An archaeological survey was conducted in the Salangthel Hill, in Manipur (India), in 2019 to assess the nature of material records. The survey documented megaliths and engraved marks on stones such as footprints, female genital organs, and depressed marks, some of which were previously reported but also include documentation of unreported features such as a rock pool. The survey reveals that three ethnic communities settled near the vicinity assert their claims to these stone monuments as legacies of their ancestors. It shows that several stone monuments were destroyed recently due to ethnic tension and construction activities, particularly road cutting and house building. These new findings will be of interest to archaeologists working in the region and policymakers in general.

South Asia is an attractive land encapsulating a splendid cultural heritage in the form of dignified art and architecture. Potohar plateau is an uneven land encompassing four district of Punjab Province: Chakwal, Attock, Rawalpindi and Jehlum. Chakwal is one of them. This land is comprised of diversified landscape with hills intersected by undulating plains and rocky patches. A preliminary survey and documentation were conducted in Chakwal in 2019 which yielded a considerable number of archaeological sites and monuments. Chakwal is accommodating rich cultural profile from Stone Age to Medieval Period. Marvelous architecture of different eras is its fascinating aspect. The monuments of district Chakwal are very rich in art and architecture which show local as well as western (Greeks, Roman and Persian) influences. This research paper will throw light upon the splendid architecture of Hindu and Sikh Samadhis found in the same district. Among commemorative tombs, one of them is both Hind-Sikh Samadhi which is a unique and rare characteristic of intriguing Samadhis in the region of Potohar. Fresco paintings illustrated inside the tombs will reveal cultural articulation of Indian Sub-Continent to the western world in the form of decorative motifs as these have been amalgamated to adorn the architecture pieces.

Law No. 6/2014 on Villages provides for sustainable community empowerment at the village level through the development of ancient sites, and local wisdoms through the tourism village concept in Indonesia. Because a vast majority of its population depends on agriculture and tourism for sustenance, the regional government of the Bengkulu Province is making reforms to improve its large tourism sector consisting of numerous pristine ancient sites, culture and local wisdom. However, this sector, so vital to the region and beyond, has not been very productive for both the local government and more importantly the population of Bengkulu. Attempting the address the question as to how to design an ideal tourism boosting policy and regulations to improve the economy of Bengkulu Province, this research aims to identify and analyze the dynamics of village-related regulations dealing with the management of tourist attractions, including tourism village concept in Bengkulu Province. In so doing the study also seeks to analyze the arrangement and management of village wealth so that it can be developed into a tourist attraction based on local wisdom in the context of economic development that favors both the community and the local government in Bengkulu Province. This study reveals that the shortcoming in the management of touristic resources in the Bengkulu Province lies in several issues including the lack of regional policies and regulations that prioritize community participation, poor organization and management of the program, bad governance and the control of the program by thugs, hence eroding the possibility for accountability.

The relevance of a research is caused by necessity to study the first legal acts in Kazakhstan having the constitutional value, since they reflected the tendency to gain state independence through autonomisation, first at the regional level, and then for whole Kazakhstan. The aim of this article is to analyse and give an assessment to normative legal acts of certain regions of Kazakhstan, the Alash and Turkestan Autonomies of 1917–1918 concerning the state-building. The methodological basis of the study became general scientific methods of theoretical knowledge, content analysis of texts of legal acts, a comparative analysis of the results of Kazakhstan and foreign studies on the problems of state-building in the pre-Soviet period, chronic documentary analysis of archival sources. Features of normative legal acts of 1917–1918 concerning the state building were determined. The detailed analysis of the first acts having the constitutional value was presented. It was concluded that the program of the Alash party could become a political platform for the constitution of a democratic federal state.

The paper deals with the study of the hilltop Buddhist complex known as Giriyaka at Rājgir, Nālandā district of Bihar, India. This site was first noticed by the archaeologists of the colonial period. A M Broadley, Francis Buchanan, Malcom Kittoe, Alexander Cunningham, etc., surveyed and explored the site to identify Buddhist monastic artefacts and remains. The archaeological landscape of Giriyaka offers multi phases linear development of Buddhism since the NBPW period. Cunningham articulates it as Indasāla-guhā where the Buddha preached the Sakkapaňňa Sutta but it was vehemently opposed by Broadley and others. The archaeological remains include well-preserved stūpas, water reservoir, monasteries, and seals. The close examination of remains at Giriyaka provides new facets into antiquity, development, and continuity of Buddhism from the age of the Buddha to the early medieval period. An enigmatic structure located on a steep hill protected by parapet corresponds to a glimpse of a well-developed sacred space of stūpas and vihāras. The caves in the surrounding hills show interesting but intricate information. The structural remains also indicate that the Giriyaka was the first fully evolved hilltop monastery in the Magadha region.

The paper presents a preliminary report on the systematic surface exploration conducted in the Middle Ong basin with particular focus on the northern tributaries, viz. the Uttali, Ghensali and Mongragod stream in the southern Bargarh Upland of Western Odisha. The investigations have resulted in the discovery of 43 new prehistoric sites in the area with predominance of microlithic components. These sites are observed in different geomorphological contexts, such as, in the cliff surface of riverbanks, hillslope, foothills and rocky outcrops. Abundant availability of raw materials, mainly chert of different colors and vein quartz in the area seem to have attracted the prehistoric communities for intensive settlements in the area. while sporadic acheulian artifacts have been found scattered here and there, most of the documented sites are dominated by microlithic components, some of which have also been associated with used/unused red ochre minerals, suggesting advanced cognitive abilities and symbolic behavior of the microlith using communities in the area of investigation.

The Badami hill of Bagalkot district, Karnataka, India, houses a large rock arch termed “Sidlaphadi” that was used as a shelter by primitive man. The hill was searched to find any prehistoric artifact that would act as a directional marker towards the arch. An interesting structure was noted in one of the natural caves near the southwestern part of the hill at 15°55’06”N latitude and 75°41’02”E longitude. A miniature replica of the arch was carved onto the floor of the cave. The axis of the miniature bridge made an angle of 28.5 ± 1.5° with the 75°41’02”E longitude. The axis, upon extension eastwards at the defining angle reaches the northern slope of Sidlaphadi. The authors also located a megalithic stone arrangement in the northern part of the hill that had a pointed capstone and was thought to be oriented towards the rock arch. The stone arrangement was in the same latitude as that of the Sidlaphadi site, but the capstone was oriented 22°E towards the winter solstice sunrise at 112.5° azimuth.

The Ganeshwar-Jodhpura Chalcolithic culture was first discovered in the 1970’s post the excavation at Jodhpura and Ganeshwar respectively. However over the years, one of the major drawbacks in the study of the culture is the dating and periodisation. This paper on the basis of ceramic analysis and comparative studies of graffiti is an attempt to divide the site of Ganeshwar into two periods viz. the Early and Mature Period and proposes a new chronology. The characteristics features specifically in terms of ceramics of both the periods have been defined.