Ancient India – I

Assignment
Question: What are the sources of ancient Indian history in the period of
your study?
History's aim is to shed light on the past, which is complicated and can be seen from
multiple viewpoints. Sources are important for the reconstruction of the past. Any
remnant of the past can serve the purpose of a source. In the end, all historical
analysis is dependent on information obtained from multiple sources, specifically
from archaeological and literary sources.
Archaeological sources refer to the study of the past through material remains. The
research and practice for investigating and understanding ancient ruins and remains
is archaeology. Sculptures, pottery remains, bone fragments, house remains, temple
remnants, coins, seals, inscriptions, floral remains like charred grains, ancient pollen
and spores etc. constitute material culture that forms the subject matter of
archaeology.
For the period up to 600 BCE, not all of the key sources such as numismatics,
inscriptions, temples are present and thus, many archaeologists and historians divert
their attention to the available sources such as fossil remains, tools, pottery, cave art,
and burials.
Inscriptions are the engraved writings on various kinds of surfaces. Some have been
deciphered whereas some are undeciphered till date. India’s earliest inscriptions are
seen on the seals of Harappa, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization, the
Harrapan inscriptions have not yet been deciphered. Whereas, the most famous
inscriptions of India are the huge inscriptions of Asoka which have been mostly
written in Brahmi and Kharosthi script. Similarly, Numismatics that is the study of
coins is not a relevant source for our period of study. Presuming that trade and
exchange of goods was carried out on a barter system of sorts.
Fossil remains of earlier homo sapiens is a significant evidence to study the
prehistoric period. One such excavation at Hathnora in Narmada valley led to the
discovery of a skull cap of a homo sapiens in relation with tools.
Tools excavated from various sites is another major source to study prehistoric
period. The existence of stone tools does indicate the presence of prehistoric human
species. The phased division of the Paleolithic period between upper, middle and
lower is a result of discovery and study of tool technology prevailing during that time.
There was a certain development from chopper chopping and hand axe to flake based
tools. Various iron tools and weapons in the form of arrowheads, spearheads,
draggers and also chisels, sickles, axes etc. is a sign that indicates that iron came to
be used for war, hunting and agricultural activities. The earliest stone tools in India
are pebble tools and their evidences come from Riwat, south-east of Rawalpindi in
Pakistan are believed to be dated around 6,70,000 years ago.
Our primary source of information for the activities and behavior of early humans is
lithic tools. It is a mixture of two factors that is technique and planning. Various
lithic techniques include Levalloisian Technique, Calcitonin technique, Mousterian
technique etc.
Pottery is being utilized as a means to highlight the change and continuity in material
life of the people in the light of contemporary literature. Various kinds of potteries
have been discovered such as the ochre-colored pottery, The painted gray ware and
the black and red ware and on a later period the northern black polished ware. While
Ochre colored pottery was first found at sites in western Uttar Pradesh, Binore and
Badaun districts, painted gray ware was first reported at Ahicchatra in western U.P.
The Ochre Coloured Pottery found at the earliest level of settlement in upper
Gangetic valley is made of medium grained clay, underfired and has a orange - red
colour. The Painted Grey Ware relates to ash-grey pottery. It is painted in black and
sometimes in deep chocolate colour. The northern Black polished ware is dated
around 600 BC- 200 BC and is significant with the material progress. Another major
pottery type is Rouletted Ware which is a distinct ceramic made of extremely fine and
well-levigated clay and has a thin fine lip.
Along with pottery, metals and metallurgy has been a major evidence to gain insight
into their socio-economic implications. Copper and iron tools are being dissected
from different viewpoints like their resource areas and the process of smelting and
foraging etc.
Another major source of archaeological history is cave or rock art. V.S Wakankar
took numerous steps towards the survey and documentation of large number of rock
art sites in central India, For Instance, Bhimbetka showcases large number of rock
shelters and paintings and has gained an international recognition. Rock art provides
with evidence of the subsistence pattern and socio-religious activities of the early
humans.
Burials prove to be an important source of evidence along with the various items
placed with the dead. All these evidences help us to gain perspective on the socio-
economic behaviour and rituals during the prehistoric period.
Literary sources are a collection of texts written and circulated over a long period of
time. In the context of ancient Indian history, it is mainly obtained from The Vedas,
The Puranas, The Sanskrit epics; Ramayana and Mahabharata, The Dharamshastras,
Buddhist and Jaina Literature and the accounts of foreign scholars and writers.
In the Indian subcontinent, the earliest substantial evidence of writing is associated
with the Harappan civilization and dates from 2600 BCE, but recent discoveries push
back the origins of the script to the second half of the 4th millennium BCE. The
Harappans scripts are yet undeciphered by the historians and thus cannot be used as
a valid source to construct the history of that period. Although the oldest deciphered
script is Brahmi dated to 4th century BCE.
The Vedas which were believed to be composed between 1500-500 BCE and is
divided between Early and Late Vedic Literature, they are mainly subdivided into 4
main categories; Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharv. When we refer to Early Vedic literature,
we essentially refer to Books II -VII of the Rigveda, believed to have been composed
between c. 1500-1000 BCE. The Later Vedic Literature includes Books I, VIII, IX and
X of the Rigveda, Samveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, Brahamanas, Aranyakas
and Upanishads. These were composed between c. 1000 BCE to 500 BCE. The
Rigveda is the oldest and consists of ten books or mandalas.
The Puranas act as a reference of ancient India's historical information and consists
mainly of socio-religious life. Eighteen Puranas are here. The puranas include
historical descriptions of different dynasties.
Dharma actually indicates the ideal behavior of an individual living in society, which
in turn will allow him to accomplish his life's ideals. The Dharmashastra can be
divided into three groups: Dharmasutras (600-300 BC), Smritis (c.200 BC- 900 CE)
and Elaborate commentaries like Tikas and Bhashyas. Dharamsutras which were
composed between 600-300 BCE are a part of Vedanga literature that further
includes the Kalpasutras.
At the end I’d like to conclude by saying that the various literary and archaeological
source to study ancient India have their own specific potential and limitations.
'Availability and decipherment' are two limitations regarding the sources of Ancient
Indian History. As we go back in time, we suffered great lack of written sources to
reconstruct its history. Thus, very few written sources are there at our disposal. For
understanding India before the beginning of literacy and to understand life-ways of
common man, and to date scientifically, archaeological remains help us a lot.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Upinder singh – A history of ancient and early medieval India
2. Romilla Thappar – History of early India from the origins to 1300 AD
3. V.K Jain – Prehistory and Protohistory of India: A reappraisal
4. Unit-19 Archaeological Sites-II (Post Harappa) – Egyankosh

NAME – Samiya Mishra