Indigenous Knowledge in Transformation

In both archaeology and anthropology, the documentation of various techniques, economic interrelations, belief systems, and the handling and perception of the environment is of fundamental importance. In particular, knowledge of non-industrial contexts that do not conform to market-economic rules provides a source of information that can be crucial for shaping our world today. In many cases, the bearers of such knowledge are highly diverse societies that have not yet been fully integrated into the market economy. 

In Northeast India especially, we encounter numerous and, in some cases, very diverse communities that carry with them slowly vanishing knowledge of environmental interaction, specific craft techniques, nutritional strategies, or techniques for landscape conservation. Furthermore, various archaeological evidence exists which, when brought together, tells of the multifaceted and far-reaching history of human settlement in this region. Interestingly, these are areas with arguably the highest biodiversity and greatest linguistic diversity in the world. Both point to the existence of an immensely valuable resilience against developments that lead to a reduction in knowledge about sustainable interaction with nature and one’s own autonomy. 

These topics were highlighted in the workshop ‘Indigenous Knowledge in Transformation: Northeast India’ that brought together many scholars from Northeast India. Most of the papers from the workshop are published in this volume.