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Finding history: the locational geography of Ashokan inscriptions in the

Monica L. Smith, Thomas W. Gillespie, Scott Barron and Kanika Kalra

Antiquity / Volume 90 / Issue 350 / April 2016, pp 376 - 392 DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2016.6, Published online: 06 April 2016

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0003598X16000065

How to cite this article: Monica L. Smith, Thomas W. Gillespie, Scott Barron and Kanika Kalra (2016). Finding history: the locational geography of Ashokan inscriptions in the Indian subcontinent. Antiquity, 90, pp 376-392 doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.6

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Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/AQY, IP address: 128.97.195.154 on 07 Apr 2016 Finding history: the locational geography of Ashokan inscriptions in the Indian subcontinent Monica L. Smith1, Thomas W. Gillespie2, Scott Barron2 & Kanika Kalra3

The Mauryan of the third century BC was the first to unite the greater part of the Indian subcontinent under a single ruler, yet its demographic geography remains largely uncertain. Here, the HYDE 3.1 database of past population and land-use is used to offer insights into key aspects of Mauryan political geography through the locational analysis of the Ashokan edicts, which are the first stone inscriptions known from the subcontinent and which constitute the first durable statement of Buddhist-inspired beliefs. The known distribution of rock and pillar edicts across the subcontinent can be combined with HYDE 3.1 to generate predictive models for the location of undiscovered examples and to investigate the relationship between political economy and religious activities in an early state. Keywords: Indian subcontinent, Ashokan edicts, stone inscriptions, HYDE 3.1,

Introduction Large datasets facilitate the study of human activities on a continental scale, ranging from the analysis of ancient mobility (Prado et al. 2015) to the dynamics of historical states and (Peterson & Drennan 2012;Kintighet al. 2014). The availability of synthetic longitudinal human-environmental data for the past 12 000 years additionally provides the opportunity for researchers to incorporate landscape variability and environmental

1 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, 375 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, 90095– 1553, USA (Email: [email protected]) 2 Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, 315 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1524, USA 3 Archaeology Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1510, USA C Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016 ANTIQUITY 90 350 (2016): 376–392 doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.6 376 oNpl h sesetrslsi w itntotoe:a nlsso h lcmn of undiscovered placement yet from as the for found search of to been analysis model predictive an exemplars. have a develop outcomes: and to distinct capacity the BC, two and edicts, in century known results third ruler subcontinent. assessment the celebrated The Indian . most of the to the polity on , Mauryan inscriptions with the associated stone of are first documents the politico-religious edicts, These Ashokan of distribution onaymresfr“h rtvrulyalIdaepr”(Singh ” proxy all- as virtually inscriptions first Ashokan “the known for the markers interpreted boundary have figures the political to and attributed researchers texts of copies medieval repetitive or ( of consist Ashoka and leader Edicts NormanMauryan Rock & Minor (Allchin and plain Major Gangetic as northern the in polity 1985 Mauryan the of appearance the BC; (858–824 III Shalmaneser and 2011 BC) (1114–1076 of source Hammurabi the Tiglathpileser Harmans at of by Kang inscriptions River code (.g. see Tigris achievements the the their latter, the of commemorate (e.g. stelae the to the viewing inscribed (for rock and public Korea living stelae, for of the up kingdom milestones, set Silla Roman stelae, were Mesopotamian they other or which and political Houston in (cf. make state places of the to the of form them technology potent a using as particularly cultures writing 2004 of a ancient use were the many through inscriptions in proclamations religious Stone leaders dating times. with graffiti display, literate and names political earliest individual the as dedicatory, include well to and as back world themes, many the political around by and from instructional copied known immutable religious, are an written often provide Inscriptions were inscriptions texts past. stone the which Unlike eras, from medieval papyrus, voice data. and and ancient historical the parchment both primary through as hands of such source materials valuable organic on a are inscriptions Stone inscriptions stone of function The Goldewijk database (Klein land-use historical 3.1 the end, HYDE this To as place-making. and known agency of studies in change ni sa mg fafu-eddlo ilrcptlatiue oAhk hti widely is that Ashoka to (Brown attributed documents government pillar and of letterheads seal official four-headed national the coinage, a example, on of for distributed image ; South an modern is in India Ashokan presence the compelling unification, a subcontinental remains premodern era of trope charged Smith politically see the model assesses state territorial the of views oua n cdmcrsrec eg Chakrabarti (e.g. resurgence academic and popular 2012 discovery. Lahiri nSuhAi,tefis tn ncitosocri h hr etr C onietwith coincident BC, century third the in occur inscriptions stone first the Asia, South In ; ). to moved and quarried were that stones on made were inscriptions cases some In ). .Tesuyo soassca mat n oeo oennei urnl noiga enjoying currently is governance of mode and impacts social Ashoka’s of study The ). idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding hpr19 [1961] 1997 Thapar 2015 ¸ah ,afco htpoie diinliptst upsflpormeo site of programme purposeful a to impetus additional provides that factor a ), 2007 minars kos ,adteBstnisrpino aisIi esa(2–1 C Finn BC; (520–519 Persia in I Darius of inscription Bisitun the and ), dsac akr)t eosrc h ertra xeto state, a of extent territorial the reconstruct to markers) (distance c 6–3 C.Js sshlr aeue oa milestones Roman used have scholars as Just BC). 268–231 . , 04[2002] 2004 , tal et 2006 377 2005 . Falk ; 2010 ;Sugandhi 2006 2011 , 2006 2011 ) nohrcss ueshdthe had rulers cases, other In )). Olivelle ; .Teisrpin r known are inscriptions The ). 2013  C )ishereusedtoquerythe niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity .Rgrls fhwone how of Regardless ). 2012 tal et . 3;fralternate for 131; : 2012 ;Singh 2009 2012 ;Ray ;

