Archaeology of India explained

Archaeology in India is mainly done under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India.

History

12th century Indian scholar Kalhana's writings involved recording of local traditions, examining manuscripts, inscriptions, coins and architectures, which is described as one of the earliest traces of archaeology. One of his notable work is called Rajatarangini which was completed in c.1150 and is described as one of the first history books of India.[1] [2] [3]

Origin of modern archaeology

One of the earliest non-Indian scholars to take an interest in the archaeology of the Indian subcontinent were Western European travelers in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. The earliest European written accounts of India's ancient monuments and Hindu temples were produced by sailors and travelers in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries CE. Some of these accounts included ground plans and drawings of the buildings, however they lacked any historical discussion of their origins, with the exception of several references to Alexander the Great, the Macedonian emperor, who tried and failed to conquer India in the fourth century BCE.[4]

Some notable archaeological sites in India include Rakhigarhi, an archaeological site located in the state of Haryana, India. Mohenjo-Daro[5] and Harappa are also ancient archaeological sites that were once a part of India, but now lie within the borders of Pakistan. The Harappan civilization was also called the Indus River Valley Civilization.[6]

Alexander Cunningham and Archaeological Survey of India

Scholarly investigation into Indian archaeology was largely influenced by Alexander Cunningham, who became the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India, which was established in 1861. Cunningham along with various assistants visited many sites and monuments of archaeological importance in India. Their trips ranged from simply visiting sites to study and report on to excavations as well.[7]

Paleolithic archaeological sites (2,500,000–250,000 BC)

Palaeolithic sites in India are characterised by the Madrasian culture and Soanian culture. Bhimbetka rock shelters is also a paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) site.

Mesolithic sites (250,000 BC–10,000 BC)

See also: Cave paintings in India.

Anangpur caves (Faridabad) and Mangar Bani Caves (Gurugram) in Delhi NCR, Bhimbetka rock shelters (Bhopal) and Pahargarh caves (Morena) IN Madhya Pradesh have continuity of paleolithic to mesolithic phase.

Neolithic sites (10,800–3300 BC)

Neolithic sites in India are characterised by the Bhirrana culture (7570–6200 BC), Mehrgarh culture (7000–3300 BC) and Edakkal culture (5000–3000 BC).

Marine archaeology in the Gulf of Khambat,

Sanganakallu, Kupgal petroglyphs, Sonda rock art, dwellings of Anegundi are neolithic sites. Brahmagiri archaeological site has neolithic and mesolithic phases.

Chalcolithic (Copper age) archaeological sites (3500–1500 BC)

Chalcolithic cultures

Chalcolithic sites in India are characterised by the following cultures.

Megalithic archaeological sites of India

Megaliths in India date back to 5000 BC in southern India, before 3000 BC in upper Indus valley in northern India,[8] and megaliths in eastern India are of much later date.[9]

Types of megaliths

Megaliths, made of large stones, are man-made structures.

Based on the "structural design" megaliths are classified as either monolith or polylithic.:

Based on the "usage type" megaliths are classified as

List of megalithic sites in India

In India, megaliths of all kinds are noted; these vary from chamber tomb, stone alignment and anthropomorphic figures as well as the following:[12]

Megalithic monuments by states

Megaliths are found across whole of India, but there are found in higher numbers in central, southern and eastern India.

Man-made megalithic monuments in India include Anegundi, Byse rock art, Chovvanur burial cave, Hirapur dolmen, Hire Benakal, Kudakkallu Parambu, Sidlaphadi.

Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, megaliths are found in Vidharba and south Maharashtra. The megaliths found in south Maharashtra are of varied types, such as head stones alone, or rock chambers and even dolmen. Megaliths in Vidarbha regions are burial sites marked by stone circles.[13] Important megalithic sites of Vidarbha are Hirapur dolmens, Stone circles of Junapani sepulchral megaliths of basalt rocks with remains of the dead northwest of Nagpur, Mahurjhari Stone Circles with are 200 megalithic stone circles northwest of Nagpur, Naikund with evidence of iron smelting north of Nagpur, and Takalghat Khapa south of Nagpur.[13] In Vidharba, the Naikund, Mahurjhari, Borgaon southwest of Nagpur and Khairwada west of Nagpur megalithic sites have been excavated.[14]

Gorewada Stone Circles in Nagpur, connected to both Junapani and Mahurzari civilisation, are India's largest stone circle and it has the highest number of circular stones in India. Kherwadi in Wardha district has 1500 cairns burials, which are connected to Gorewada burial ground.

