Ethnoarchaeology and the Conception of Human: In the Framework of Pañchakośa

Abstract (English)

Ethnoarchaeology and the Conception of Human: In the Framework of Pañchakośa


Abstract
Modern archaeology, and ethnoarchaeology specifically, are greatly lacking in theoretical framework to deal with intangible human interactions with place, ancestral presence, and non-materially expressed cultural difference. Although ethnoarchaeology helps bridge living practice and material record, its dependency on Kantian subjectivity hinders it from dealing with past ontologies—most notably where descendant communities are lacking or where practices leave little material record.
This article suggests that the Upanishadic Pañchakośa (five sheaths) model—consisting of Annamaya (bodily), Prāṇamaya (vital), Manomaya (mental), Vijñānamaya (intellectual), and Ānandamaya (bliss) sheaths of human being—provides a comprehensive platform to re-conceptualize ethnoarchaeological theory. Integrating this holistic ontology, archaeologists can:
1. Rethink intangible relations (e.g., rituals and memory) as a function of materiality, according to Indigenous perspectives against binary oppositions between "visible" and "invisible" entities.
2. Elaborate interpretive frameworks to recognize non-material traces (e.g., energetic, emotional) within archaeological contexts, analogously to the contributions of Prāṇamaya and Manomaya kośas to the construction of place-making.
3. Explain the silences and gaps in the archaeological record by accepting Ānandamaya (spiritual joy) as a necessary cultural determinant, though material "invisible."
The Pañchakośa model resists Western reductionism, providing a model to theorize human-place relations beyond material surrogates. Its application encourages ethnoarchaeology in the acceptance of plural epistemologies, pushing decolonial and inter-disciplinary debates in archaeological practice.

Keywords: Ethnoarchaeology, Pañchakośa, intangible heritage, Non-dualism, Indigenous ontologies, Upanishads.