an
Archaeological
Enquiry
into
the
Features
of
Early
Medieval
Buddhism
in
Pakistan
and
Afghanistan

le
vendredi
11
mars
2011
Ã
17
heures

Amphi Rataud, ENS, 45 rue d’Ulm 75005 Paris

Conférence
donnée
par Madame
Anna
Filigenzi Docteur
en
archéologie ÖAW
/
Università
degli
Studi
di
Napoli

The
dearth
of
primary
historical
sources
on
pre-Muslim
India
makes
archaeological
documentation
an
essential
key
to
expanding
our
knowledge.
Nevertheless,
material
evidence
is
often
patchy
and
difficult
to
assemble
in
a
systematic
synthesis.
In
particular,
vestige
of
Buddhist
settlements
and
ritual
praxis
of
early
medieval
period
is
seldom
preserved
in
the
archaeological
record.
Whilst
in
Afghanistan
archaeological
remains
–though
of
unclear
interpretation
–witness
to
a
still
intense
season
of
Buddhist
art
and
architecture,
a
severe
decrease
of
the
Buddhist
settlements
seems
to
have
occurred
in
Pakistan
after
the
5^th
century
CE.
This
evidence
apparently
contradicts
a
firm
literary
tradition,
which
attests
the
persistent
fame
of
Uḍḍiyāna
(maybe
to
be
intended
as
inclusive
of
an
area
broader
than
modern-day
Swat,
north-west
Pakistan)
as
a
cradle
of
teachings
and
teachers
for
Tibetan
Buddhism
and
Bon.
This
contradiction
represents
an
open
question
that
the
advancement
of
the
studies
in
the
last
decades
can
now
contribute
to
answer.

La
conférence
est
publique