This book explores the ways in which past cultures have been used to shape colonial and postcolonial cultural identities. It provides a theoretical framework to understand these processes, and offers illustrative case studies in which the agency of ancient peoples, rather than the desires of antiquarians and archaeologists, is brought to the fore.

Contents: Introduction. 1. From Antiquarianism to Scientific Antiquarianism. 2. Archaeology. 3. Contemporary Theory and the Archaeology of Religion. 4. Minting Identity and Hegemony. 5. Dicing and Oracular Gambling at Sirkap. 6. The Archive at Sanghol. Conclusion. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.