An Analysis on Indo-Greek Period Numismatics and Acculturation
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i THE SO-CALLED HELLINZATION OF GANDHARA: AN ANALYSIS ON INDO-GREEK PERIOD NUMISMATICS AND ACCULTURATION _____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Comparative and Cultural Studies At the University of Houston _____________________________________ By Franklin Todd Alexander August 2017 ii THE SO-CALLED HELLINZATION OF GANDHARA: AN ANALYSIS ON INDO-GREEK PERIOD NUMISMATICS AND ACCULTURATION ________________________________ Franklin T. Alexander APPROVED: ________________________________ Raymond Bentley, Ph.D. Committee Chair _________________________________ Randolph Widmer, Ph.D. ________________________________ Frank Holt, Ph.D. _________________________________ Anjali Kanojia, Ph.D. _________________________________ Antonio D. Tillis, Ph.D. Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department of Hispanic Studies iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would firstly like to acknowledge my family, especially my parents, who have always supported me in my endeavors. I would also like to thank my previous professors, and teachers, as without their support, I simply would not have been able to write this. Lastly, I would like to thank my four committee members who pushed me during these past two years of my life. I owe much, and more, to my chair Dr. Bentley, who not only aided me on my thesis research but also, in many ways, served as a lamp unto my feet on the uncharted path of my research. For my current knowledge of the anthropological discipline, I owe a great deal to Dr. Widmer; who would spend countless hours talking to me about the particular perspectives that pertained to my research. Dr. Widmer’s influence became particularly crucial in the resolution of this study’s methodology, and its wider potential to the anthropological discipline. As for my knowledge of numismatics and the Indo-Greek culture of interest, I owe everything to Dr. Holt; who was even so kind as to lend me a copy of Boppearchai’s 1991 catalog, which was a publication of great importance for this study and has long since been out of print. The last of my acknowledgments go to my fourth committee member: Dr. Kanojia, who not only has provided me with my current knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism but has also provided unwavering support throughout my entire period of admission at the University of Houston. iv THE SO-CALLED HELLINZATION OF GANDHARA: AN ANALYSIS ON INDO-GREEK PERIOD NUMISMATICS AND ACCULTURATION _____________________________________ An Abstract Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Comparative and Cultural Studies At the University of Houston _____________________________________ By Franklin Todd Alexander August 2017 v ABSTRACT This thesis attempts to examine the acculturation process in an ancient Indian territory known as Gandhāra, during the rule of the so-called Indo-Greeks. The latter of whom were Greek rulers that were said to have adopted Indian practices, such as Buddhism, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. This research attempts to discover if such historical events, and modern assumptions, are indeed correct. The prior research attempts to discover this mystery about Indo-Greek society has ended with extremely biased results, resulting in two varying opinions within Indo-Greek studies. In the attempt to overrule such biases, this research has attempted to answer these questions via the use of anthropological methodologies and theories; namely the seriation method, acculturation theory, and schema theory. Through the process of assessing coinage, the primary artifact of research, this study also possesses the byproduct of having created a new methodology known as ‘Anthropological Numismatics’. Through the assessment of both the Indo-Greek economic and cultural adoptions, this new methodology has been successful in the answering of both topics. The Indo-Greek’s economic adaptation of prior Indian standards of coinage, for instance, has found that the induction of the Silk Road within the 2nd century BCE is the most probable reasoning for the Greeks’ adoption of the Indian weight standard. While the Indo-Greek’s cultural adaptation is admittedly less straight forward; however, it does appear that after two Indo-Greek generations, an estimated 50 years, that the Greeks did indeed adopt Buddhism. Despite such findings, it is with this newly founded methodology that one can find the greatest contribution of this thesis’s research. As the many variables of assessment used within this research (e.g. coin shape, weight, etc.) can be used to study a vast variety of cultures, ranging from ancient to modern times. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 OVERVIEW OF STUDY ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Research Questions .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Summary of Study ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Database Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Research Theories and Method ........................................................................................................................ 6 DISCIPLINARY BASICS ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Cultural Aspects of Coinage ............................................................................................................................. 9 Monetary Aspect of Coinage .......................................................................................................................... 17 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY .............................................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 2: BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................ 23 1st RESEARCH PROBLEM................................................................................................................................. 23 Geography of Region ..................................................................................................................................... 24 Eras of Gandhāra ........................................................................................................................................... 27 Overview of Archaeology .............................................................................................................................. 38 1st PROBLEM’S SOLUTION .............................................................................................................................. 39 Greek Coinage ............................................................................................................................................... 40 Indian Coinage ............................................................................................................................................... 49 2nd RESEARCH PROBLEM ................................................................................................................................ 57 Indo-Greeks ................................................................................................................................................... 57 2nd PROBLEM’S SOLUTION ............................................................................................................................ 60 Chapter 3: RESEARCH OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................ 61 MATERIAL ........................................................................................................................................................ 61 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................................. 61 Summary of Deetz’s Study ............................................................................................................................. 62 Study’s Implementation ................................................................................................................................. 63 VARIABLES ....................................................................................................................................................... 64 OUTCOMES OF ACCULTURATION ................................................................................................................ 68 GENERATIONAL MODEL ................................................................................................................................ 69 MINT LOCATIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 72 HYPOTHESES ................................................................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 4: RESEARCH ......................................................................................................................................