Pottery found at these sites belongs to Black and red ware (BRW) (10,800–3300 BC).[15] In the Western Ganges plain (western Uttar Pradesh) it is dated to c. 1450–1200 BCE, and is succeeded by the Painted Grey Ware culture; whereas in the Central and Eastern Ganges plain (eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal) and Central India (Madhya Pradesh) the BRW appears during the same period but continues for longer, until c. 700–500 BCE, when it is succeeded by the Northern Black Polished Ware culture.[16]

Bronze Age archaeological sites (3300–1300 BC)

Bronze Age India in the Indian subcontinent begins around 3000 BCE, and it was succeeded by the Iron Age in India beginning in around 1400 BCE. Bronze Age sites include Hire Benakal.

Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC)

See main article: Indus Valley Civilisation.

In the prehistory of the Indian subcontinent, the Iron Age in India cultures are the Painted Grey Ware culture (1300 to 300 BCE)[17] [18] and the Northern Black Polished Ware (700 to 200 BCE), the later corresponds to the transition of the Vedic period Janapada principalities to the sixteen Mahajanapadas region-states of the early historic period, culminating in the emergence of the Maurya Empire towards the end of the period.

Phases of IVC

Phases of IVC

IVC burial sites

More than 50 IVC burial sites have been found, among those main sites in India are Rakhigarhi (first site with genetic testing) and Farmana in Haryana, Sanauli in Uttar Pradesh, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat. Other IVC burial sites outside India have been found in Pakistan in Mehrgarh, Harappa, and Mohenjo-daro.[19]

Main IVC sites

See also: List of Indus Valley civilisation sites.

Rakhigarhi

See also: Rakhigarhi.

See main article: Rakhigarhi.

In 1963, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began excavations at this site, and, though little has been published about the excavations.[20] [21] Further excavations were conducted the ASI headed by the archaeologist, Amarendra Nath, between 1997 and 2000.[22] [23] The more recent excavations have been performed by Vasant Shinde, an archaeologist from the Deccan College.[24]

Analysis and mapping of this site has shown it to be even larger than Mohenjo Daro. Radiocarbon dating was used at this site to analyze soil samples. The results showed that the soil samples were dated back to the millennium of 2000 years BC.[25]

Bronze Age: Vedic Civilisation (2000–1500 BC)

Early Vedic Civilisation, which falls in the Bronze Age, is characterised to the following cultures:

Iron Age archaeological sites (1500–200 BC)

Iron Age north India: Vedic Civilisation (1500–500 BC)

Vedic Civilisation which originated in Bronze Age, evolved through the following stages in the Iron Age:

Iron Age south India

Iron Age sites in south India are Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu, Hallur in Haveri district of Karnataka, Keezhadi excavation site

Early to mid Middle Ages archaeological sites (500 BC – 1,000)

Middle Kingdoms archaeological sites (230 BC – AD 1206)

Following were either largest in area and/or longest reigning or had watershed moment impact:

Late medieval archaeological sites (1206–1526)

The sites related to the following:

Early modern archaeological sites (1526–1858)

Some of the main sites are related to the

Colonial archaeological sites (1510–1961)

The sites are related to the following colonial rulers:

