Gregg Jamison
Gregg M. Jamison is a fourth year graduate student in the archaeology section, studying under Professor Kenoyer. His primary research involves the organization of Harappan steatite seal production. Gregg's other research interests include experimental archaeology, prehistoric and traditional technologies, South Asian archaeology, state-level societies, and archaeological method and theory. In early 2007 he traveled to the important site of Harappa in Pakistan and participated in excavations as a member of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP), under the direction of Drs. R. H. Meadow and J. M. Kenoyer. This experience provided Gregg with his first opportunity to travel to South Asia and learn the myriad techniques of Harappan archaeology. HARP team members also traveled throughout Pakistan and participated in several international conferences focusing on South Asian archaeology and culture.
Gregg is currently studying the Urdu language with the assistance of a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (F.L.A.S.) and writing his preliminary dissertation proposal. This research focuses on the organization of Harappan steatite seal production. Harappan seals were important markers of wealth and status in the Indus Civilization, and understanding how production was organized and varied both between and within Indus cities may increase our understanding of important social, political, economic, and ideological aspects of this ancient culture. This research will combine a detailed stylistic analysis of various attributes present on the inscribed seals with scientific analytical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to identify seal carving techniques and workshop styles. This technique has been successfully applied by Kenoyer (2003, Kenoyer et. Al 1992) and should yield new insights into the organization of this important industry, as well as larger issues of Harappan sociopolitical organization.
Kenoyer (2000) has proposed that the Indus cities may have been ruled by competing groups of elites organized as city states or a decentralized state-level society, while Possehl (2003) and other claim the Indus was a non-state society or chiefdom. Distinct workshop styles may reflect competition between various elite groups living in these settlements, while the lack of patterning could represent a very different form of organization of production and ultimately socio-political organization. The study of seal production and use is a way to test these different interpretations and get a better idea of the organization of both political and ideological structure in the Indus cities. These questions will form the backbone of Gregg's dissertation research.
