A04 INTRODUCTION

The art of living of the forest dwellers, the values (socio cultural and ethno linguistic) they cherish (Gardner and Mishra, 2014) and the emergence of unique concepts-often get reflected in their mother tongue all are very much in consonance with the cultural landscapes in which they dwell over a period. But, Changing cultural landscapes of the forest dwellers (often denoted as tribe), especially due to the so called 'development activities', appears to lead to the diminishing of cultural and linguistic heritage. Changes of cultural landscapes are of two types, as visualized. One: due to physical displacement/ resettlement. Two: shift to an align ethno linguistic environment, without any physical displacement. This paper tries to examine the above phenomenon viz. change of cultural landscapes in the backdrop of certain case studies with respect to the threat of the socio cultural, ethno linguistic and linguistic heritage of the tribes such as Eravalla spoken in Anaimalai Tamilnadu-Kerala (Gnanasundaram, 2012, 2013, Gnanasundaram & Vijayan, 2015) Bettakurumba spoken in the Nilgiris Biosphere, (Gnanasundaram, Perialwar and Rangan, 2012), villiyan alias Irular spoken in kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu (Krishnan, 2006), Andamanese spoken in the UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands(Annamalai and Gnanasundaram, 2001) etc.

Annual Review of Anthropology, 2009

Contemporary South Asian societies continue to carry out hunting and gathering as their primary subsistence strategy, but who are these societies? In which ways are they similar or dissimilar? Are they like contemporary foragers in other world areas? This article reviews ethnographic research concerning contemporary South Asian foragers with a focus on subsistence, cosmologies, and social organization. Major conclusions are that evolutionary/devolutionary theories about foragers during the documented ethnographic period lack reliable data and that theories of trade between farmers and foragers ignore the paramount importance of subsistence foraging practices. Currently, theories based on interpretations of foragers’ own cultural categories and standpoints constitute the most reliable ethnographic studies, and notable contri- butions are highlighted. Contemporary foragers themselves advocate that their best chances for cultural survival depend on state govern- ments that maintain environmentally diverse, healthy forests, provide contemporary foraging communities access to their traditional natural resources, and implement projects that foster cultural survival rather than assimilation.

2010

Minor Indigenous and Cultural Genocide

BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES, AND METHODOLOGY The 'age of hunter-gatherers' has purportedly accounted for more than 97% of the approximately 300,000-year history of our species (Homo sapiens). We have developed agriculture, livestock farming, and civilisations on a global scale. Nevertheless, the prehistoric culture of hunter-gatherers has not completely disappeared. The current hunter-gatherers mostly survive as small groups of indigenous people in their own nations while maintaining relationships with livestock farmers and city dwellers (Ikeya et al. eds. 2009; Ikeya and Hitchcock eds. 2016; Ikeya ed. 2017b). Among past anthropological studies of hunter-gatherers, academic theoretical contributions related to Asia have been rare compared to those related to huntergatherers in Africa and North America (e.g., Lee and DeVore eds. 1968; Binford 2001). This lack of emphasis, notwithstanding, there is no indication that data from Asia are useless in these attempts. As a matter of fact, research on hunter-gatherers in Asia can make a unique contribution due to their adaptations to greatly varied environments unseen in other continents, from the far north to tropical zones, and from terrestrial ecosystems including tundra and forests to water ecosystems including seas and lakes, and rivers (Northeast Asia by Irimoto ed. 1994 and tropical Asia by Roberts 2019 and Wedage et al. 2020). Historical perspectives also point to the unique nature of Asian evidence. Palaeolithic modern human hunter-gatherers coexisted-and even interacted with-Neanderthals and Denisovans (Reich 2018). After farming was invented and ancient civilisations were developed, small groups of hunter-gatherer communities maintained various relationships with farmers and/or city dwellers during the historical periods of West, South, and East Asia, which have continued to date (Ikeya et al. eds. 2009; Ikeya and Hitchcock eds. 2016; Ono, Chapter 6 of the present volume). Good examples can be seen in Southeast and South Asia, which are, the only regions where nomadic and semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers exist Kazunobu Ikeya and Yoshihiro Nishiaki 2 today. In this volume, hunter-gatherers are defined not only as being engaged in hunting, gathering, and fishing, but also as having maintained a system in which they share natural resources. Cultural continuity and social change among huntergatherers in Asia, from the Upper Palaeolithic up to the present, will be considered using the latest evidence from Northern, Central, Eastern, Southeast, and South Asia. Moreover, to bridge gaps in ethnographic and archaeological records, we highlight the relationship between subsistence technologies and symbolic behaviours including burials and ornaments visible in both records as material evidence. Through this attempt to compare the various characteristics and distinct features of the techniques, economies, and societies among hunter-gatherers in Asia, we aim to provide a more balanced view of their adaptations to diverse natural and social environments. At this point, we shall review the methodology of reconstructing the history of hunter-gatherers in Asia. Building a human history requires taking into account the achievements of prehistory, archaeology, literature, history, and ethnography, while considering temporal and regional variability. It is noteworthy that the geographic regions studied in the fields of ethnography and the realm of prehistory and archaeology often differ. Ethnographic research mainly focuses on hunter-gatherers in torrid or frigid zones; very few studies have specifically examined cases in temperate climates. Even among the studies of the torrid zone inhabitants, most involve inland regions, with a few notable exceptions like those of the Andaman and Nicobal Islands. This geographic bias in research emphasis is likely attributable to the fact that in human history, agriculture, livestock farming, and cities were developed in the middle latitudes, pushing hunter-gatherers out to marginal areas. The wave of industrial growth that spread from coastlines in the age of imperialism also contributed to the distribution of hunter-gatherers' communities today. This means that when using ethnographic data to build a global image of hunter-gatherers, attention must always be paid to the biases resulting from these historical factors. Studies conducted in the domains of prehistory and archaeology, by contrast, cover much wider regions. However, investigations on the wet tropics of Southeast and South Asia may have been less intensive, likely due to the poor preservation of archaeological sites. Nevertheless, research into the exploitation of animals and other practices during the Palaeolithic period has been increasing in recent years, particularly in Java and Sri Lanka (Amano et al. 2016; Roberts 2019; Wedage et al. 2019). Among studies carried out on historical periods, written documents on hunter-gatherers are available. However, they were drawn up by the civilized, thereby requiring caution in their interpretation (Irimoto 1987; Ikeya and Hasegawa eds. 2005). Approaches in ecological anthropology, sufficiently considering the contextual evidence, would also make a great contribution to the understanding of the past subsistence technologies and economies of hunter-gatherers in Asia. One example is a hypothesis of the Upper Palaeolithic hunting being assisted by dogs Figure 1 Dispersal routes of modern humans in Eurasia during the late Pleistocene suggested by genetic studies (modified from Takahata in press). Stars and black squares indicate locations of interbreeding of different human groups and the numbers show estimated dates (kya). Sites and dates suggested by archaeological information Sites and dates suggested by genetic information

