the Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia

(Kyoto Session, RHIN, May 30-31, 2009)

30 May 2009

9:00-9:30 Director-General’s greetings, and introduction to the past and present Round Tables, by M. Witzel
 

Discussion about the dispersal of agriculture in Asia, especially in South Asia

9:30-10:30 Dorian Fuller: Late Harappan “collapse,” the opening of Central Asia and long-distance crop movements

10:30-11:30 Steven Weber: Cropping strategies and the Indus Civilization: New crops, regional variation and climatic adjustments

11:30-12:30 Emiko Takei: (On Foxtail millet)

Discussion about the burial systems in Harappa and South Asia

13:30-14:30 Mark Kenoyer: Cemetary assemblage, stratigraphy, and chronology: A view from Harappa.

14:30-15:30 Brian Hemphill: Harappa: The role of an urbanized Bronze Age populace in the population history of South Asia.

15:30-16:30 Richard Meadow: TBA
 

31st May 2009
Discussion about the connections between South Asia and the Gulf, including issue of the Indus ‘script’

9:00-10:00 Steve Farmer: The Collapse of the Indus-Script thesis, five years Later: Massive nonliterate urban civilizations of ancient Eurasia (co-authors: Richard Sproat, Oregon Health and Science University, and Michael Witzel, Harvard University)

10:00-11:00 Daniel Potts: Four world quarters in the late 3rd millennium BC: Ur, Shimaski, Meluhha, Magan (and the bits in between).

11:00-12:00 Asko Parpola: The Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) in the Harappan, Dravidian and Indo-Iranian record.
 

On the diversity of wheat DNA types and on linguistic diversity in South Asia

13:00-14:00 Tsuneo Sasanuma: Genetic diversity of Afghan wheat land races and their potential for future breeding

14:00-15:00 Hsin-Fu Yen: Traditional management of Afghan wheat landraces and their potential for future breeding

15:00- 16:00 Michael Witzel: A hot spot of linguistic diversity in the Greater Hindukush/Pamir area: The names of agricultural plants

16:00- General Discussion

NB: Each speaker has one hour at disposal, divided into 40 minutes (presentation) and 20 minutes (discussion).

Preceded by Indus Project meeting, May 29,2009
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May 29:

General meeting of the Indus project with a discussion of ongoing work by scholars from India, Japan, Pakistan, USA:

10:00-11:00 Dr. Fazaldad Kakar (Director-General, Archaeological department, Government of Pakistan): On archaeological works in Pakistan.

11:00-12:00 Dr. Nilofer Shaikh (Vice-Chancellor, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur): On excavation in Sindh

(Lunch)

13:00-13:45 Dr. Vasant Shinde (Deccan College): On excavation at Farmana

13:45-14:00 Dr. Naruya Saitou: On burial site at Farmana

14:00-14:45 Dr. J.S. Kharakwal (Rajasthan Vidyapeeth): On excavation at Kanmer

14:45-15:30 Dr. Ajithprasad (Baroda Unviersity) On excavation at Shikarpur

15:45-16:30 Dr. Qasid Mallah (Shah Abdul Latif University): On excavation and exploration in Sindh

16:30- 17:00 Toshiki Osada: The result of the evaluation committee.

(All titles are tentative)