Mega mammals in ancient India rhinos, tigers, and elephants / Shibani Bose.

Author/creator Bose, Shibani
Other author Oxford University Press.
Format Electronic
EditionFirst edition.
Publication InfoNew Delhi, India : Oxford University Press, 2020.
Descriptionxix, 360 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; 23 cm
Supplemental ContentFull text available from Oxford Scholarship Online
Subjects

Abstract "The book ventures to look into eras bygone in order to chronicle the passage of three mega species--the rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), tiger (Panthera tigris), and elephant (Elephas maximus)--across millennia in early north India. It carefully sifts through an archive comprising faunal remains and visual depictions retrieved from the archaeological record as well as a gamut of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and classical Western accounts to document the presence of these mega animals in various cultural niches from hunter-gatherer societies to the first urban civilization of India and beyond. The narrative goes beyond treating these species as mere cultural icons to one that is also sensitive to their importance as markers of ecology. The focus is two-fold: to comprehend perceptions, attitudes, and sensibilities oscillating between veneration and persecution in order to reconstruct the cultural dimensions of human-megafaunal relations in the past, as also to use these species to understand the larger ecology of ancient India. At a time when the conservation of our megafaunal heritage is a major concern for biologists, ecologists as well as conservationists, this book underlines the need to historicize human interactions with these mega mammals keeping in mind that an animal's past is critical in thinking about its future"--Publisher's description.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 319-346) and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Other formsAlso available as an e-book.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Issued in other formElectronic version: Bose, Shibani. Mega mammals in ancient India. First edition. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2020 9780199099887
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2020330989
ISBN9780190120412 (hardback)
ISBN019012041X (hardback)
ISBN(ebook)
ISBN(ebook)
ISBN(electronic book)
Stock numberLibrary of Congress -- New Delhi Overseas Office

Availability

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