When, Where and How

 When, Where and How

 

History which means knowledge acquired by investigation, is the study of the past as it described in written documents. It is an umbrella term that related to the events. The culture and civilisation, which were prevalent in the past and documented are studied in the book of history. It gives us the accounts of the rulers, traders, peasants, craftmen, artists, musicians or scientists etc of the past time and also about their behaviour and how they used to live their day-to-day life. It can be said that history presents the evidence from the past to the present and future.

 

Dates in History

 

All dates before the birth of Christ are counted backwards i.e. in descending order and dates after Christ are counted in ascending order. As soon as, we compare the past with present, we refer to time, i.e. we talk before (319 BC) or after (AD 1857). BC refers to Before Christ, whereas AD stands for Anno Domini a latin word, meaning the year of the Lord, and CE stands for Common Era which is sometimes used in the place of AD.

 

Sources of Indian History

 

The evidences that relate to the origin of the earliest civilisation, their cultures and their beliefs can be obtained from the sources available about the India's History. These sources are vital for historians, as they give information about the incident occurred in the past as well as throwing light on the relevance of the historical facts.

 

The sources of Indian history are of following types

1. Inscriptions

·         These are the most reliable evidences and their study is called Epigraphy. These are mostly carved on gold, silver, iron, copper, bronze plates, stone pillars, rock temple walls and are free from interpolations.

·         Inscriptions are mainly of three types: royal eulogy, official documents and private records. Most of the inscriptions in India are in Brahmi and Kharosti scripts. James Princep, the secretary of the Asiatic society of Bengal succeeded for the first time in deciphering the Brahmi script.

 

2. Coins

 

The study of coins is known as numismatics. Thousands of ancient Indian coins have been discovered from which idea about the contemporary economic condition, currency system, development of the metallurgical art has been obtained.

3. Archaeological Evidences

 

These evidences are obtained by the systematic and skilled examination of building monuments and work of art. The credit for excavating the Pre-Aryan past goes to Sir William Jones, who established Asiatic Society of Bengal on 1st January, 1784. Sir Alexander Cunningham excavated the ruins of ancient sites of Pre-Aryan culture and he is called as the Father of Indian Archaeology.

 

4. Literary Sources

 

* Literary sources includes the earliest writings which were written by hands on palm leaves or on specially prepared bark of a tree called birch is known as manuscripts.

* However, the Vedic literature, Puranas and Epics have no trace of political history, but have a reliable glimpses of culture and civilisation of the age.

* Some literary sources of Indian History are: Ramayana, Mahabharata, Upanishadas, Jaina and Buddhist literature like Deepavamsa and Mahavamsa, Gargi Samhita, Grammar of Panini, Kautilya's Arthashastra, Manusmriti, Mudra Raksha (Vishakhadatta), Kalidas's Malvikagnimitram, Banabhatta's Harshacharita, Kalhan's Raj Tarangini, Nyaya Chandra's Hammir Kavya etc.

HISTORICAL SOURCE

LITERARY SOURCES		FOREIGNER’S ACCOUNT			ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT	WRITER	FOREIGN TRAVELLER	PERIOD	CONTEMPORARY RULER	EPIGRAPH/EDICTS	ASSOCIATED RULER
ARTHASHASTRA	KAUTILYA	MEGASTHENES	305 BC	CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA	HATHIGUMPHA INSCRIPTION	KHARVEL
MRICHKATIKAM	SHUDRAK	HELIODORUS	78 BC	BHAGBHADRA	NASHIK INSCRIPTION	GAUTAMI BALA SRI
GAUDAVAHO	VAKAPATI	FA-HIEN	399 AD	CHANDRAGUPTAS-II	GIRNAR INSCRIPTION	RUDRADAMAN
VIKRAMANK DEVCHARIT	BILHAN	SUNGYUN	518 AD	=====	BHITARI INSCRIPTION	SKANDGUPTA
RAJTARANGINI	KALHAN	HIUEN-TSANG	629 AD	HARSHVARDHAN	PRAYAGA PRASHASTI	SAMUDRAGUPTA
BRIHATKATHA MANJARI	KSHEMENDRA	ITSING	671 AD	======	MEHRAULI INSCRIPTION	CHANDRAGUPTA-II
DASHAKUMARA CHARITA	DANDI	SULEMAN	838 AD	=====	ERAN INSCRIPTION	SKANDGUPTA
HARSHACHARIT	BANABHATTA	AL-MASUDI	915 AD	=====	AIHOLE INSCRIPTION	BHANUGUPTA
KATHASARIT SAGARA	SOMDEV	AL-BIRUNI	1017 AD	=====	MANDSAUR INSCRIPTION	PULKESHIN-II
DVYASHRAYA KAVYA	HEMCHANDRA	TARANATH	12TH CENTURY	=======	DEVPARA INSCRPTION	YASHOVARMAN
KUMARPAL CHARITRA	HEMCHANDRA	MARCO POLO	13TH CENTURY	PANDYA RAJYA	GWALIOR PRASHASTI	VIJAYSEN
NAVSAHSANK CHARIT	PADRMGUPTA	-----	=====	======	======	BHOJ PARMAR
PRABANDH CHINTAMANI	MERUTUNG	-----	=====	======	======	=====