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century (PB). 13. Upinder Singh. Pearson Education. 2009. 978-93-325-6996-6 .
  2. Book: Ucko, P.J. . Theory in Archaeology: A World Perspective . Taylor & Francis . 2005 . 978-1-134-84346-6 . 2022-05-10 . 192.
  3. Book: Cunliffe . B.W. . Colin Renfrew . B.W.C. . Cunliffe . P.E.A.I.A.O.F.B. . Davies . W. . Renfrew . C. . Davies . P.H.P.P.U.C.L.F.W. . British Academy . Renfrew . D.P.A.C.U.F.C. . Davies . P.P.E.A.P.H.W. . Archaeology: The Widening Debate . British Academy . British Academy centenary monographs . 2002 . 978-0-19-726255-9 . 309.
  4. News: The Development of Archaeology in the Indian Subcontinent . Chakrabarti . Dilip K. . 1982. . 13 . 3 . 326 - 344 . Cha82.
  5. Web site: Mohenjo-daro archaeological site, Pakistan. 2020-08-02. Encyclopedia Britannica. en.
  6. Web site: Harappa Pakistan. 2020-08-02. Encyclopedia Britannica. en.
  7. Web site: Ghosh. A.. May 9, 1964. Expedition Magazine - Penn Museum. 2020-07-12. www.penn.museum.
  8. News: P. Pavan. Megalith from 5000 BC found in Telangana. The Times of India. 24 October 2016 .
  9. Anuja. Geetali. Living Megalithic practices amongst the Madia gonds of Bhamragad, District Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. Purātattva. 32. 1. 244. 2002. 2009-06-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20130510070325/http://www.indarchaeology.org/puratattva/puratattva_32.htm. 2013-05-10.
  10. Book: Singh. Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. 2008. Pearson Education. New Delhi. 978-81-317-1120-0. 252.
  11. Web site: Rao. K.P. Megalithic Anthropomorphic Statues: Meaning and Significance. ResearchWorks Journal Hosting.
  12. Web site: Mayank N. Vahia . Srikumar M. Menon . Riza Abbas . Nisha Yadav . Megaliths in Ancient India and their possible association to astronomy. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
  13. https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-sati-may-have-existed-among-megalithic-people-2707595 Sati may have existed among megalithic people
  14. Oishi Roy, 2019, Man and Environment, Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quatemary Studies, vol XLIV, pp. 12-20.
  15. http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/41363/1/Unit-4.pdf MEGALITHIC CULTURE
  16. Franklin Southworth, Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia (Routledge, 2005), p. 177
  17. https://www.academia.edu/37419677/An_Overview_on_the_Iron_Age_in_South_Asia Uesugi, Akinori, (2018). "An Overview on the Iron Age in South Asia", in (ed.) Akinori Uesugi, Iron Age in South Asia, Kansai University
  18. The archaeological term "Iron Age" began to be commonly applied to Indian prehistory in the 1960s (N. R. Banerjee, The Iron Age in India, 1965). Note that the use of "Iron Age" for the Kali Yuga is earlier but unrelated, referencing references the mythological "Ages of Man" of Hesiod.
  19. Astha Dibyopama, Yong Jun Kim, Chang Seok Oh, Dong Hoon Shin, Vasant Shinde, 2015,https://e-aba.org/Synapse/Data/PDFData/0107KJPA/kjpa-28-1.pdf, Korean Journal of Physical Anthropology, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 1-9.
  20. Quote: "Rakhigarhi will be discussed briefly in view of the limited published material" (p 107)
  21. Quote: "Excavations have also occurred at Rakhigarhi, but only brief notes have been published, and little information is currently available on its form and organization. (page 325)"
  22. Web site: Amarendra . Nath . Excavations at Rakhigarhi [1997-98 to 1999-2000] ]. 22 February 2016 . Archaeological Survey of India . 306 . 31 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150319114204/http://asi.nic.in/pdf_data/rakhigarhi_excavation_report_new.pdf . 19 March 2015 .
  23. Amarendra Nath was later found guilty for forging bills during the excavation at Rakhigarhi.
  24. Shinde. Vasant. Green. Adam. Parmar. Narender. Sable. P. D.. Rakhigarhi and the Harappan Civilization: Recent Work and New Challenges. Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 2012–2013. 72/73. 48. 43610687.
  25. Vahia, Mayank N., Pankaj Kumar, Abhijeet Bhogale, D. C. Kothari, Sundeep Chopra, Vasant Shinde, Nilesh Jadhav, and Ranvir Shastri. "Radiocarbon Dating of Charcoal Samples from Rakhigarhi, Haryana, India Using Accelerator Mass Spectrometer." Current Science 111, no. 1 (2016): 27-28. Accessed August 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24910004.

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