Dr. Bishnupriya Basak, Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, joined the department in 2002. She completed her Ph.D. in prehistoric archaeology from Deccan College, Pune in 1998. Her specialization is in prehistory, and she also works on issues of heritage and history of archaeology and archaeological theory.

She has been a recipient of many grants and awards, chiefly, a post-doctoral Visiting Fellowship in the UK, awarded by the Nehru Trust for Indian Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2001), a short-term award from the Maison de lOrient Mediterraneen Jean Pouilloux, Lyon, France(2001), the UK Travel Award from the Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2009), a short-term grant from Fondation maison des sciences de l homme (FMSH), Paris (2009) and a research grant from Society of Antiquaries of London (2015).

She has been doing intensive research in prehistory of the Ayodhya hills, Purulia located in the western upland Bengal, which has received international acclaim. She has more than 30 published papers to her credit in various peer-reviewed journals like Studies in History, Public Archaeology, Man and Environment and also in many edited volumes Ahe has authored New Directions in Hunter-Gatherer Studies and co-edited Prehistoric Research in the Subcontinent: A Reappraisal and New Directions.

She has successfully completed three research projects in areas of her interest, including a British Academy project entitled Surveying the Empire, with Prof. Keith Lilley of Queens University, Belfast. She currently has a project on Tracking ancient migration routes and cultural connections in Northeastern India under the UGC-UPE 2 scheme of India Looking East of the University of Calcutta.

She has also reviewed papers for peer-reviewed journals like Quaternary International and is a regular reviewer of research grants awarded by the Indian Council of Historical research (ICHR).

She has participated in many national and international conferences in Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, Vietnam and Cambodia, chairing a few academic sessions on these occasions.