Rock Art Research, 2012

Due to their traditional fierce and sustained opposition to external contact, the Jarawas of the Andaman Islands have become only recently accessible to detailed study. Their graphic art-like productions appear to consist entirely of non-figurative, essentially geometric patterns. In this paper, they are compared with the palaeoart of the south-eastern Asian mainland's final Pleistocene and early Holocene, and distinctive similarities are documented. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that after humans occupied the archipelago, probably during a period of low sea level in the Late Pleistocene, the rising sea of the initial Holocene interrupted contact with the mainland. This isolation may have led to the preservation of cultural elements in an endemic population. The recent discovery that the Jarawas can produce very realistic iconic art, especially when young, leads to the hypothesis of explaining the rare occurrence of figurative graphic art in most Pleistocene tradition...

North Bengal Anthropologists, 2016

The Ang one of the four negrito (from Spanish diminutive for 'Black') populations of Andaman islands are popularly known as Jarawa. They are also known for their self-sufficient and self-reliant society which satisfies all their needs from birth to death (cradle to grave arrangements). Until recently they lived in complete isolation and maintained a disassociated relationship with the outsiders. However, since October 1997 they have come out of this isolation and the scenario has changed drastically. Increased contact with outsiders brings about changes in Jarawa (Ang) society and culture. The self-sufficient Jarawa (Ang) society gradually started to depend on different need based, contextual outside elements. Barter relation have established between Jarawa (Ang) and non-Jarawa. The relationship is basically need based exchange of different commodities. Notably, unlike the days of disassociation, the urge of barter is often from the side of Jarawa (Ang) and a symbiotic relationship exists between both the bartering partners. They like to barter those required articles which they can't manufacture from the available forest resources or the articles to which they are fond of or addicted. Besides different socio-cultural impact of this bartering relation, one significant aspect is that as Jarawa (Ang) are unable to manufacture any of the bartered items, they gradually become depended on bartering partner for continuous and subsequent supply of the bartered item or part of it. Both the theoretical and empirical aspects of this particular issue have been discussed and analysed in this research manuscript.

Besides 34 research papers published in journals of national and international repute, he has to his credit 4 books and 5 book-chapters. Earlier he has worked in National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. His research areas include holistic anthropology with special focus on Demographic Anthropology, Human Growth and Nutrition, Genetics, etc. Also he has participated in various national/international seminars and workshops.