Research Monica L. Smith et al.

The importance of the Ashokan edicts for the Unlike the texts that may have served as their inspirational precursors (such as the above- mentioned inscription of Darius I), the Ashokan edicts do not focus on the aggrandisement of the leader and instead convey information about royal activities in support of the then- nascent religion of Buddhism. The Buddha, as a historically known individual who lived in the mid first millennium BC, is familiar to us today as the founder of one of the world’s great religions, but in his lifetime he was only one of several proponents of self-actualising ritual traditions that emerged in reaction to hierarchical Vedic religious practices. In the third century BC when Ashoka was ruling, Buddhism was probably regarded as a relatively esoteric ritual practice, given that some of its most distinctive , such as the representation of the Buddha in human form, had not yet been developed (DeCaroli 2015). Ashoka’s autobiographical endorsements served to spread the doctrine of Buddhism beyond its Gangetic origins to a larger audience (Reat 1994; Lahiri 2015). The edicts proclaim the leader’s adherence to dhamma () and non-violence as the result of an epiphany after a particularly costly war (note that in the edicts Ashoka uses the pseudonym Piyadassi), as recorded in this excerpt from the thirteenth Major Rock Edict: When he had been consecrated eight years the Beloved of the Gods, the king Piyadassi conquered Kalinga [eastern India]. A hundred and fifty thousand people were deported, a hundred thousand were killed and many times that number perished. Afterwards, now that Kalinga was annexed, the Beloved of the Gods very earnestly practised Dhamma, desired Dhamma, and taught Dhamma. On conquering Kalinga the Beloved of the Gods felt remorse, for, when an independent country is conquered the slaughter, death and deportation of the people is extremely grievous to the Beloved of the Gods, and weighs heavily on his mind (Thapar 1997 [1961]: 255). Ashoka provided other material support to Buddhism in the course of his reign by convening the gathering known as the , by sponsoring the construction of 84 000 (reliquaries) and by sending his son and daughter to to spread the doctrine of dhamma (Thapar 1997 [1961]: 46–47).

