[INDOLOGY] brick-making communities

[Dominik Wujastyk]

It's very tempting to look at today's brickmaking castes and make the leap
to Indus technology.  I've done it myself.  But then one must remind
oneself of the vast depth of time we're considering.  It seems impossible
that this craft could really be genetically connected with practices 4500
years ago.

That's why I'm asking about history, really, to see how far back the
current practices are documentable.

As for the Needham Project, O. P. Jaggi had a go at it.  Not that good, but
sometimes one is surprised.

Best,
Dominik

--
Professor Dominik Wujastyk <http://ualberta.academia.edu/DominikWujastyk>
,

Singhmar Chair in Classical Indian Society and Polity
,

Department of History and Classics <http://historyandclassics.ualberta.ca/>
,
University of Alberta, Canada
.

South Asia at the U of A:

sas.ualberta.ca



On Tue, 6 Nov 2018 at 10:07, Matthew Kapstein <mkapstei at uchicago.edu> wrote:

> Dear Dominik,
>
> I recall reading somewhere that the sizes of bricks of the Indus
> civilization seem to have been standardized, in which case this is a very
> ancient industry in SA. In Bihar, it seems, the bricks of Nalanda and other
> viharas have been mined for centuries, and the use of brick in the
> Kathmandu valley extends to Licchavi times. So there must be some
> literature about this
>
> It's time to do for SA what Needham sought to do for China .....
>
> Best, Matthew
>
> Matthew T. Kapstein
> EPHE, Paris
> The University of Chicago
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
> Dominik Wujastyk via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 6, 2018 5:53:04 PM
> *To:* Indology
> *Subject:* [INDOLOGY] brick-making communities
>
> Travelling in India, especially by train, one occasionally sees large
> mounds of bricks, or maybe they are kilns or sun-drying piles.  There are
> workers at these places, making bricks.  Is there a scholarly *historical*
> literature about these communities and the practice of brick-making in
> earlier Indian history?
>
> With thanks,
> Dominik
>
> e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaNIydpOYYk
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kobW9nj-wQ
>
>
> --
> Professor Dominik Wujastyk <http://ualberta.academia.edu/DominikWujastyk>
> ,
>
> Singhmar Chair in Classical Indian Society and Polity
> ,
>
> Department of History and Classics
> <http://historyandclassics.ualberta.ca/>
> ,
> University of Alberta, Canada
> .
>
> South Asia at the U of A:
>
> sas.ualberta.ca
>
>


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