Ananna Zulfiqar Showly Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology
PROFILE
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
RESEARCH PROJECTS
1. The genetics of prehistoric human populations from Bangladesh, funded and facilitated by the Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria (Ongoing).
2. An initial attempt to interpret the Holocene Climate, Vegetation and Human activity in Mahasthangarh region, Bogura, Bangladesh by observing palynological proxy data, Funded by the University of Grant Commission, Bangladesh (Ongoing)
3. Determining the genomic segments of ancient DNA from ancient rice discovered from the archaeological site at Kapilmuni, Khulna District, Bangladesh, funded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanistic, Jahangirnagar University.
4. Analyzing the Black Polished Ware collected through surface collection from Tekttha, Paschim Raghunathpur, Naogaon district, Bangladesh, funded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanistic, Jahangirnagar University.
5. Palynological study of archaeological site Agradigun Dhibi (mound) of Patnitala Upazila, Naogaon district, Bangladesh, funded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanistic, Jahangirnagar University (Publication on process)
6. Identifying the impact of riverbank erosion on the archaeological sites and documenting the existing archaeological sites of Naria thana, Shariatpur, funded by the Faculty of Arts & Humanistic, Jahangirnagar University.
7. Salt weathering on archaeological monuments due to environmental factors: A study for the conservation of archeological Heritage of Panamnagar, Bangladesh funded by University Grants Commission. (Article submitted to Journal of Contemporary Archaeology.)
8. Reconstructing Fashion (Dress) history of Bangladesh (From prehistory to the end of the eighteenth century) funded by funded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanistic, Jahangirnagar University.
SCHOLARSHIP
- Commonwealth Shared Scholarship 2024-25 for the program MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. Royal Agriculture University, Cirencester, UK
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
- Research fellow, AIBS (American Institute of Bangladesh Studies)
- Visiting Scholar, South Asia Center, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
PUBLICATIONS
- A review on the study of various salts influencing the decay of historical buildings of Panam Nagar, Sonargaon, Bangladesh, Pratnatatva, Annual Journal of Dept. of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University.
2. The Archeological Practices in Bangladesh & Gender Dominance: A Primary Study, (In Bengali) Nari O Progoti by BNPS.
3. Some Medieval bridges of Bangladesh, Pratnatatva, Annual journal of Dept. of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University.
4. Into the Baolis: Stepwells of Bangladesh, Journal of History Art and Archaeology, India, Vol. No 2 (Oct-Nov 2021)
5. Stories of Rice: Agricultural festivals and rituals associated with rice in Bangladesh, Journal of Bengal Art, Vol. 27, 2022, The international Center for study of Bengal Art
6. Assessing the risk of riverbank erosion and hydrological hazards in the archaeological sites of Naria, Shariatpur, Bangladesh, Pratnatatva, Annual Journal of Dept. of Archaeology, Vo. 29, 2023 Jahangirnagar University.
7. Study on the deterioration of archaeological buildings of Panamnagar, Bangladesh, Journal of the Institute of Conservation. Feb 2025, https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2024.2443852
8. The Ethnography of Pottery Making in Tekhkhtha, Naogaon, Bangladesh, Journal of Arts and Humanistic Faculty, Jahangirnagar University
CONFERENCE PAPERS
1. International Conference on Recent Perspectives on Archaeology and History of Early and Medieval Bengal from a regional perspective, Paper titled “Scopes and limitations of palynology in archaeological research in Bangladesh”, May, 2023
2. 14th International Congress on Bengal Art 2024, The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art, Paper titled,
“Micro-archaeology: scopes of analyzing microfossils in archaeology”.
3. World Archaeological Congress (WAC)-10, Darwin, Australia, in June 2025, paper titled, “Safeguarding Intangible Heritage: Traditional practices for storing food grains and seeds of Bangladesh” .
RESEARCH INTEREST
Paleoecology, Palynology, Archaeobotany, Food security and Sustainability, Conservation & Preservation of archaeological heritage, Isotope analysis, Gender archaeology, Representation, Art history, Fashion history
JOURNAL PAPER
Ananna Zulfikar Showly , Mohammad Rajib, Mahfuza Parveen, Analyzing the Black-Slipped Ware from an Early Historic Site, North- Western Bangladesh, Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress, pp.1-19, 2026. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-025-09547-7Ananna Zulfiker Showly, Syed Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, Mohammad Rajib, Mahfuza Parveen, Mahbubul Haque, Farah Tasneem Ahmed & Motinur Rahman, A study on the deterioration of a group of archaeological buildings in Panam Nagar, Bangladesh, Journal of the Institute of Conservation, 47, 2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2024.2443852
CONFERENCE PAPER
Ananna Zulfikar Showly, Scopes and limitations of palynology in archaeological research in Bangladesh, International Conference on Recent Perspectives on Archaeology and History of Early and Medieval Bengal from a regional perspective,, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2023.Ananna Zulfikar Showly, Micro-archaeology: scopes of analyzing microfossils in archaeology, 2. 14th International Congress on Bengal Art 2024, The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2024.
Ananna Zulfikar Showly, Safeguarding Intangible Heritage: Traditional practices for storing food grains and seeds of Bangladesh”., 10th World Archaeological Congress, Darwin, Australia, 2025.
Experience
Position: Lecturer, Department of Social Science
Activity
Position: Visiting Scholar
Archeobotanical research, Paleoecology Lab, UPenn
Position: Research fellow
Contact
Ananna Zulfiqar Showly
Assistant Professor
Department of Archaeology
Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh.
Cell Phone: +8801716587667
Email: ananna.showly@juniv.edu
