ABSTRACT What role do villages play in ‘an urban civilisation’? Although it is likely that most of the populations of South Asia’s ancient Indus Civilisation would not have lived in cities, it is not clear what their rural way of life would have encompassed. Using ceramic assemblages excavated from Indus-period villages in northwest India, alongside ethnographic records on village organization and rural craft production, this paper argues that Indus villages were characterized by rural complexity. This comprised a range of activities, including craft production, as well as short- and long-distance socio-economic links. Drawing on historical narratives, we show how South Asian villages have been essentialized and presented as either ideal or conservative extremes. We argue for the importance of a better understanding of the breadth and nuances of the rural sphere, and for a greater research focus on village life in the Indus context.

中文翻译：

---

“我们是农村文明的继承者”：印度西北部印度河文明的农村复杂性和陶瓷经济

摘要 村庄在“城市文明”中扮演什么角色？尽管南亚古代印度河文明的大多数人口可能不会生活在城市，但尚不清楚他们的农村生活方式会包含哪些内容。本文使用从印度西北部印度河时期村庄出土的陶瓷组合，以及村庄组织和农村手工艺生产的民族志记录，认为印度河村庄具有农村复杂性的特点。这包括一系列活动，包括手工艺品生产以及短距离和长距离的社会经济联系。我们借鉴历史叙述，展示了南亚村庄如何被本质化并呈现为理想或保守的极端。