The inscriptions The Ashokan inscriptions are manifested in two physical forms: moveable stone pillars and inscriptions on living rock (Allchin & Norman 1985; Norman 1991;Thapar1997 [1961]; Falk 2006;Sugandhi2008; Figure 1). The pillar edicts are carved on highly polished monolithic sandstone cylinders, some of which measure more than 13m tall (Falk 2006: 152; Figure 2). They are concentrated in the eastern Valley, with a particularly marked cluster along the present India-Nepal border in the area known as the birthplace of the historical Buddha, which was also the heartland of the Mauryan polity ruled by Ashoka (see Coningham et al. 2013). Although no systematic testing has been carried out, the pillars are carved from distinctive sandstones that suggest a limited number of quarries along the Ganges (Jayaswal 1998;Falk2006: 142). The pillar edicts are relatively rare (under a dozen well-attested exemplars), and some are known to have been displaced to other cities in historical times. As far as can be discerned, the pillars were originally at the heart of C Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016

378 adtn n teso aat n oeaepae npoietlctoswti h heart the on within carved locations prominent are in some placed are positionality: some and and makeup basalt, on . their others of in and state as sandstone Indian consistency the apparent west in Jatinga-Rameshwara little far as is south as far There as found and plain fringe are Ganges southern the the They of along eastward India subcontinent. into , northern through (Afghanistan), Shahbazgarhi the inscriptions such throughout 31 with known range, geographic wider currently much a in distributed are They placement. craft-making specialised of control the to through skills. meant as engineering were well and they as that placement indicating through surroundings, power immediate convey their in or centres Brahmanical population exemplar. a living-rock within a lying recovered as here was treated it is because it but (2012: condition, slab, Norman displaced free-standing K.R. obviously a that an Note 22) originally A) in . was Rajula-Mandagiri; Udegolam; G) 29) Rampurva; 21) that Sopara; F) Panguraria; suggested Nigliva; 15) 28) 20) E) has Siddapur; Darunta); Nandangarh; Palkigundu; 60) 27) (Pul-i D) 19) Shahbazgarhi; ; Lampaka 26) C) Nittur; 14) Kausambi; Sannati; 18) B) II; 25) Araraj; ; Sahasram; & 24) 17) I Rupnath; ; 23) denote 16) 13) Ratanpurwa; letters II; Kalsi; edicts; & 12) living-rock I ; denote Laghman 11) (numbers Jatinga-Ramesvara; subcontinent 10) Indian Gujarra; the 9) in edicts Ashokan situ known in of Location 1. Figure h iigrc ncitos ncnrs,ecmasadsicl ifrn oi of logic different distinctly a encompass contrast, in inscriptions, living-rock The idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding ilreit) )Arua )Bia;3 rhaii )Dli )Dal;6 raui )Gvmt;8 ; 8) Gavimath; 7) Erragudi; 6) ; 5) ; 4) Brahmagiri; 3) ; 2) ; 1) edicts): pillar 379  C niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity

