History in English is called 'History'. The word history comes from the Greek word 'historia'. Historia means to investigate and know. 'Herodotus' is the father of history. His book 'The Histories', the study of Indian history and cultures is called 'Indology'. Sir William Jones is known as the father of Indian Indology.
Complete Prehistoric India
Indigenous literature
➤ Swadeshi literature is again divided into two parts
1.Religious literature 2. Secular literature
1.Religious literature:
➤ Vedic Literature: The Vedas were written between 1500 - 500 BC. We will also discuss the Upanishads, Brahmanakas, Aranyakas, Ramayana and Maha Bharata.
➤ Jain Literature: Jain literature is written in Prakrit. These are called 'Angas'.
➤ Buddhist Literature: The tripitaka's are Buddhist religious texts written in the Pali language. Sutta Pitika, Vinaya Pitika, Abhidamma Pitika.
2.Secular Literature
➤ Secular texts describe the administrative and social aspects of the royal dynasties of those periods. Ashtadhyayi authored by Panini is said to be the first secular text in India.
➤ Dharma Shastras like Manu Skriti tell about the duties and social classification of the people of that time.
➤ Ardha Shastra was written by Chanakya. It tells about Mauryan administration and economy.
➤ 'Raja Tarangini' was written by Kalhana. It traces the history and administration of the dynasties of Kashmir.
➤ Texts like Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Meghadutam and Ritusamhara written by Kalidasa tell about the history and cultures of the Gupta period.
➤ The text 'Harshacharitra' written by Banabhatta describes the administrative feats of Harshavardhana.
Foreign literary sources
➤ Foreigners came to India as ambassadors, tourists and traders and described their experiences in the form of books.
➤ 'Indika' was written by Mogasthenes. Megasthenes came to Chandragupta Mauryan's court as the ambassador of Seleucus Nicator, ruler of Syria. This treatise describes the Mauryan administration and administrative aspects of South India
➤ 'Periflus of the Eritrean Sea' was written by an unknown mariner. It describes Indian political, commercial and ethnic aspects.
➤ Pleni wrote the book 'Natural History'. Describes the administrative aspects of the Mauryan period.
➤ Fo-kuo-ki was written by Fahian, a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar and traveller. He was a Chinese traveller, who visited India during the period of Chandragupt II and shared the details of that time in this book.
➤ Si-yu-ki was written by Buddhist monk, scholar and pilgrim "Huan Tsang". He came to India during the time of Harshavardhana.
➤ Sri Lankan Buddhist scriptures like Deepavamsha and Mahavamsa give details of the social conditions of the Mauryan period and the Buddhist religion in India.
➤ The book 'Kitab-ul-Hind' was written by 'Al-Beruni', a court scholar of Muhammad Ghazini. In this book he explained the way of life of the people of India at that time. He is known as Founder of Indology and Father of Comparative Religion.
➤ Taranath wrote the book 'The History of Tibet' in Tibetan literature. This book describes the life of the people during the reign of Emperor Ashoka.
Archaeological evidence
Archaeological evidence means inscriptions, coins, artifacts, and buildings from earlier times.
Inscriptions
➤ The study of inscriptions is called epigraphy. The study of ancient scripts is called paleography.
➤ Brahmi, Kharoshti and Greek inscriptions were written in the first phase of ancient India. Sanskrit inscriptions were written in later times. The Junagadh inscription of Rudra Daman is the first Sanskrit inscription in India.
➤ Inscriptions include royal orders, dedicatory orders, charitable orders and memorial orders.
➤ royal order edicts means that Ashoka was the first to make the edicts and orders of the king known to the people.
➤ Dana Sashanas i.e. the inscriptions written on copper plates about the lands donated by kings, their wives, priests or charitable institutions are called Dana Sashanas.
➤ Monumental Inscriptions i.e. these inscriptions mention the geographical conditions, contemporary economic, religious and cultural conditions, names of the ruling clans, their period of administration, invasions, yagnayas and other things.
Eg:- Asoka's Inscriptions, Kharavela's Hathigumpa Inscription, Gautami Balashri's Nasik Inscription, Rudradama's Junagadh Inscription, Samudra Gupta's Allahabad Prashasti Inscription, Chandragupta's Meharoli Inscription and II Pulakesi's Iholu Inscription etc.
Material remains
➤ The discovery of the potter's wheel in the Indus civilization city of Harappa makes it possible to conclude that there was a pottery industry in Harappa. Similarly the availability of paddy husks at Lothal and Rangapur suggests that rice was cultivated in those places.
Pottery:- The discovery of the potter's wheel at mehargar is the first evidence of pottery in India.
Architecture and Sculptures
➤ The study of ancient architecture and sculptures is called 'Iconography'.
➤ Urban style in North India and Dravidian style in South India.
Prehistoric cultures
➤ According to famous historian 'Gordon Child', civilization started with the birth of script. The book written by him is "What Happened in History" (1942).
➤ Stone ages are divided into three types based on the tools used by them in the order of human evolution.
