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Convergence or not? Geography, history, and chance

  • Hans Henrich Hock EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: February 23, 2021

Abstract

A question that should be asked in all cases of proposed convergence areas is whether the observed similarities do in fact reflect convergent developments or are due to chance. This paper presents three case studies from South Asia which demonstrate that accidental similarities are more common than is often acknowledged. To rule out chance similarities, convergence accounts must be supported by fine-grained examinations of the geographical and historical evidence.


Corresponding author: Hans Henrich Hock, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, E-mail:

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Published Online: 2021-02-23
Published in Print: 2020-09-25

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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