Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers 1067 Finding aid prepared by Jody Rodgers. Last updated on March 02, 2017. University of Pennsylvania, Penn Museum Archives 10/20/10 Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 5 Administrative Information......................................................................................................................... 10 Controlled Access Headings........................................................................................................................11 Collection Inventory.................................................................................................................................... 12 Professional Correspondence.................................................................................................................12 Student correspondence......................................................................................................................... 35 Museum staff correspondence............................................................................................................... 39 Rojdi.......................................................................................................................................................47 Pakistan and Gujarat..............................................................................................................................61 Oriyo Timbo.......................................................................................................................................... 63 Babar Kot...............................................................................................................................................64 Lakhueenjo-Daro project....................................................................................................................... 66 Gilund.....................................................................................................................................................66 Bat Restoration project.......................................................................................................................... 69 Professional organizations, conferences................................................................................................69 Ephemera................................................................................................................................................70 Personal.................................................................................................................................................. 71 Visual archive........................................................................................................................................ 72 Plans and Drawings............................................................................................................................... 87 - Page 2 - Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers Summary Information Repository University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives Creator Possehl, , Gregory L., Dr., b. 1941 Title Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers Call number 1067 Date [bulk] 1980-1996 Date [inclusive] 1965-2005 Extent 54 cubic feet (the collection consists of twelve records storage containers of correspondence, thirty-seven records storage containers of original notes and data, plus two file boxes of bibliographic cards and note cards ) Language English Abstract Gregory L. Possehl, known for his discoveries in India and Pakistan, was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941 and studied at the University of Washington and the University of Chicago attaining his Ph.D.in anthropology from the latter in 1974. Possehl's field work in Pakistan and India explored the Harappan civilization who populated the Gujarat region of India including the sites of Rojdi, Oriyo Timbo, and Babar Kot from 2500 BC to 2000 BC. Possehl was funded for his work from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Possehl is also a noted professor at Penn in the Departments of Anthropology and Oriental Studies and a curator in the Asian section of the Penn Museum. He published award-winning books on the Harappan civilization and trained many future scholars in the field. The Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers are composed of twelve boxes of correspondence, a seven box visual archive of negatives, - Page 3 - Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers slides, photographs and drawings and twenty-three boxes of field data, notebooks, field cards, analysis, professional and publication material and correspondence related to the individual sites and years of the expeditions. There are two small file boxes of notes and a bibliography. Oversize maps, drawings and photographs are placed in eight drawers in the map case. Biography/History Gregory Possehl, known for his work in India and Pakistan, was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941. He attended the University of Washington, Seattle for both his Bachelor and Master's degrees in Anthropology. Possehl participated in archaeological work at Skaget City and the Marymoor site in King City, Washington during his early graduate years. His first visit to the Indus region was in 1965 for exploration sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History in the Quetta Valley of Eastern Pakistan. He became the director of the Quetta Prehistoric Project while completing his masters degree. In addition, Possehl participated in the excavations at Heirakonpolis in Egypt and in areas of Western India as a part of his Ph.D.work. Dr. Possehl accepted teaching positions at Vassar College for the 1972-1973 year and at the University of Pennsylvania beginning with the 1973-1974 year. Possehl completed his Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Chicago in 1974. In 1975, Possehl was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of South Asian Regional Studies at Penn with the additional responsibilities of an Assistant Curator at the Penn Museum. He held appointments in the departments of Anthropology and Oriental Studies along with his other duties. In 1986, Dr. Possehl was visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Named a full professor at Penn in 1989, Possehl also became a curator in the Asian section of the University Museum. Dr. Possehl began his investigation into urban culture in the Gujarat region of India in the early 1970s, a time devoted to his exploration of Harappan settlement patterns in the Bhavegar region of Gujarat. In 1978, he received a grant from the Smithsonian Institution for three months of research in northern India followed by additional funding to explore the Ghelo/Kalubhar valleys of the Gujarat region. Another grant funded his first season at Oriyo Timbo. Possehl also excavated at Babar Kat and Rojdi, the latter becoming the major site for his work. As Director of the Rojdi Project, Possehl excavated at this Bronze Age site to gather insights into the history of agriculture, trade and the adaptation of the Harappan civilization. Possehl returned to Rojdi from 1982 through 1995 with grants from the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. Possehl began publishing his work in 1967. He received numerous awards for his major publications including first prize from the Federation of Indian Publishers for Ancient Cities of the Indus and The President of India First Prize for Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective first published in 1982. The work at Rojdi produced Harappan Civilization and Rojdi in 1989. In 1993, Possehl published Harappan Civilization: A Recent Perspective. Additional findings were developed in the 2002 edition - Page 4 - Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers of Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective. This volume was honored with the Choice Magazine award for Outstanding Academic Book in 2003. In addition to his excavation, publishing, and academic work, Possehl, was a fellow of the Indo-U.S. Subcommittee for Education and Culture. He assisted and advised on the Archaeological Survey of India in cooperation with the National Museum of India and participated in many scholarly presentations and public lectures, including the "Reports from the Field" series at the Penn Museum. In the mid 1990s, Possehl decided to end field work and donated his equipment to a group of physicians working with cyclone victims in the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat. He was drawn back to the field by his colleague Vasant Shinde of Deccan College in India and participated in the Gilund Project beginning in 2002. This took him to Delhi, Pune, and the Gilund site in Rajasthan. In 2004, Dr.Possehl celebrated his fortieth year of archaeological research in India and Pakistan. Most recently, Possehl was a part of the team working at the UNESCO World Heritage site at Bat in the Sultanate of Oman. Possehl has additional projects in the works. He hopes to write a mystery novel set in the Indus Valley as well as a history of the period