NTU, School of Humanities; NUS, Southeast Asian Studies
John N. Miksic is Senior Research Fellow at the School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University and emeritus professor in the National University of Singapore. His book Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea won the inaugural award for best book on Singapore history in 2018. His specialties include historical archaeology of Southeast Asia, urbanization, trade, and ancient Buddhism, in addition to ceramics.
Categories of social complexity in texts and artifacts
How have archaeologists developed categories for studying social complexity? What linguistic categories exist to denote different levels of social complexity? Scholars and students of archaeology have undertaken studies of ancient and early modern groups in Southeast Asia through the use of words (inscriptions) and visual language (architecture, sculpture, artifacts). In this talk Miksic and Goh will share their experiences in teaching and research on the historical archaeology of Singapore and the region.