Research Monica L. Smith et al. of ancient settlements, while others are tucked away at the midpoint of rocky outcrops or in otherwise unremarkable locations away from ancient cities (Figure 3). Despite their importance for the study of Buddhism and state formation in the subcontinent, much remains to be learned about the Ashokan inscriptions. The known edicts bear the marks of several different styles (Falk 2006, 2013), but there has been little systematic palaeographic study to discern the number of scribal ‘hands’ involved in their production. In addition, there is considerable variance on what ‘counts’ as an edict. The total number of inscriptions thus varies, with some lists including the inscription of eastern India and a portable stone (now lost?) from in (although Thapar 1997 [1961]: 233 identifies the Mahasthangarh inscription as ‘pre-Ashokan’, an assessment that has interestingly prompted little subsequent commentary). Finally, the number of exemplars remains small, although the widespread distribution of known edicts indicates the likelihood that more of them exist than are currently known. About once every decade, a previously unknown Ashokan living-rock inscription has been discovered, with the most recent in 2009 (Thaplyal 2009; Falk 2013; Figure 4). Figure 2. Sandstone pillar carved with Ashokan edict at the In India, newly found inscriptions are ancient city of Kausambi, India (photograph by Monica L. Smith). greeted with considerable public and media attention and are subsequently protected by the governmental Archaeological Survey of India, which has installed enclosures, translations and tourist facilities. The total original number of Ashokan living-rock inscriptions will never be known, but the potential for the discovery of more inscriptions is a realistic proposition. As (1997 [1961]: 169) has argued, the text of the fourteenth Major Rock Edict indicates that Ashoka: had these edicts inscribed throughout the country in complete or abridged versions. It appears from this that the extant inscriptions were not the only ones to be published and that many more versions were either inscribed on rock and remain as yet undiscovered, or else were made public in other forms. The impetus for the discovery of new Ashokan inscriptions is also made increasingly urgent by the speed of landscape modification throughout . Quarries are C Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016

380 Selvakumar iue3 iigrc ncito nNwDli ne hw eoinliesrcnl eoie ylcladinternational and local by deposited recently items devotional shows Smith). inset L. Monica Delhi; by New (photograph in pilgrims inscription Living-rock 3. Figure en xaddt upycntuto aeilt rwn ouain eg Biagi (e.g. populations growing to material construction supply to expanded being Lampaka, which and for 1870s; the inscriptions in additional Rupnath Falk three from 1800s; data early are 1932; the there before in time that Rajula-Mandagiri some known: (note recognised not Afghanistan, inscriptions are in recording living-rock of Ashokan dates of first precise date Discovery 4. Figure oae;adarclua nesfiaini oiyn h adcp rudkonand known around landscape the modifying (Paddayya is areas inscription intensification potential agricultural and located; idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding 2010 ;dm r odn alyflosi hc rhelgclrmisare remains archaeological which in floors valley flooding are dams ); 1996 ;Sugandhi 381 2006 ). 2008 3–6 163). 135–36, :  C niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity 2006 ;

Research Monica L. Smith et al.

To our knowledge, no systematic programme has ever been developed to identify the potential locations of additional inscriptions. The locational characteristics of Ashokan edicts can, however, be used to analyse known living-rock inscriptions and to identify places for efficient ground-based research. For this project, the minimum standard for the identification of an ‘edict’ was the presence of wording that also appears on other inscriptions, indicative of deliberate copying of a standardised text (Figure 1; see Thapar 1997 [1961] for texts and translations). Locations of known Ashokan edicts were mapped against landscape data, both for the study of currently known edicts and to suggest locations for further research.

Predictive modelling for archaeological discovery and the HYDE 3.1 database Predictive modelling, used across the biological and geographical sciences, is an approach that employs large datasets to identify the probable location of specific types of natural resources and cultural phenomena. Predictive modelling can also serve as a tool of heritage management, so that sites can be located and mitigated prior to construction, or avoided altogether if the planned construction can be relocated. Further, predictive modelling can be undertaken in the recognition that not all archaeological resources are perceived to be of similar ‘value’, resulting in the prioritisation of some types of heritage by national governments and funding agencies. Archaeologists increasingly focus their investigations on the most probable locations of ancient settlements and other sites, particularly when faced with limited accessibility due to factors of ownership, incipient or actual warfare, and other legal and logistical issues (e.g. Ford et al. 2009; Watson 2011;Huynhet al. 2013). The following assessments make use of the History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE 3.1), a data compilation of population density and land-use capacity for the Holocene (Klein Goldewijk et al. 2010, 2011). The HYDE 3.1 database combines projected population data with land-use data to model long-term global change related to human environmental use at a 5-minute resolution (9.26km pixel size). In the short time since its release, it has been championed as the “first and most popular model” of global land use (Ellis et al. 2013: 7979), and has been used to model large-scale scenarios as diverse as ancient Roman water networks (Dermody et al. 2014) and the effects of pre-modern rice agriculture on methane levels (Fuller et al. 2011). For this edict-modelling project, we focused on cultivable land, pastures and population configurations starting in the first millennium BC to contextualise the relationship between population and the location of the Ashokan inscriptions, and to identify areas of high population density where inscriptions might be expected but have not yet been identified. Locations of Ashokan inscriptions were overlaid in ARCMAP 9.3 (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA) for three time periods: 1000 BC, AD 0 and AD 200 (the available HYDE datasets that bracket the time period of the Ashokan inscriptions). Like other datasets compiled from multiple source inputs, the scale and resolution of the HYDE 3.1 database is coarse-grained and may gloss over the subtleties of any particular C Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016

