Aug 30 2014 62 mins 37
SynTalk thinks about the role of geography, ecology, biology & human behaviour behind history (both facts & principles). Did environmentally destructed land (like grasslands) lead to invasions? We discuss diverse phenomena such as invasions, climactic changes, agriculture, and burial rituals. Is genetics shaping and changing our collective perception of the past, and is there synchronicity in evolution? The concepts are derived off / from biology (Founder Effect, human genome sequence, single locus polymorphism, dispersal), history (Aryanisation), archaeology (Acheulean, Quaternary, Harappa, Chinese oracle bones), mythology (Vishnu Puranas, Kartikeya), geology (tectonic shift, Lonar Lake, ice-age) & ecology (Tundra, co-adaption), among others. Could the burial of a dead body have changed history and lead to the birth of art? What happened ~200,000 years ago, & how did modern humans evolve ~40,000 years ago? Why does mythology posit something impossible and then we try and make sense of it? We marvel at the link between cows, mango leaves, vitamin B, Indian yellow, ‘Pitambara’, frescoes, & heritage. How does some tribal marriage ritual involve ‘sunglasses’? Why don’t all modern humans produce art? The SynTalkrs are: Prof. Sheila Mishra (archaeology, Deccan College, Pune), Aman Nath (history, architecture, restoration, art, Neemrana Hotels, New Delhi), Anupam Sah (heritage conservation, CSMVS Museum Art Conservation Centre, Mumbai) & Prof. Milind Watve (evolutionary biology, IISER, Pune)
