Lets Knap : A workshop on prehistoric stone tool technology

About the Talk :

Dr Kumar Akhilesh will give a talk-cum-demonstration on the diversity of prehistoric stone tool (lithic) technologies beginning around 2 million years ago. He will situate this in the context of human evolution, and cultural transitions. Students of HIST-215 will learn how to make simple stone tools and use them on different materials to address questions of cognition and behavioural flexibility through time. They will explore questions on human evolution, technological changes through time and adaptation, functionality, and aesthetics. All others who are interested may attend.

About the Speaker:

Dr Kumar Akhilesh is the Director, Sharma Centre for Heritage Education (SCHE), India. He completed his PhD on the prehistory of parts of Jharkhand, India, from the Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, Pune. His area of expertise is in prehistoric archaeology with a special focus on lithic studies and experimental stone tool replication. He is jointly directing major research projects in Tamil Nadu, as part of the program “Prehistory and Palaeoenvironments along the southeast coast of India” involving multidisciplinary studies, excavations at Attirampakkam, Sendrayanpalayam and neighbouring Palaeolithic sites, microlithic Teri sites and other prehistoric sites in southern and central Tamil Nadu. He is also involved in research projects on Palaeolithic sites in Africa. He has numerous research papers in peer-reviewed high-impact factor journals including both Science and Nature including those as lead author or corresponding author, and is currently working on 3 volumes on research in Tamil Nadu. He was awarded the Homi Bhabha Fellowship for research in experimental archaeology. He was trained at CENIEH, Spain and in France on different aspects of lithic technologies. He is currently the PI for the international INQUA-HABCOM project PalaeoHome. In collaboration with the Regional Remote Sensing Centre-South, NRSA, he was involved in GIS and applications of satellite remote sensing for research and heritage management of prehistoric sites in Tamil Nadu. He has presented his research at conferences and workshops in India, France, Korea, Sri Lanka, Australia and Israel. He is deeply involved in community heritage education and has organised workshops and training programs on prehistory across India and abroad (Sri Lanka, South Korea).