India's Ancient Past

Author: R.S. Sharma
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 387
ISBN/UPC (if available): 019568785X

Description

India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma offers a clear, authoritative overview of early Indian history, from prehistoric communities and the Harappan civilization through the Vedic age, major kingdoms, religious movements, and the transition to the early medieval period. Written for both students and general readers, it is an accessible introduction to the political, social, economic, and cultural foundations of ancient India.

India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma is a clear and authoritative introduction to the development of early Indian civilization. Drawing on archaeological, literary, and historical evidence, Sharma traces India’s evolution from prehistoric communities through the Harappan civilization, the Vedic period, the rise of major kingdoms and religious traditions, and the transition toward the early medieval era.

The book examines political institutions, social structures, economic change, religion, urbanization, trade, science, and philosophy, while also explaining how historians reconstruct India’s ancient past from different kinds of evidence.

Written by one of India’s best-known historians, this is an accessible and valuable introduction for students, researchers, and general readers interested in ancient Indian history.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Plates

List of Maps

The Significance of Ancient Indian History

Modern Historians of Ancient India

Nature of Sources and Historical Construction

Geographical Setting

Ecology and Environment

The Linguistic Background

Human Evolution: The Old Stone Age

The Neolithic Age: First Food Producers and
Animal Keepers

Chalcolithic Cultures

Harappan Culture: bronze Age
Urbanization in the Indus Valley

Identity of Aryan Culture

The Age of the Rig Veda

The Later Vedic Phase:
Transition to State and Social Orders

Jainism and Buddhism

Territorial States and the Rise of Magadha

Iranian and Macedonian Invasions


State Structure and the Varna System
In the Age of the Buddha

The Maurya Age

The significance of Maurya Rule

Central Asian Contact and Mutual Impact

The Satavahana Phase

The Dawn of History in the Deep South

Crafts, commerce, and Urban Growth
(200 BC –AD 250)


Rise and growth of the Gupta Empire

Life in the Gupta age

Spread o civilization in Eastern India

Harsha and His Times

Brahmanization, Rural Expansion, and
Peasant Protest in the Peninsula

Developments in Philosophy

Cultural Interaction with Asian Countries

From Ancient to Medieval

Sequence of Social Changes

Legacy in Science and Civilization

Chronology of Literary Sources


Bibliography

Index