Buddhism emerged during the first half of the first millennium BCE, as a number of heterodoxical teachings emerged from the mainstream Hindu belief system within the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Once an extremely influential force in South Asia there are now only 6.6 million Buddhists within India, with the only majority Buddhist communities lying within Sri Lanka. Traditionally, knowledge of the history and nature of Buddhism has come from two sources, ancient text(Schopen, 1997) and modern practices (Gombrich, 1971; Trainor, 1997). Archaeology was seldom utilised aside form the the large-scale, unscientific clearing of 'Buddhist' monuments. Indeed, it can be summarised in de Jong's words "Buddhist arts, inscriptions and coins... cannot be understood without the support given by texts"(1975: 15). This has led to a situation where if archaeology provided conflicting evidence, it was dismissed as a local, degenerate variant. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that archaeology can play an important role in questioning such practices, and demonstrate a pervasive tradition that is at odds with the traditional models of "Buddhist" behavior (Coningham, 2001). This paper will first present the textual narrative of the life of the Buddha before critically reviewing his life from an archaeological perspective. Secondly, it will introduce the accepted typology of Buddhist monuments - stupas, griha and vihara - and question both it's integrity and 'Buddhist' nature. Third, it will present a series of case studies illustrating the complex and variable nature of Buddhist practice throughout South Asia history. These case studies will include an examination of the variability of three contemporary Buddhist monuments, reflecting the spatial dynamic of patronage; an exposition of differing patterns of power, function and definition of Buddhist relics; and finally the archaeological visibility of Buddhism's two major traditions, the Hinayana and Mahayana. Finally, the paper will conclude with an examination of the archaeological visibility of Buddhism and will attempt to identify specific elements of material culture which may be termed or interpreted as 'Buddhist' with reference to diet, the role of women and artefacts recovered from Buddhist monasteries or viharas.
目次
abstract 183 1. Introduction 184 2. The Lifetime of the Buddha 186 3. Buddhist Monuments 188 4. Buddhist Landscapes 192 5. New perspectives 197 References 199