 

 

5. Accounts of the Foreigners

 

A great deal of our knowledge of history is enriched by the writings of foreigners like Megasthenes (Indica), Fa-Hien (Record of the Buddhist countries), Ptolemy (Geography), Pliny (Naturalist Historia) etc.

Periodisation of Indian History

 

·         In 1817, a Scottish economist and political philosopher James Mills, published an enormous three-volume work namely, 'A History of British India'. In this work, he divided the history of India into three parts: Hindu, Muslim and British. James Mills thought that before coming of British to India only Hindu and Muslim ruler ruled over India.

·         But this division was proven wrong by some Indian historians because other religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism etc were also present at that time. Later some western historians divided the period of Indian history into Ancient, Medieval and Modern history on the occurrence of the period.

·         This division reflects the correct idea of the past exactly the way it followed in the history. They believed that modern thought in India came with the coming of British so, they called British era as modern time.

 

Sources of Information of the Colonial Period

 

The sources used by historians in writing about the last 250 years of Indian history are as follow

 

1. Survey

·         The practice of surveying also became common under the colonial administration. The British believed that a country had to be properly known before it could be effectively administered.

·         By the early 19th century, detailed surveys were being carried out to map the entire country. In the villages, revenue surveys were conducted.

·         The effort was to find out all the facts which would be necessary to administer the region effectively including topography, soil quality, flora, fauna, local history, cropping pattern etc.

·         There were many other surveys like botanical surveys, zoological surveys, archaeological surveys, anthropological surveys and forest surveys.

 

2. Official Records

 

·         As these official records were compiled by officials working for the British Government. The British believed that the act of writing was important. Every instruction, plan, policy decision, agreement, investment had to be clearly written up.

·         This conviction produced an administrative culture of memos, notings and reports. Although, they are excellent sources for understanding. The functioning of the administration in those days, they do not give information about common people's lives.

 

▲ An archieve is a place where historical manuscripts and documents are kept.

3. Newspapers & Literature

 

·         Newspapers became common after the invention of printing. Many newspapers in the vernacular medium were popular among the people.

·         These newspapers give us a glimpse of the common life and culture. Moreover, other forms of popular literature like novels and religious discourses also give us rich information about that period.

 

The Earliest Societies

 

The people who lived in the Indian sub-continent about two million years ago can be described as hunter-gatherers. This is due to the way in which they managed to find their food. They hunted wild animals, caught fish and birds, gathered fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, stalks of plants and eggs. However, this was not easy. Most animals move faster than human beings and also many of them are stronger than them.

 

The Earliest People

These hunter-gatherers moved from place-to-place over a period of time for the following reasons

·         If they stayed at one place for an extended period of time, they would have consumed all the available plant and animal resources. So, they would have to move elsewhere in search of food.

·         Animals move from place-to-place in search of grass and leaves. That is why those who hunted them had to also follow these animals.

·         Plants and trees bear fruits in different seasons. So, people may have moved from that place according to the season prevailed at the time in search of different kinds of fruits and vegetables.

·         Human beings, plants and animals need water to survive. Water is found in lakes, streams and rivers. Rivers and lakes can be perennial (water present throughout the year) or seasonal. People moved from place-to-place in search of water.

Pre-Historic People & Sites

We have come to know about these people because archaeologists have found stone tools and artefacts of these hunter-gatherers.

·         These stone tools were used to cut meats and bones, scrape bark from trees, hides animal skin, chop fruit and remove roots from the soil.

·         Some important archaeological sites of the palaeolithic age like Bhimbetka, Hunsgi and Kurnool caves have been found.

·         Places where stone were found and where people made tools are known as factory sites.

·         Some sites, known as habitation sites, are places where people lived. These include caves and rock shelters. Natural caves and rock shelters are mainly found in the Vindhyas and the Deccan plateau. Many of these rock shelters are close to the Narmada valley.

