Author: Dilip K Chakrabarti
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 374
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195658809
Description
Written by one of the foremost experts on Indian archaeology, this book reconstruct the historical development of human - natural resource interaction in the subcontinent in a lucid style with maps, illustrations, and tables.
An increased pace in archaeological research in recent decades has yielded a construction of the history of prehistoric and early historic India primarily in terms of archaeology. This book narrates the flow of India's grassroots archaeological history from the Paleolithic beginning to c. AD 300, when early historic India assumed its basic form. Being the only 'current' introductory text on Indian archaeology, it incorporates the latest research in the field.
The book reconstructs the historical development of human-natural resource interaction in the subcontinent in a lucid style with maps, illustrations, and tables.
Written by one of the foremost experts on Indian archaeology, this book is an essential reading for students and specialists of archaeology and early South Asian history.
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS :
.
'The difficulty of this exercise can be well appreciated not merely due to the long time span, the wide geographical area, study of different aspects, … but also the fact that all these are comprehended in 338 pages (excluding notes).'
— Antiquity
'This book strikes a fine balance between compilation and interpretation, and is interspersed with thought-provoking comments, which sustain one's interest throughout. These qualities, along with clear illustrations and an exhaustive bibliography … should render this text indispensable to any course on South Asian archaeology.'
— Marg
Contents
Preface
CHAPTER I
ANCIENT INDIA : THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE SUBCONTINENT
Early Notices
The Middle of the Eighteenth Century
The Establishment of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta
The 1830s
Alexander Cunningham and His Successors till 1902
The Role of Indians in Indian Archaeological Studies till the Close of the Nineteenth Century
Some Operative Forces in the Study of Ancient India
Indian Prehistoric Studies till the End of the Nineteenth Century
Indian Archaeology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century and the Impact of Lord Curzon
The John Marshall Era in Indian Archaeology, 1902-44
Mortimer Wheeler and the Archaeological Survey, 1944-48
Archaeology in Post-Independence India
AIMS AND STRUCTURE
THE LAND MASS
Geographical Preliminaries
Geographical Issues
India in Relation to the Rest of Asia and Africa
Frontiers and Boundaries
India as a Geographical Entity
Major Geographical Linements of Indian History of Archaeology
Areas of Attraction, Relative Isolation and Isolation : a Critique of the Idea
Concluded Remarks
CHAPTER II
THE PALEOLITHIC CONTEXT
Research Background
Skeletal Evidence
The Earliest Dates of Paleolithic Tools in the Subcontinent
Distribution, Stratigraphy, Climate
Primary Issues
Regional Survey
CHRONOLOGY
Cultural Evidence
Preliminary Remarks
Beyond Tools
Ethnographic Approach
The Evidence of Art (?)
Concluding Remarks
CHAPTER III
THE MESOLITHIC HORIZON AND ASSOCIATED ROCH ART
The Concept of a Mesolithic Level and its Distribution
Climate
Chronology
Cultural Evidence
Bagor, Phase I
Adamgarh
Baghor II
The Excavated Sites in Uttar Pradesh : Chopani Mando, Sarai Nahar Rai, Mahadaha and Damdama
Paisra
Associated Rock Art
Concluding Remarks
CHAPTER IV
THE GROWTH OF VILLAGES : FROM BALUCHISTAN TO HARYANA AND GUJRAT
The Mountainous Rim in the North-West : Baluchistan
The Northern Part of the Kachhi Plain : Mehragarh
The Quetta Valley : Kile Gul Mohammad and Damb Sadaat
The Zhob-Loralai Area : the Rana Ghundai Sequence
The Kalat Plateau : Anjira and Sia Damb in the Sohrab Area
The Khozdar Area : Nal
The Kulli Culture of Kolwa and the Area around Bela : Niai
Buthi, Nindowari and Edith Shahr Comples
The Coastal Plain of Sonmiani Bay : Bala Kot
The Turbat Oasis in the Kej Valley : Miri Qalat and Shahi Tump
Early Village Cultures of Baluchistan
THE MOUNTAINOUS RIM IN THE NORTH-WEST : BANNU
The Western Fringe of the Indus-Hakra Alluvium : The Gomal Valley
The Western Fringe of the Indus-Hakra Alluvium : Kirthar Piedmont and Kohistan
The Western Fringe of the Indus-Hakra Alluvium : The Potwar Plateau
The Indus-Hakra Plain
The Hakra Ware Sites in cholistan
The Kot Diji Sites in Cholistan and Kot Diji in Sind
The Hakra Ware and Kot Diji Phase at Jalipur
The Kot Dihi Phase at Harappa
The Kot Diji/Sothi Phase at Kalibangan
The Hakra Ware and Kot Diji/Sothi Phases at Kunal
The Kot Diji/Sothi Phase at Banawali and Other Place in Indian
Punjab and Haryana
THE ARAVALLI BELT : THE GROWTH OF AN EARLY METALLURGICAL CENTRE
Gujrat
Toward the Indus Civilization
CHAPTER V
THE INDUS OR HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
Name
Distribution
Origin
MORPHOLOGY OF SOME MAJOR SITES
Mohenjodro
Chanhudaro
Harappa
Kalibangan
Banawali
Lothal
Surkotada
Dholavira
Kuntasi
General Features of Harappan Settlements
GENERAL FEATURES OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
Seals and Script
Pottery
Lithic Industry
Metallurgy
Miscellaneous Arts and Crafts
Weights and Linear Measures
Crops and Domestic Animals
Trade
Religion
Sculptural Art
Skeletal Biology
CHRONOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
Political and Social Framework
Decline and Transformation
CHAPTER VI
NEOLITHIC- CHALCOLITHIC AND IRON-BEARING CULTURES BEYOND THE HARAPPAN DISTRIBUTION ZONE
Complexities of the beginning of food production in Non-Harappan India
The Mountains in the North
Gandhara Grave Culture
Kashmir Neolithic, Ladakh and Almorah (UP)
RAJASTHAN
North-east Rajasthan : Ganeshwar-Jodhpura Culture
South-east Rajasthan : The Ahar Culture
MADHYA PRADESH
MAHARASHTRA
KARNATAKA, ANDHRA, TAMIL NADU
The South Indian Neolithic and the chalcolithic in Andhra
The Megalithic Complex
ORISSA, THE NORTH-EASTERN STATES, WEST BENGAL AND BIHAR
Orissa
The North-eastern States
West Bengal
Bihar
UTTAR PRADESH
Eastern Utter Pradesh
Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Upper Ganga Valley ‘Copper Hoards’
The Significance of the Indian Neolithic-Chalcolithic and Iron-bearing cultures beyond the Harappan Distribution Zone
CHAPTER VII
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EARLY HISTORIC INDIA
The Historical Framework of Early Historic Indian Archaeology
Dynastic History
A Geo-political Perspective of Early Indian Political History
Major Phases of Early Historic Economic History
SETTLEMENT CONTEXT
The North-west
Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Sind
Haryana and the Upper Gangetic Valley
The Middle Gangetic Valley and the Trans-Sarayu Plain
Assam and the Northeast, the Padma-Bhagirathi Delta (Bangladesh-West Bengal) and Orissa
Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan
INSCRIPTION
The Antiquity and Variety of Scripts
Contents and Styles of Early Inscriptions
Inscriptions of the Early Centuries AD
Coins
Sculpture, Terracotta, Painting
Architecture
Concluding Observation
CHAPTER VIII
SOME GENERAL ISSUES
Geography
Prehistory
Settlement
Agriculture
Metallurgy
Trade and Trade Routes
Notes
Bibliography
Index