Workshop on Historical Atlas of South India

The French Institute of Pondicherry is organizing the first workshop to launch the project on Historical Atlas of South India, which is a collaborative project funded by the Ford Foundation for three years (2005-2008). The aim of the project is to develop a comprehensive Historical Atlas of South India (from prehistoric times to 1600 CE) in digital format through a combination of maps, photographs, illustrations, texts, and Geographical Information System (GIS) functionalities. The five collaborating institutions are (1) French Institute of Pondicherry, (2) Tamil University of Thanjavur (Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology), (3) Mahatma Gandhi University of Kottayam (School of Social Sciences), (4) Mangalore University (Post-Graduate Department of Studies in History), and (5) University of Hyderabad (Department of History). The participants in the workshop will evaluate the pilot version of the Historial Atlas prepared during the first phase (2001-2004) of the project by the Tamil University of Thanjavur and the French Institute and chalk out the modalities and programme for the second phase of the project to be carried during the next three years.

Themes of the workshop

• Mapping south Indian history — Perspectives, Issues, and Experiences.
• Historical Atlas of South India — Challenges and strategies

Venue

Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall
IFP
11, St. Louis Street
Pondicherry 605 001

Programme Schedule

Day 1 (Monday 8th August, 2005)

Day 2 (Tuesday 9th August, 2005)

Day 3 (Wednesday 10th August, 2005)

List of Participants

• Dr. L. Thiagarajan : Senior Lecturer in History, Government Arts College, Ariyalur
• Dr. M.G.S.Narayanan : Former Chairman, ICHR, Calicut
• Dr. Raghava Varier : Visiting Professor of History, Mahatama Gandhi University, Kottayam
• Dr. A. Manavalan : Professor (rtd) of Tamil, University of Madras
• Dr. B. Narasimhaiah : Superintending Archaeologist (rtd), Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai
• Dr. P. Jayakumar : Lecturer in Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Madras
• Dr. R. Champakalakshmi : Professor (rtd) of Ancient History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Dr. R. Pungunran : Tamil Lexicon Project, University of Madras
• Dr. S. Rajagopal : Senior Epigraphical Officer, Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, Chennai
• Dr. S. Rajavelu : Senior Epigraphical Assistant, Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai
• Dr. Shanmugam : Professor (rtd) of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Madras
• Mr. Iravatham Mahadevan : IAS (rtd)
• Dr. S. Raju : Professor (rtd) of Epigraphy, Tamil University of Thanjavur
• Dr. Aloka Parasher-Sen : Professor of History, University of Hyderabad
• Dr. Rajan Gurukkal : Professor and Head, School of Social Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam
• Dr. C. Santalingam : Curator, Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, Madurai
• Dr. V. Vedachalam : Epigraphical Officer, Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, Madurai
• Dr. Kesavan Veluthat : Professor of History, Mangalore Univesity
• Dr. Shereen Ratnagar : Professor (rtd) of Ancient History, Jawaharlal Nehru Univesity, New Delhi
• Dr. Francois Gros : EPHE, Paris
• Dr. D. Danny Lo Seen : Head, Geomatics Laboratory, IFP
• Dr. Y. Subbarayalu : Coordinator for Historical Atlas of South India, IFP
• Mr. D.Balasubramanian : System Administrator, IFP
• Dr. Rajaram Hegde : Professor of History, Kuvempu University, Shimoga, Karnataka
• Dr. K. Rajan : Associate Professor and Head, Dept of Epigraphy and Archaeology, Tamil University of Thanjavur
• Ms. Uma Sankari : Software Engineer, IFP

Note on Historical Atlas of South India

The French Institute of Pondicherry and the Tamil University of Thanjavur initiated a collaborative project in 2001 to explore the possibility of developing a comprehensive Historical Atlas of South India (from prehistoric times to 1600 CE) in digital format through a combination of maps, photographs, illustrations, texts and Geographical Information System (GIS) functionalities. The original idea was that the Digital Atlas, once it is put on internet, could, on one hand, create interest among the general public on the rich historical heritage of the region, and on the other hand, stimulate collaboration among scholars working in History and Archaeology, by providing a novel and dynamic way of presenting historical knowledge related to a geographical region and by providing concrete tools to clarify the current historical issues relating to economic activities (hunting, gathering, pastoralism, agriculture at various levels, craft production, etc.), society (migrations of people, demography, religious movements), nature of state-formation (e.g., Segmentary state hypothesis), movements of art styles over time and space, settlements as part of water management and land use patterns, and so on.

The first phase was completed in 2004 and a prototype has been developed for the Pudukkottai (Central Tamil Nadu) region, which works both from a CD-Rom and on the Internet. This work has provided us the opportunity to explore multidisciplinary approaches in research using History and Archaeology on one hand and GIS and Informatics on the other hand. For testing purposes, the content of the CD-Rom has been put on IFP’s website (http://www.ifpindia.org/histatlas/).

Now the second phase of the project has been initiated with an ambitious scope to cover the entire states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as well as to two pilot areas in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The idea behind initiating the pilot areas in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is to prepare for the extension of the project area further north so that the entire South India could be covered during a subsequent phase. The Ford Foundation has provided us a liberal grant to work on the project for a three-year period (2005 to 2008). During this phase the following five institutions have agreed to collaborate in the venture : French Institute of Pondicherry, Tamil University of Thanjavur (Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology), Mahatma Gandhi University of Kottayam (School of Social Sciences), Mangalore University (Post-Graduate Department of Studies in History), University of Hyderabad (Department of History). Four independent teams will be working in Thanjavur, Kottayam, Hyderabad, and Mangalore for covering respectively Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the pilot study areas in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and will provide the primary mappable archaeological and historical data. The Laboratory of Geomatics and Applied Informatics of the French Institute of Pondicherry will contribute towards the technological aspects including GIS and software.

The planned methodology for the proposed project and the time-schedule would be as follows :

1. Assessing the existing archaeological and historical data in their nature and quality and to identify the gaps (three months from the beginning). 2. Consolidation and organization of existing data with a team of research assistants from archaeology and history (six months). 3. Research on substantial supporting information and collect more data undertaking field surveys to fill the gaps in the existing data and collect fresh images of artifacts and monuments (7th month to 30th month). 4. Reorganize these data so as to fit into the GIS framework (7th to 33rd month). 5. Design of the application in appropriate formats, namely, web and stand-alone CD (throughout from beginning to the final stage). 6. Evaluate, in periodical workshops, the progress, quality and presentation in consistence with the progress of the disciplines involved (once in six months).

The final product will be a computer-application based on a CD (or DVD) giving access to a spatially referenced historical/archaeological database through navigation by time periods, space and themes. The database, containing text, visual and, wherever necessary, audio material, will also be made accessible on the Internet to users worldwide. It will be finalized at the end of the third year, after subjecting it to test and evaluation for both its content and the technical consistency by international experts through workshops.