Making Stone Tools

·         Stone tools were probably made using two different techniques. The first one was stone on stone technique. Here, the one pebble was used to strike off flakes from the other, till the required shape was obtained.

·         The second technique was pressure flaking tool making. In this method, the edge of a stone was trimmed by removing small lithic flakes.

Finding Out About Fire

·         In the Kurnool caves, traces of ash have been found. This suggests that people were familiar with the use of fire.

·         Fire could have been used for many things as a source of light, to cook meat and to scare away animals.

Change in Environment

·         Around 12000 years ago, there were major changes in the climate of the world, with a shift to relatively warm conditions. This led to the development of grasslands and increase in the number of herbivores.

·         This was also a time when several grain bearing grasses, including wheat, barley and rice grew naturally in different parts of the Indian sub-continent.

Language and Art

·         Homo Habilis were the first people who could speak. The spoken language and art were developed together around 40000-35000 years ago.

·         Many of the caves in which early people lived have rock paintings on the walls. Some of the best examples are from Madhya Pradesh (Bhimbetka) and Southern Uttar Pradesh. These paintings show wild animals.

·         A lot of the sites of this age are found in European countries like France. The painting site of France was discovered by four school children. These paintings were made between 20000 and 10000 years ago.

·         Many of these were of animals such as horses, bison, reindeer, bear etc. The colours were made from minerals like ochre or iron ore and charcoal.

·         It is possible that these paintings were done on ceremonial occasions or for special rituals, performed by hunters before they went in search of prey.

 

The Pre-Historic Period

 

Archaeologists have given names for the time of pre-historic period. These are called 'Ages' and are classified as follow

MIDDLE

PRE-HISTORY

•          PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD(20 LAKH BC TO 10 THOUSAND BC)

A.      LOWER PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD(25 LAKH BC TO 9 LAKH BC)

B.      MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC(9 LAKH BC TO 40 THOUSAND BC)

C.      UPPER PALAEOLITHIC(40 THOUSAND BC TO 10 THOUSAND BC)

•          MESOLITHIC PERIOD (8 THOUSAND BC TO 4 THOUSAND BC)

•          NEOLITHIC PERIOD(9 THOUSAND BC TO THOUSAND BC)

 

Palaeolithic Age

 

·         This word is a combination of two Greek words, Palaeo means old and lithos means stone. The Palaeolithic period extends from 2 million years ago to about 12000 years ago.

·         A number of early palaeolithic sites were found at Hunsgi. This long stretch of time is divided into the lower, middle and upper palaeolithic.

·         Animals like ostriches were found in India during the palaeolithic period. Large quantities of ostrich egg shells were found at Patne in Maharashtra. Designs were engraved on some pieces.

·         Some of the archaeological sites which were present in India during Palaeolithic age are Kurnool caves (Andhra Pradesh), Hunsgi (Karnataka), Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh), Bagor (Rajasthan), Patne (Maharashtra), Belan valley (Uttar Pradesh).

Mesolithic Age

·         The period when environmental changes began about 12000 years ago till about 10000 years ago is known as the Mesolithic Age.

·         Stone tools of this age are generally very small and are called Microliths.

·         Some of the archaeological sites which were present in India during Mesolithic age are Langnnaj (Gujarat), Damdama (Uttar Pradesh) and Patne (Maharashtra).

Neolithic Age

·         The next stage from about 10000 years ago onwards, is called Neolithic Age. Here, the word neo means new and lithos means stone. In this age, the stone tools were more refined and metal tools had also started being used.

·         Some of the archaeological sites which were present in India during Neolithic age are Hallur (Karnataka), Burzahom and Gufkral (Jammu and Kashmir), Mehargarh (Baluchistan), Chirand (Bihar) and Daojali Hading (Assam).

The Chalcolithic/Copper Age

·         The end of the Neolithic period saw the use of metals. Copper was the first metal to be used. Chalcolithic culture refers to the stone-copper phase. People also used hand- axes and other objects made up of copperware.

·         Chalcolithic people were primarily rural communities. They domesticated animals and practised agriculture. They were not acquainted with burnt bricks and lived in thatched houses. They venerated the mother Goddess and worshipped the bull.

·         Important sites of this phase are spread in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh etc.

The Earliest Society : Significance, Tools and Features

The features, tools and significance of the earliest society are discussed below. They are as follow

·         Remains of hand axe and chopping tools and bones of Homoerectus have been found from Narmada valley.

·         Blade, scrapper and cave paintings have been found from Bhimbetka.

·         Development of technique to make microliths, crescent shape tools and settled life began.

·         Development of polished tools and weaving, cooking, domestication and pottery making started.

