Orientalism, ideology and identity

Abstract

While many would argue that the preoccupation with caste in South Asian anthropology can be linked to an essentializing and orientalist project that has increasingly come under fire in post-colonial and subaltern studies, this article suggests that within South Asian archaeology it is, in contrast, the almost complete neglect of caste that hints at deeper problems within the discipline. After attempting to identify why caste has been largely omitted from archaeological studies in South Asia, the article goes on to explore some of the issues that archaeologists will have to consider if they are going to begin to explicitly address caste in their research, including the relationship between caste and material culture, time, place, agency and ideology. The article concludes by examining the reasons why archaeologists need to address caste, and the ways in which archaeology can contribute to a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of caste and its development and contemporary relevance in South Asia.