UNIT - 1

Indian Historical Sources - I

The history of India is divided into four periods by current historians:

a. Ancient India (earliest times - 6th century AD),

b. Early Medieval India (6th century AD - 13th century AD),
c. Medieval India (13th century AD - 18th century AD), and
d. Modern India (18th century - present).

Archaeological Sources

Lord Curzon, British India's Viceroy, had remarked that ancient India had 'the greatest galaxy of
monuments in the world.' TheArchaeological Survey of India was established in 1861 by the
British with Sir Alexander Cunningham as the first director-general. Known as the father of
Indian archaeology, he set the ball rolling on archaeological studies in India. Sir John Marshall,
appointed as director-general in 1902, was instrumental in identifying the ancient Indus Valley
Civilization with the help of his deputies Daya Ram Sahni and R.D. Banerji.

What follow are just a few examples of archaeological sources, which are by no means
exhaustive.
Archaeological sites & Archaeological digs

Fig 2: Excavated ruins of Mohenjodaro. (Source: Wikipedia,

Indus Valley Civilization)

Of all the archaeological sites and digs, none has been as amazing as the excavations
at Harappa andMohenjodaro. These brought to light the existence of an ancient urban
civilisation – the Indus Valley Civilisation or Harappan Civilisation – that existed about 5000
years ago. Dubbed as the prehistoric discovery of the 20th century, the discovery pushed the
history of the subcontinent back by a further 2500 years.

Kumrahar and Bulandibagh (in modern day Patna) are two of the archaeological sites linked
to Pataliputra, the capital of the Mauryans (4th - 2nd century BC). While the former has remains
of a pillared hall, the latter exhibits ruins of fortification. The majestic edict-bearing Ashokan
pillars are testimony to the attempt to spread imperial ideologies of emperor Ashoka
Mauryaamong the common people.

The archaeological site at Sanchi includes stupas, pillars, shrines and sculptures, dating from
3rd century BC to 12th century AD, and gives extraordinary insight into the history of Buddhism.
The site at Sarnath too provides knowledge on Buddhism as well as on Ashoka Maurya.

The Buddhist stupa-monastery sites all over India were built over many centuries. They uncover
the trail of evolution of religious thoughts and practices over the period, and the development and
changes in architectural and sculptural styles.

The Ajanta Caves (5th century AD) have rich sculptures and paintings, providing a glimpse into
the societal life of those times.
 The ruins of Basarh (ancient Vaishali) reveal it to be an important administrative headquarters
during the period of the Guptas. The site gives information related to the economic and
commercial aspect of the times.

The great Rajarajeshwara (Brihadishwara) temple in Tanjore, built during the 11th century AD,
was the monument which helped historians piece together the history of the Cholas of Tamil
Nadu.

The Vishnu temple at Ankor Vat, Combodia, and the Buddhist Stupa at Borobodur, Java,
provide evidence of the spread of Buddhist influence to south-east Asia.

1.) Inscriptions

The study of inscriptions has been a very important source of Indian history from the time of
Ashoka till the Delhi Sultanate period.

The earliest inscriptions are those on the seals from the Indus Valley Cvilisation site, dating
back to the 3rdmillennium BC. They are written in some form of pictographic script (as a
collection of pictures), but have not yet been deciphered.

2.) COINS

The earliest coins of India were punched-marked coins made from silver or copper with symbols
punched on them. They seem to have originated as far back as 6th century BC. During the Mauryan
period, they had become the established currency of the subcontinent. According to some historians,
punched-marked coinage was developed indigenously without any foreign influence.

Archaeology is a magical gateway to the past. It is the discipline that complements History best with
its hard evidences and methodological advantages

The discipline of archaeology studies human cultures and past. Through recovery and interpretation
of architectures, artefacts, bio facts, and landscapes, archaeology seeks to a) determine the
chronology of human development, b) unearth the cultural history of various human settlements, c)
and substantiate or fill the lacunae of history with material evidence, and d) understand the
processes that underlie the changes taken place in human societies across cultures.
How is archaeology placed?

Archaeology is a part of both history and anthropology. There is much hue and cry over its
disciplinary identity given that most historians and anthropologists consider archaeology to be an
addendum. However, of late archaeology has proven itself to be indispensable to the writing of any
kind of tracts of our distant past.

With something as little as broken bits of pottery, or carvings, archaeological analyses can turn the
pages of history upside down. Excavation exercises have unearthed civilizations and recuperated
cities. Histories have been written and rewritten. No other discipline deals with material evidence. No
other discipline has the reach archaeology does.

We can explore into the lives of aboriginal slaves or wonder at the inhabitants of the Stone Age
because hard material evidences about everyday life and hardships have been made available to us
by archaeology.

Why is archaeology important?

It has been therefore wrongly deduced that archaeology is subservient to the discipline of history.
The deal is the other way round. Archaeology has two of the greatest advantages. It has the unique
capability of stretching back to the remotest eras of human existence and drawing the hitherto
unknown out of the darkness of time. Secondly, archaeology deals in tangible relics and therefore it
can claim credibility that no other human sciences can. What this means is that archaeology’s efforts
can cast much needed light upon present day’s issues with identity and possession. By discovering
valuable facts in terms of land, bones and artefacts it can help put issues of retention or restitution of
land rights of indigenous or minority groups in perspective.

Archaeology’s value therefore remains untouchable. Even in the field of anthropology, it has
emerged from the shadows of a mother discipline. Anthropology being the study of past and present
human societies, seeks to uncover patterns of meaning as they exist in the present by broadly
interpreting sources, and mostly archaeological finds. Anthropology by itself will be restricted to the
recent and immediate past of cultures, but archaeology’s ability to look at long term change and
come out with broader generalisations about why certain cultures and groups changed or perished
over time.

The origin of archaeology

Moreover the two disciplines emerged out of colonialism. Exercises that necessarily focused on the
non-West, or in lay terms, ‘exotic’ cultures and ‘natives.’ A team of anthropologists would just go off
somewhere and study ‘primitive’ cultures in their quest to know the Other. It’s only recently that this
otherisation and exoticisation of other cultures through discourses of academic disciplines have
come under the scanner and research (especially the white western academe) and has become
more reflective.

The role of archaeology

The role of archaeology here becomes crucial. Archaeology can contribute immensely by revealing
cultural ways and artefacts that can help in identification of historical incorrect views and
understandings.

Archaeology therefore becomes necessary to forge points of unity and points of diversity in varied
cultures and civilizations. It helps in discovering not only the ‘other’ but also rediscovering our own
selves.

Losing an archaeological site or artefact is therefore akin to losing stories that cannot be retold. If the
past needs to be preserved archaeology needs to be treated as a valuable discipline bringing to the
fore buried pasts and misconstrued stories.