382 2 tr Garraty & Stark 22; a h rbbersl fppltosta rwi ieatrAhknivsmn nthose in edicts) investment the Ashokan of after placement size Sutcliffe the in & grew after Shaw map that years HYDE (cf. populations 400 the areas of that than result fact (more probable the 200 the in AD seen was as in message, centres royal population the to of exposed people of number the is that coverage (Kvamme of sites is evenness archaeological database and about 3.1 ubiquity information HYDE than a the comprehensive landscapes, in more entire captured usually for type available the elements and repeatable of objective and data standard on Environmental based measurement. and of comprehensive is datasets mass by provided Ellis hc a oet h ag ertra yate nw sthe as known areas the territorial in subcontinent, large located northern data? the are the 3.1 of to inscriptions plain HYDE home known Gangetic the was the the to which of including density, compared half population than found, highest more not of expected, and be found might edicts As edicts Ashokan Ashokan the the are of Where analysis locational the and 3.1 HYDE Edwards see interpretation: broad-scale of critique common (a landscape local raim giutrlitnicto n udimwr odpnetademerged and co-dependent were Buddhism Sutcliffe & and (Shaw together intensification Steele salient agricultural & the (Rockman urbanism, places select familiar particular of in memories match peoples 2003 to migrating landscapes that new of and characteristics areas, specific target selectively o ogdsac utrlcnat ssgetdb h vdnefrerytaeadteueof use the and trade (Rajan early objects for portable evidence the on by script suggested as fields contact, cultural Kolar long-distance the for including reflected resources, mineral inscriptions rich the of (Thapar that control, attempted surmised or long control, have the scholars particularly where a peninsula, emplaced and south-central polity ( Kalinga inscriptions of the set defeated conciliatory Ashoka where subcontinent the of it etr C( BC century sixth apn atclrysial o h td fclua phenomena. cultural of study the for suitable particularly mapping h osrcino e riaincnl,adaohrfrom identifying another 150, location: and AD same canals, in the irrigation Rudradaman new in ruler of texts local construction engraved the the later by two inscription of hagiographical presence lengthy inscription the a Ashokan by This however, subcontinent. notable, western made the is in Girnar, density: population of spike (Brubaker sites burial megalithic large by osrcino nebnmn (Keay embankment an of construction nmlu dc ol aebe avdb oa ue safr fcmeiieemulation competitive of form a as unidentified invites ruler otherwise yet local this a population that as by possibility carved an of the been or of have concentrations fields), could presence gold edict Kolar obvious anomalous lifetime, the southern own as the from to Ashoka’s such (analogous far resource explanations, during exemplar alternative engraved of this been consideration of have to presence assumed the usually are inscriptions neetnl,teei tlatoeisrpini nae htdoes that area an in inscription one least at is there Interestingly, tal et .I ot saa h n ftefis ilnimB,icesdpplto density, population increased BC, millennium first the of end the at Asia South In ). idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding 2006 . 2013 9) h ot-eta ucnietas rsne ohsiae audience sophisticated a presented also subcontinent south-central The 298). : 93.Hwvr h rd-f oteesotoig sta h coverage the that is shortcomings these to trade-off the However, 7983). : iue 5 Figures 2008 2003 .Eautoso ua adcp s niaeta epedo people that indicate use landscape human of Evaluations ). 2003 – 7 .Egaesadsosr fisrpin ogtt maximise to sought inscriptions of sponsors and Engravers ). iue1: Figure 2 Singh 82; : 6.Isrpin r lolctdaogteesencoast eastern the along located also are Inscriptions 86). : 2008 ,aogwt ihpplto este sindicated as densities population high with along ), 2000 1.Tetidcnetaino dcsi nthe in is edicts of concentration third The 11). & 5 2008 2008 383 3,14 Lahiri 144; 130, : ). h ) edrn YEsland/population HYDE’s rendering 6), ch. : c D40cmeoaigthe commemorating 450 AD .  C niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity 2011 not .Atog Ashokan Although ). pert aeahigh a have to appear 2003 rmthe from 223; : 1992 :

