A comprehensive study of Ladakh's rock art is now available
18/12/10 13:57 Filed in: Members' News
In March 2010 Laurianne Bruneau defended her Phd thesis in archaeology on the following sibject: Ladakh (Jammu & Kashmir, India) from Protohistory to History: a study of rock art (Bronze Age-13th century A.D.).
Summary of thesis:
Ladakh is the largest, highest and westernmost region of the Himalayas. Although it belongs to India’s state of Jammu and Kashmir, it is located at the crossroads of Central Asia, China, Tibet and India. We may assume that this unique location resulted into a major historical importance. However Ladakh’s history prior the 15th century is rather fragmentary and legendary. Very limited archaeological researches have been conducted in this Himalayan region. In the light of successful rock art projects lead in Central Asia and in the northern areas of Pakistan, petroglyphs appeared as the most promising and easily available material to carry out the first systematic archaeological study of Ladakh. In the course of my PhD I gathered about 15, 000 petroglyphs scattered over 100 rock sites. A comparative analysis of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations shows that during the Bronze and Iron Ages (2500-300 BC) Ladakh shared thematic and stylistic traits with the Central! Asian steppes. Later on, at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, several rock inscriptions in kharosthi and brahmi are firm testimonies that Ladakh was under the influence of the Indian cultural expansion. Then, Tibetan rock inscriptions in Ladakh datable to the second half of the first millennium provide evidence for the expansion of the Tibetan empire (7th-11th centuries) into the western regions. These inscriptions are frequently accompanied by engraved representations of Buddhist stūpa. The typological and comparative study of these enables us to better apprehend the introduction and diffusion of Buddhism into Ladakh. In summary my researches on the rock art of Ladakh allows for the first time to propose a secure cultural sequence of the region from Protohistory to the Medieval Period. It also demonstrates that the Himalayas have never been a barrier between Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau and that Ladakh always has been a cultural cro! ssroad.
Keywords: archaeology, history of art, rock art, petroglyph, engraving, carving, Ladakh, India, Central Asia, Tibet, Protohistory, Bronze Age, Iron Age, animal style, art of the steppes, Buddhism, architecture, stūpa, chorten
There are four volumes (IN FRENCH):
1/text
2/catalogue of rock art sites
3/catalogue of petroglyphs
4/appendix and images
Anyone interested in the subject is invited to contact Laurianne Bruneau via e-mail. A Pdf version is available.
e-mail: bruneaulaurianne@yahoo.com
Summary of thesis:
Ladakh is the largest, highest and westernmost region of the Himalayas. Although it belongs to India’s state of Jammu and Kashmir, it is located at the crossroads of Central Asia, China, Tibet and India. We may assume that this unique location resulted into a major historical importance. However Ladakh’s history prior the 15th century is rather fragmentary and legendary. Very limited archaeological researches have been conducted in this Himalayan region. In the light of successful rock art projects lead in Central Asia and in the northern areas of Pakistan, petroglyphs appeared as the most promising and easily available material to carry out the first systematic archaeological study of Ladakh. In the course of my PhD I gathered about 15, 000 petroglyphs scattered over 100 rock sites. A comparative analysis of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations shows that during the Bronze and Iron Ages (2500-300 BC) Ladakh shared thematic and stylistic traits with the Central! Asian steppes. Later on, at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, several rock inscriptions in kharosthi and brahmi are firm testimonies that Ladakh was under the influence of the Indian cultural expansion. Then, Tibetan rock inscriptions in Ladakh datable to the second half of the first millennium provide evidence for the expansion of the Tibetan empire (7th-11th centuries) into the western regions. These inscriptions are frequently accompanied by engraved representations of Buddhist stūpa. The typological and comparative study of these enables us to better apprehend the introduction and diffusion of Buddhism into Ladakh. In summary my researches on the rock art of Ladakh allows for the first time to propose a secure cultural sequence of the region from Protohistory to the Medieval Period. It also demonstrates that the Himalayas have never been a barrier between Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau and that Ladakh always has been a cultural cro! ssroad.
Keywords: archaeology, history of art, rock art, petroglyph, engraving, carving, Ladakh, India, Central Asia, Tibet, Protohistory, Bronze Age, Iron Age, animal style, art of the steppes, Buddhism, architecture, stūpa, chorten
There are four volumes (IN FRENCH):
1/text
2/catalogue of rock art sites
3/catalogue of petroglyphs
4/appendix and images
Anyone interested in the subject is invited to contact Laurianne Bruneau via e-mail. A Pdf version is available.
e-mail: bruneaulaurianne@yahoo.com