[Buddha-l] new Indo-Eurasian list opens

[George Thompson]

Michel asks:

Perhaps you could just define Indo-Eurasian Studies? Just going by the
terms themselves, it seems an impossibly broad field.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This is something that we wrote up earlier:

"Initial problems addressed on the List are expected to include the current
debate over the literate or illiterate status of Indus Valley civilization;
the relationship between ancient civilizations in Central Asia, India, Iran,
the Near East, and China; the dating and canonization of Vedic and Avestan
sources, including discussion of what role (if any) the Persians played in
triggering early canonization processes; the relationship between ancient
oral and literate cultures in general; the origins of Buddhism and later
growth of S. Asian and Iranian scholastic traditions; emerging global
theories of comparative mythology; long-range models of manuscript
traditions, combining both neurobiological and manuscript data; and other
major topics of interest to core List members. Any major topic is fair game
from early antiquity through late-medieval times."

We hope that specialists from all relevant fields will join us.

Hope that helps.

George