 

Beginning of Farming & Herding

·         The climate of the world changed near the end of the Palaeolithic age (there was a gradual warming up) and so plants and animals that people used as food also changed. Man observed several things such as, the places where edible plants were found, how seeds broke off from stalks and how new plants sprouted from them.

·         Women, men and children could also attract and tame animals that were relatively gentle by leaving food for them near their shelters.

·         These animals such as sheep, goat, cattle and also pigs lived in herds and most of them ate grass.

·         Often, people protected these animals from attacks by other wild animals. This is how they became herders.

Domestication

·         This is the name given to the process in which people grow plants and rearing of animals. They selected for breeding large size grain and strong stalks plants. Domestication was a gradual process that took place in many parts of the world (Eastern Mediterranean), that was began around 12000 years ago.

·         The process of domestication of animals like sheep, goat, cattle, dog and pig were started in Neolithic period and people became herders: They reared animals for source of food, meat, clothes etc.

Sites of Cultivation

To find out about the first farmers and herders, archaeologists excavated many sites and have found evidence of them all over the Indian sub-continent.

Details of some sites where grain and bones have been found are given below in tabular form

SITES OF CULTIVATION
GRAIN AND BONES	SITES
WHEAT ,BARLEY,SHEEP,GOAT,CATTLE	MEHRGARH(IN PRESENT-DAY PAKISTAN)
RICE AND FRAGMENTARY ANIMAL BONES	KOLDIHWA(IN PRESENT-DAY UTTAR PREDESH)
RICE AND CATTLE(HOOF MARKS ON CLAY SURFACE)	MAHAGARA(IN PRESENT -DAY UTTAR PREDESH)
WHEAT AND LENTIL	GUFKRAL(IN PRESENT-DAY KASHMIR)
WHEAT AND LENTIL,DOG,CATTLE,SHEEP,GOAT AND BUFFALO	BURZAHOM(IN PRESENT-DAY KASHMIR)
WHEAT,GREEN,GRAM,BARLEY,BUFFALO,OX,MILLET,CATTLE,SHEEP,GOAT AND PIG	CHIRAND(IN PRESENT-DAY BIHAR)

 

 

 

 

Towards a Settled Life

 

·         Archaeologists have also found traces of huts or houses at some sites. In Burzahom, people built pit houses, which were dug into the ground.Cooking hearths have also found, which suggests that depending on the weather, people cook food either indoors or outdoors.

·         Stone tools have also been found from many sites. These include tools that were polished to give a fine cutting edge and mortars and pestles used for grinding grain and other plant produce.

·         Many kinds of earthen pots have also been found. People also began weaving cloth, using different kinds of materials like cotton. They also participated in cultural events like singing, dancing and furnishing their huts.

 

Customs and Practices of Tribal Society

 

The customs and practices of tribal society are discussed below. They are as follow

 

·         Usually, two to three generations of a tribe lived together in small settlements or villages. Most families were related to one another and groups of such families formed a tribe.

·         Members of a tribe followed occupations such as hunting, gathering, farming, herding and fishing.Usually, women did most of the agricultural work, including preparing the ground, sowing seeds, looking after the growing plants and harvesting grain.

·         Children looked after the plants, driving away animals and birds that might eat them.

·         Women also threshed, dehusked and ground the grain. Men usually led large herds of animals in search of pasture. They also made pots, baskets, tools and huts besides taking part in singing, dancing and decorating their huts.

·         Tribes have rich and unique cultural traditions, including their own language, music, stories and paintings. They also have their own Gods and Goddesses.

 

Important Sites

 

These are many important historical sites in India. Some of them are discussed below.

 

1.       Mehrgarh

·         Mehrgarh was excavated by French Archaeologist Jean-Francois Jarrige and Catherine Jarrige in 1974. The site is located in a fertile plain near the Bolan pass of Pakistan. It is one of the most important routes to Iran.

·         Mehrgarh is one of the oldest villages in South Asia where the evidences of farming and herding are found. Mehrgarh was also a place where women and men learnt to grow barley and wheat and rear sheep and goats for the first time in this area.

·         The people of Mehrgarh believed in life after death. Therefore, they buried dead bodies with their livelihood things. The houses found in Mehrgarh were in square or rectangular shape.

 

2. Daojali Hading

 

·         This is a site on the hills in Assam near the Brahmaputra valley, close to routes leading into China and Myanmar. This was discovered during 1961.

·         Here, stone tools including mortars and pestles, pottery of the Neolithic period were found.

·         Tools made from fossil wood (ancient wood that had been hardened into stone) and Jadeite, a stone brought from China have been discovered from this site.