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Figure 5. HYDE 3.1 data illustrating population density in 1000 BC, with the location of third-century BC living-rock Ashokan inscriptions.

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384 ara aia iyo aaiur nteGne aly oain ,B n ,dsusdi h et dniyaesof areas identify text, the in discussed found. D, been and yet the C have and B, inscriptions inscriptions, rock A, living-rock Ashokan Locations Ashokan Valley. no of Ganges where location density the the population 0, in AD high in of density city population illustrating capital data Mauryan 3.1 HYDE 6. Figure idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding 385  C niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity

Research Monica L. Smith et al.

Figure 7. HYDE 3.1 data illustrating population density and Ashokan living-rock inscriptions in AD 200.

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386 r ak i uditeisre,tepeec fubncnrso h sad n the and Young island, & the (Coningham on time centres Ashoka’s to urban contemporaneous of to writing presence ties of the documented not use emissaries, Ashoka’s lack was known Buddhist the given investments where via interesting ritual Lanka, and Lanka particularly Sri political Sri is is between area concerted lacuna link Another the of the area. that straightforward; this century indicates in a similarly found edicts be than of to more unlikely that are predictors good edicts fact are that inscriptions Ashokan the encountered never and has investigation polities archaeological non-Mauryan of (Abraham BC the presence millennium first was late which the subcontinent, of southern dynasties 2003 Pandya farthest and the Chera Chola, in the is of area domain One research. further for areas BC century proclamation. third Rudradaman’s the for after preparation long the engraved of been part have as may here inscription the Alternatively, ( (Norman o h eupsn fmnlti oun—hc aevrosybe on sdas used potential found the been on variously also have focus columns—which living- should (Falk only monolithic but rollers not extraction transport, of road target the of repurposing should for corridors regions the suitable natural these for quarries to in surveys close and particularly Systematic areas inscriptions, city and B. rock living-rock capital Pataliputra area for Ashokan in of substituted the monoliths vicinity have of of Pataliputra. might immediate proximity to pillars inscription the the B, known given in closest and the Himalayas A Sahasram, as areas the radius In of of length foothills same the the within Lampak). is Pataliputra and of Laghman (Kandahar, B city Afghanistan capital in Area Ashokan now exemplars, the western between as farthest midway on the yield River, and D Indus to & the likely C of B, more headwaters A, the are (labelled population inscriptions Ashokan high-density undiscovered HYDE-identified yet of areas other Four eune nldn h aletietfidhmndi h ucniet(Sonakia subcontinent the in hominid identified earliest the including sequence, 166). facaooia eerhadivsiain nldn tteBdhs ieo of site Buddhist the tradition at long a including a by (Subrahmanyam has investigation, also for succeeded and region corridor research The BC, BC. settlement archaeological millennium century of a third first the as from early including investment the Buddhist habitation, strong in human Valley, of starting River record populations Narmada long the megalith-building with a As has D). region (point India this south-central of region River Godavari Ashokan the a in of expressed authority indicative religious sites and inscriptions. archaeological political of the for density population high target a potential had subsequently region Narmada The h oaaiRvrrgo.Frhrivsiain nteeaessol lotre corridors target also or should region areas River these Narmada in the investigations either Further through region. River the passed towards Godavari in have heartland the and necessarily Gangetic coast would the eastern they from the south, out on sent the were inscriptions sculptors known if of subcontinent; bands south-central two between located is region h togcreaino ouaindniywt h oaino dcspit osix to points edicts of location the with density population of correlation strong The raCi h amd ie aly nae nw ohv oghmnoccupational human long a have to known area an Valley, River Narmada the is C Area h nlrgo fhg ouaindniyietfidb h YE31dt sthe is data 3.1 HYDE the by identified density population high of region final The .Atog netgtosi hsae hudntb icuae,tedocumented the discouraged, be not should area this in investigations Although ). idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding 2012 5 oe ubro lent plig rsn nteinscription). the in present spellings alternate of number a notes 55) : 1964 2006 ,adTolknaadBvkna(Fogelin and and ), 4–9 n osipda nantoso ete (Falk deities of incarnations as worshipped and 148–49) : 387  C niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity iue 6 Figures 2006 .TeGodavari The ). & 7 .Ae is A Area ). 2015 1985 2006 ). ). :

