The Department of Anthropology at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) organized a one-day international seminar “Constructing the Past through Material Culture” on April 30th, 2024. Dr. Rebecca Robert, and Ms Afifa Khan from the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, were the keynote speakers for the event.
The speakers explained that over the past century, significant urban expansion and the widespread adoption of mechanized agriculture and irrigation systems in India and Pakistan have caused irreversible changes to the landscape. These changes, including the implementation of large-scale irrigation systems and the flattening of numerous archaeological settlement mounds for various purposes such as cultivation and construction, have had lasting impacts.
A workflow has been developed using various techniques and strategies to detect nearly 6000 mound features across the region. This not only aids in understanding settlement distributions related to the Indus Civilization and subsequent cultural periods but also addresses common challenges in archaeology such as low-density archaeological features in large-scale surveys and limited training data for machine learning models. Historical maps serve as fundamental resources for historians and archaeologists, offering valuable insights into past landscapes, settlement patterns, and geographic features.
Prof. Dr Rubina Bhatti, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences was the chief guest and Professor Dr. Shazia Anjum Director of the Culture and Heritage Research Center was the guest of Honor. Prof. Dr. Asif Naveed Ranjha from the Social Work Department, Prof. Dr. Samar Fahd from the Dept. of Applied Psychology, Dr. Naeem Asim HOD Public Health Department, and Dr Samia HOD History also joined the event.
Chairman Anthropology Department Associate Professor Dr. Farooq Ahmed thanked all guest speakers, faculty members, and students of the Anthropology and Psychology Departments for their participation in the seminar. He emphasized the protection of heritage for future generations which is important for nations’ pride and identity. He was of the opinion that if past and material culture is lost owing to political-economic, environmental, and other reasons, the future will be lost.
In the end, Prof. Dr. Rubina Bhatti Dean of Social Sciences described the importance of history and civilizations. She concluded the debate with the importance of Anthropology and Archaeology in preserving the artifacts. She congratulated Dr. Farooq Ahmed Chairman Department of Anthropology for arranging a successful international seminar. In the last Dr Moazzam Durrani Lecturer Department of Anthropology who moderated the seminar called on stage all the presenter to share a token of appreciation for their contribution to the seminar.
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