THE ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, AND CURRENT PERSPECTIVES ON ARCHAEOLOGY
Journal Title: Social Affairs - Year 2017, Vol 1, Issue 7
Abstract
In the early decades of the 20th century, archaeology was introduced as a subject in Pirivena education which mainly consisted of a segment of epigraphy. In the 1950s, the Department of History, University of Ceylon offered archaeology as a sub-discipline for the degree programmes of Sinhala, History and Buddhist Civilization. After retiring as the Commissioner of Archaeology in 1956, Dr. Senarat Paranavitana was appointed as Research Professor of Archaeology by the Vice-Chancellor Sir Nicholas Arttygalle in 1957. Subsequently, the University of Ceylon formulated a sub-Department of Archaeology under the Department of History in 1960. The special degree programme in Archaeology was initiated at the sub-Department of Archaeology in 1976 that was converted to an independent department, recruiting new staff under the headship of Dr. P.L. Prematilleke in 1979. Later the degree programme of Archaeology was improved to classical and new archaeology, with a view to fulflling national needs. After establishing the Cultural Triangle in 1980, undergraduates and graduates in Archaeology had an opportunity to do their feldwork as well as fnd employment in archaeological projects. The studies carried out by the Department of Archaeology for sixty years reflect the unique features of these research traditions. These works reflect the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary nature of the subject representing prehistory, proto and early history, ancient built environment, archaeo-zoology, achaeo-botany, heritage management, and museology, and constituted a great source of information for archaeologists and historians around the world. Most of these research publications are available in print and electronic media for local and international readers.
Authors and Affiliations
R. M. M. Chandraratne
Keywords
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