The Archaeology of Iron and Social Change in Early South India

The Archaeology of Iron and Social Change in Early South India

Author: Om Prakash Singh (Associate professor)

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9789352904648

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Beginning with the Neolithic Chalcolithic phase to the introduction of iron technology in the Megalithic period and its consequent impact in the early historic times, this book examines the variations in iron making in peninsular India. Using archaeological data, where available, of the various regions of Andhra Pradesh (including Telengana), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, a phase-wise analysis has been presented to highlight the material conditions of the various regions prior to, and after the introduction of iron technology, and to reflect changes in agricultural patterns, artisanal and structural activities and civilizational progress over time. An attempt has also been made to show the regional variations that exist in terms of the adoption of iron and its impact on the agricultural development and the proliferation of arts and crafts. Since it takes into account theories and empirical studies in peninsular India, this book makes a substantial contribution to the literature on iron technology and social change in India.


A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization

A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization

Author: Niharranjan Ray

Publisher: Orient Blackswan

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 698

ISBN-13: 9788125018711

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A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization aims at familiarising its readers with the various aspects that go into the making of the history of Indian civilisation. The arrangement of the material in the chapters and selections conform to a rationally conceived and planned scheme of history. The contents of the book presents an extensive view of Indian life and thought.


A Companion to South Asia in the Past

A Companion to South Asia in the Past

Author: Gwen Robbins Schug

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-05-16

Total Pages: 596

ISBN-13: 1119055482

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A Companion to South Asia in the Past provides the definitive overview of research and knowledge about South Asia’s past, from the Pleistocene to the historic era in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, provided by a truly global team of experts. The most comprehensive and detailed scholarly treatment of South Asian archaeology and biological anthropology, providing ground-breaking new ideas and future challenges Provides an in-depth and broad view of the current state of knowledge about South Asia’s past, from the Pleistocene to the historic era in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal A comprehensive treatment of research in a crucial region for human evolution and biocultural adaptation A global team of scholars together present a varied set of perspectives on South Asian pre- and proto-history


The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline

The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline

Author: D D Kosambi

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-09-01

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1000653471

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First published in 1965, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline is a strikingly original work, the first real cultural history of India. The main features of the Indian character are traced back into remote antiquity as the natural outgrowth of historical process. Did the change from food gathering and the pastoral life to agriculture make new religions necessary? Why did the Indian cities vanish with hardly a trace and leave no memory? Who were the Aryans – if any? Why should Buddhism, Jainism, and so many other sects of the same type come into being at one time and in the same region? How could Buddhism spread over so large a part of Asia while dying out completely in the land of its origin? What caused the rise and collapse of the Magadhan empire; was the Gupta empire fundamentally different from its great predecessor, or just one more ‘oriental despotism’? These are some of the many questions handled with great insight, yet in the simplest terms, in this stimulating work. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.


The Archaeology of South Asia

The Archaeology of South Asia

Author: Robin Coningham

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-08-31

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 1316418987

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This book offers a critical synthesis of the archaeology of South Asia from the Neolithic period (c.6500 BCE), when domestication began, to the spread of Buddhism accompanying the Mauryan Emperor Asoka's reign (third century BCE). The authors examine the growth and character of the Indus civilisation, with its town planning, sophisticated drainage systems, vast cities and international trade. They also consider the strong cultural links between the Indus civilisation and the second, later period of South Asian urbanism which began in the first millennium BCE and developed through the early first millennium CE. In addition to examining the evidence for emerging urban complexity, this book gives equal weight to interactions between rural and urban communities across South Asia and considers the critical roles played by rural areas in social and economic development. The authors explore how narratives of continuity and transformation have been formulated in analyses of South Asia's Prehistoric and Early Historic archaeological record.


Studying Early India

Studying Early India

Author: Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya

Publisher: Anthem Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1843311321

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A focal study of the methodological changes that confront historians of pre-colonial India.


From Dasarajna to Kuruksetra

From Dasarajna to Kuruksetra

Author: Kanad Sinha

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-11-24

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 0190993456

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Is it true that the ancient Indians had no sense of History? The book begins with this question, and points out how the ways of perceiving the past could be culture-specific and how the concept of historical traditions can be useful in studying the various ways of memorising and representing the past, even if those ways do not necessarily correspond to the methodology of the Occidental discipline called 'History'. Ancient India had several historical traditions, and the book focuses on one of them, the itihasa. It also shows how the Mahabharata is the best illustration of this tradition, and how a historical study of the contents of the text, with comparison with and corroboration from other contemporary sources and traditions, may help us restore the text in its original context in the bardic historical tradition about the Later Vedic Kurus. Is the Mahabharata then an authentic history? This book does not claim so. However, it shows how the text had originated as a critical reflection on a great period of transition, how it dealt with the conflicting philosophies of the transitional period, how it propounded its thesis by creating new kinds of heroes such as Yudhisthira and Krsna, and how the text was reworked when it was canonized by the brahmanas.


The Early Use of Iron in India

The Early Use of Iron in India

Author: Dilip K. Chakrabarti

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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This volume highlights the extraordinary richness, diversity, and extensive distribution of iron ores in India, along with the equally rich, diverse, and widely scattered preindustrial tradition of iron and steel manufacture. Archaeologically, Chakrabarti demonstrates how by c. 1000 B.C. the major areas of the subcontinent passed into a full-fledged Iron Age, and how the process must be considered to have begun around the middle of the second millenium B.C. This book shows how the antiquity of Indian steel-making and examines literary sources which throw light on the use of iron in Indian agriculture.