Research Monica L. Smith et al. of trade, given the close physical association of Buddhist monastic sites with economic activity (Ray 1986;Liu1988).

Discussion Population density alone is insufficient to predict the location of cultural phenomena, for which factors of preference, strategy and technological skill were integrated with specific features of local landscapes. In the case of the Ashokan living-rock edicts, for example, the highly selective placement of inscriptions would have been achieved by specific individuals (skilled stonemasons or engravers) who used specific criteria of landscape evaluation for placement (cf. Morrison & Lycett 1997: 224). These criteria would have included environmental cues such as the presence of suitable stone and cultural factors including the presence of roads and passages frequented by travellers, in addition to the location of population centres represented by cities, towns and Buddhist establishments. Engravers would probably have been part of a small group, perhaps similar to the ‘travelling skilled artisans’ that Wayman and Rosen (1990: 52–53) have envisaged for the sculptors who embellished contemporary Buddhist monuments. The presence of a small group whose activities were limited to the Ashokan era (and hence indicative of training in both the textual contents and the execution of rock-cut lettering) is further suggested by the fact that the nature of inscriptions changed after the third century BC. Stone inscriptions continued to be profusely used for individual and collective donations to religious institutions. Royal living-rock texts are rare, however, and appear only in single exemplars (e.g. the pillar from the second century BC in (Singh 2008: 372) and the Udayagiri living-rock inscription of from the first century BC in eastern India (Sahu 1984)), rather than as a series of repeated texts, as was the case with the Ashokan edicts. Use of the comprehensive HYDE 3.1 dataset provides an important starting point to identify regions to search for additional Ashokan inscriptions. A systematic programme of research in targeted areas for discovery can make use of longstanding collaborations with local inhabitants, given that the South Asian archaeological and historical records are replete with examples in which previously unknown sites, manuscripts and artefacts have been discovered through the participation of non-academics. New technologies for recording and sharing data now provide the opportunity to increase the level of public participation in research through mobile technology and easy-to-use GIS applications that enable researchers to create massive datasets that lend robusticity to predictive models (Smith 2014). Such ‘citizen-science’ interfaces already exist in the subcontinent in disciplines such as botany and biology (e.g. India’s Common Bird project (Common Bird Monitoring of India n.d.)). In the case of stone inscriptions, images tagged with geo-locations—taken, for example, with mobile telephones—could allow researchers to systematically access ‘citizen’ sightings that could then be confirmed through follow-up visits by archaeologists and epigraphers; over time, the corpus of images could also provide a means of monitoring condition and preservation. The resurgence of interest in the Indian subcontinent as the homeland of Buddhism has greatly increased local and external participation in heritage C Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016

