V. N. Prabhakar obtained his Ph.D. in Archaeology from Kurukshetra University, Haryana (India) and is an associate professor (Archaeology) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. He held the director (Archaeology) post in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) before joining IIT Gandhinagar. His research interests are Protohistorical Archaeology, Harappan Civilization, and the Application of Sciences in Archaeology. He has conducted extensive research on the Harappans' bead manufacturing techniques from the Dholavira site. His doctoral thesis was on Burial practices of the Harappans: Sanauli Excavations A Case Study, wherein a multifaceted analysis including stable isotope studies was conducted. He has undertaken independent excavations at the Harappan site of Rupnagar (Punjab) and Karanpura (Rajasthan) in India and actively participated in the excavations at Dholavira (Gujarat), Lalkot (Delhi), Sanauli, Madarpur, Fatehpur Sikri (all in Uttar Pradesh), Ellora (Maharashtra).