Paleolithic Age (10,00,000 - 10000 BCE)
Middle Stone Age (10,000 - 8000 BC)
New Stone Age (8000 - 4000 BC)
Bronze or Copper Age (4000-3000 BC)
Paleolithic
➤ In Greek, paleo means 'ancient' and lithic means rock. This culture is called 'Quartzite culture' because of the use of quartzite rock in this era.
➤ The first site of this Stone Age was discovered by Bruise Froot in 1863 near Pallavaram in Tamil Nadu.
➤ They don't know about agriculture, house building, pottery and metals.
➤ Upper Palaeolithic man began to draw pictures.
➤ Pahalgam (Kashmir) is the first site of the Lower Palaeolithic. Man led a nomadic life and hunting was the main occupation. During this era, man used tools like gokuda stones, hand axes and circular stones in large shapes for hunting and gathering food.
➤ Robert Brusoot discovered the stone oxe industry with Atthiramskam and Madamadhurai.
➤ Bhimbetaka caves were discovered in 1957 by Vishnu Sridhar Vakankar. However, they are recognized as world heritage by UNESCO. The earliest paintings of the paleolithic age are found in the 'bhimbetka' caves.
Middle Paleolithic
➤ Middle Paleolithic settlements were discovered in 1939 at Soan Valley, Narmada Valley and Kurnool.
➤ Man of this age is called homoerectus.
➤ Tools available in Middle Palaeolithic settlements were clays
➤ Quartzite was used in Gudia caves in Tamil Nadu.
Upper Palaeolithic
➤ The last phase of the ice age. Homo sapiens evolved during this period.
➤ Tools:- Small knives, whetstone, stone, knife, Burin, pointers are identified.
➤ Beads made of ostrich shell were found in Patan, Maharashtra. "Rhinoceros Fossil" was found in Kurnool, an ancient place above.
Middle Stone Age or Mesolithic
➤ The stone tools used by man in the Neolithic were between 1cm to 8cm. Such miniature rocks were discovered by an archaeologist named Karalil in the Vindhya Mountains.
➤ Traces of use of fire were found. Cattle domestication has been found in Bagor (Rajasthan) and Adyangala (MP) since 5000 B.C.
Neolithic sites
➤ Bagor walls (Rajasthan):= foundations of huts
➤ Sarai Nahar Rai (UP) := Construction of houses for the first time.
➤ Aadhangar (AP):- A picture of hunting a rhinoceros.
➤ Chopanimandi(up) :- Structures like huts.
➤ Laghanaz :- Earliest site with artifacts, skeletons and animal remains.
Neolithic / New Stone Age
➤ Locations:- Afghanistan, West Pakistan & Baluchistan
➤ Main Features:- Farming
Taming of livestock
Bathing stone tools.
Manufacture of earthenware vessels.
➤ Places:-
Mehr Garh (Balochistan):-
➤ Jean Francois Jarries first excavated and discovered the site.
➤ In Indian subcontinent As early as 4000 B.C., women who cultivated mainly barley, wheat and cotton were found here, hence it is called "Bread basket of Balochistam".
➤ The first people to cultivate cotton were the people of Moharagarh region
➤ With potters wheel evidence of pottery is revealed.
➤ Burjaham: Dual burial practices.
➤ Gufkral: pottery making, stone tools and burial practices.
➤ Chopanimando:- A region where all ages from Paleolithic to Neolithic existed.
➤ Chirand:- Bone needle and ornament figurines and weapons were found.
➤ Ash mounds and rags and crop agriculture are a prominent feature of South Indian Naveen Shilayuga sculptures.
➤ Gold ornaments and grain-throwing stone were found at Tekkalakot.
Post-Harappan cultures of northwest India
Jhakar culture
➤ Prominent Settlements :- Chanhudaro, Jhukar and Amri
➤ Equipment: Needles made of copper
Bronze axes
Prints and femans
Jhangar culture
➤ Prominent Settlements:- Chanhudaro
➤ Characters:- Gourd colored.
Ahar or Banas culture (1500 BC)
➤ Prominent Settlements:- South East Region of Rajasthan, Bagor, Tambavati, Geelunda, Balatalo, Baziana.
➤ Characters:- Black and red hills
➤ Tools :- Copper tools, copper deposits of Khetri region were used by them.
Salwada culture
➤ Location:- Tapati and Pravara
➤ Pottery:- Brown, red, brown etc colored pots were built in rectangular dwellings.
➤ Barley, wheat and leguminous crops were cultivated.
Malwa culture 1700 AD
➤ Inangaon is the settlement where the Anavas have shown that house construction was done in a systematic manner.
➤ Copper bangles, gold rings are the base of the discovery - Inangaon
➤ A settlement with a fort wall like structure - Inangaon
➤ Built in a round shape and giving rise to more than 100 settlements - Inangaon
➤ The settlement where pottery was found - Inangaon
Kayatha Culture 2000 - 1800 BC
➤ It flourished along the Chambal river valley
➤ The pots are circular in shape.
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