388 ntesbotnn eosrtsteeitneo aya e neoddisrpin (e.g. inscriptions unrecorded yet as many of fieldwork Jayaswal existence Archaeological the demonstrates of investigations. is subcontinent networks continental-scale the distributed survey for in from ground-based data benefit recover collectively When can to constraints. researchers investigation collaborative teams, political international local or by where logistical out thus carried patterns by modelling regional hampered predictive Ur evaluate and is & analysis research to locational (Menze opportunity both Syria the for for subcontinent provides Indian described the as in fieldwork, 3.1 to (Huynh inaccessible Mongolia are and that areas for Acknowledgements in ‘empire’ first subcontinent’s nature Indian the the evaluate of to time us BC. the enable century in third also regions the would among but ties only texts political not the significant provide of these would of interaction tally science discovered increased citizen newly an and of surveys addition archaeological targeted The archaeology. systematic through of exemplars no departments and or which agencies university governmental little in and strong which college of countries presence many in Asian the despite areas South conducted, many been the ever Narmada still has of fieldwork are the all there city; In known, Valley. capital are River Ashokan edicts Godavari the the to and upper adjacent Valley; the foothills River research: and Himalayan systematic for HYDE small the areas The a Valley; Ashoka. several was Indus from identifies but received edicts it tradition Ashokan that of religious support map global royal 3.1-derived the a to today prior is sect which unknown relatively significant Buddhism, also of of are study examples inscriptions The galvanising the technology. most for political the ancient of transformative one a constitute as Asia writing South of inscriptions Ashokan The Conclusion protection of focus a be will edicts found newly (see any that confidence providing discovery, nnmu eiwr.Spotwspoie yteUL fc fteVc hnelrfrRsac in Research the for and Chancellor Vice Shaw the Julia of Coningham, Office Robin UCLA from the comments by provided insightful geological was the to Support references appreciate helpful reviewers. for greatly Law anonymous Ashokan Randall the also and about We figures, conversations the for maps. on Sugandhi comments Namita for and Zebrowski Mohanty Matt Kumar inscriptions, Rabindra thank to like would We eald uniaieadacrt”dt htcnb sdt drs usin fregional of questions address to used (Ellis be history can land-use that global and data spatially comprehensive, accurate” into “more fed and for be call quantitative can the Results detailed, fulfilling well. models, as HYDE-like texts of other of iterations harvest future collateral a yield potentially could edicts uh elkont oa naiat h ol eecuae osaeterfidns(cf. findings their share to & encouraged (Joshi be could colony” who residential inhabitants a Suvrathan local of to development known the well for such, away blasted contractor a be by Pande to recognised was about Delhi was of suburbs it the “as in inscription Bahapur the example, for oescnpoientonly not provide can Models iue3: Figure idn itr:telctoa egah fAhknisrpin nteIda subcontinent Indian the in inscriptions Ashokan of geography locational the history: Finding 1967 1998 2013 6.Isrpin hmevstn obcm ardi h adcp n,as and, landscape the in sacred become to tend themselves Inscriptions 96). : ne) ulcrcgiino uhisrpin sas e oterpreservation; their to key also is inscriptions such of recognition Public inset). Suvrathan ; ). tal et 2013 . 2013 ; ar forthcoming Kalra tal et e aso looking of ways new .Teueo opeesv aaaesc sHYDE as such database comprehensive a of use The ). . 2013 389 7983). : ,sc htatree erhfrAshokan for search targeted a that such ), also but  C niut ulctosLd 2016 Ltd, Publications Antiquity e aso thinking of ways new ,even 2012 )

Research Monica L. Smith et al. the form of a Transdisciplinary Seed Grant to Smith and Gillespie. The location map on the title page of the article was provided by Antiquity.

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Received: 26 August 2014; Accepted: 14 January 2015; Revised: 7 April 2015

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