UGC NET History Unit–1 Sources and Early Indian History

I. Negotiating the Sources of Ancient Indian History

To reconstruct India’s early past, historians rely on both archaeological and literary sources.
Each provides a different type of evidence — material (from the ground) and intellectual (from texts).

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🟣 1. Archaeological Sources

Archaeology is the study of the material remains of past human life. It helps us understand prehistoric and protohistoric periods where no written records exist.

(a) Exploration

• The systematic survey of a region to locate archaeological sites.

• Helps identify settlement patterns, trade routes, and distribution of cultures.

• Example: Exploration by Alexander Cunningham, Daya Ram Sahni, and R.D. Banerjee helped locate Harappan sites like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

(b) Excavation

• Scientific digging of sites to uncover buried remains.

• Provides layers (stratigraphy) that reveal chronological sequences.

• Major excavated sites:

  • Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa (Indus Civilization)

  • Chalcolithic sites – Inamgaon, Navdatoli

  • Neolithic sites – Burzahom, Koldihwa

(c) Epigraphy

• Study of inscriptions engraved on stone, metal, wood, or pottery.

• Provides direct evidence of language, administration, religion, and polity.

• Examples:

  • Ashokan edicts (3rd century BCE) – earliest deciphered inscriptions.

  • Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela (Odisha).

  • Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta (Gupta period).

Father of Indian Epigraphy: James Prinsep (deciphered Brahmi script in 1837).

(d) Numismatics

• Study of coins. Coins reveal information on economy, polity, trade, art, and religion.

• Earliest coins: Punch-marked coins (6th century BCE).

• Later coins bore portraits, deities, and dynastic symbols (e.g., Indo-Greek and Gupta coins).

(e) Dating of Archaeological Sites

Techniques used:

1. Stratigraphy – older layers lie below younger ones.

2. Radiocarbon (C-14) Dating – measures decay of carbon isotopes (up to 50,000 years).

3. Thermoluminescence – for pottery and burnt clay.

4. Dendrochronology – tree-ring dating (limited to wood-based sites).

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🟣 2. Literary Sources

Literary sources are written texts—religious or secular—that provide insights into beliefs, institutions, and events.
They are classified into indigenous (Indian) and foreign accounts.

(a) Indigenous Literature

i. Primary Literature

• Texts created in the same period as events described.

• Example: Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, Ashokan edicts.

ii. Secondary Literature

• Composed after the events, interpreting or retelling history.

• Example: Puranas, Itihasas (Ramayana, Mahabharata), Buddhist and Jain chronicles.

iii. Religious Literature

• Hindu: Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Epics, Puranas.

• Buddhist: Tripitakas (Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma), Jatakas.

• Jain: Agamas, Kalpasutra.

iv. Secular Literature

• Includes texts on law, polity, science, grammar, and drama.

• Example:

  • Arthashastra (Kautilya) – politics and economy.

  • Manusmriti – social and legal code.

  • Kalidasa’s plays – court life and society.

  • Panini’s Ashtadhyayi – Sanskrit grammar and social structure.

v. Myths and Legends

• Mythical accounts often reflect symbolic truths about social or political order.

• Example: The story of Purusha Sukta in Rigveda reflects varna hierarchy.

vi. Problem of Dating

• Many ancient texts were transmitted orally for centuries before written form.

• Thus, determining exact dates is difficult (e.g., Vedas dated between 1500–1000 BCE).

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(b) Foreign Accounts

Foreign travelers and scholars recorded valuable information about Indian polity, economy, and culture.

These accounts supplement archaeological and literary data, though sometimes biased.

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🟢 II. Prehistoric and Protohistoric India

🟣 1. Pastoralism and Food Production

The transition from hunting-gathering to food production marks the Neolithic Revolution (around 7000 BCE onwards).

(a) Neolithic Phase

• First evidence: Mehrgarh (Baluchistan, 7000 BCE).

• Tools: Polished stone axes, microliths, pottery.

• Settlements: Mud-brick houses; agriculture and animal domestication (cattle, sheep, goats).

• Sites: Burzahom (Kashmir), Koldihwa (UP), Chirand (Bihar), Daojali Hading (Assam).

• Economy: Early cultivation of wheat, barley, rice; barter exchange.

(b) Chalcolithic Phase (Copper-Stone Age)

• Time: c. 2000–700 BCE.

• Tools: Copper along with stone implements.

• Settlements: Permanent villages; storage pits; painted pottery.

• Major sites:

  • Inamgaon, Daimabad (Maharashtra)

  • Ahar (Rajasthan)

  • Navdatoli (MP)

• Economy: Agriculture (millets, barley) and animal husbandry; inter-regional trade in copper and beads.

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🟢 III. The Indus / Harappan Civilization (c. 2600–1900 BCE)

Origin and Extent

• Flourished in the northwestern subcontinent – modern Pakistan and western India.

• Spread over 1.25 million sq. km.

• Major sites:

  • Harappa (Punjab)

  • Mohenjo-Daro (Sindh)

  • Dholavira (Gujarat)

  • Kalibangan (Rajasthan)

  • Lothal (Gujarat) – dockyard

  • Rakhigarhi (Haryana) – one of the largest sites

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Settlement Pattern

• Well-planned urban grid system, with streets at right angles.

• Drainage system, granaries, citadel (administrative center) and lower town (residential).

• Standardized brick sizes indicate centralized planning.

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Craft Specialization and Economy

• Crafts: Bead-making, pottery, metalwork, shell and ivory carving.

• Metals: Copper, bronze, gold, silver.

• Trade:

  • Internal: Baluchistan, Gujarat, and Punjab regions.

  • External: Mesopotamia, Oman (Magan), Bahrain (Dilmun).

  • Evidence: Seals, weights, and Mesopotamian references to “Meluhha.”

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Religion

• Seals: Proto-Shiva (Pashupati), Mother Goddess, sacred animals.

• Fire altars: Found at Kalibangan and Lothal.

• Absence of temples or idols – religion likely naturalistic and fertility-based.

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Society and Polity

• Social organization based on urban classes and occupations.

• Absence of large royal monuments → possible merchant-administrative oligarchy.

• Uniform weights and seals suggest centralized authority.

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Decline (After 1900 BCE)

Possible causes:

1. Environmental degradation and river shifts (e.g., drying of Saraswati).

2. Floods or earthquakes.

3. Decline in trade with Mesopotamia.

4. Gradual desertion, not sudden destruction.

The Indus Civilization marks the First Urbanization in India.

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🟢 IV. Vedic and Later Vedic Periods (1500–600 BCE)

1. The Aryan Debates

• Aryans: Indo-European-speaking pastoralists migrating from Central Asia or the Steppes.

• Debate: Indigenous vs. Migratory origin (still discussed in modern historiography).

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2. Vedic Literature

• Rigveda (oldest, c. 1500–1000 BCE) – hymns to gods like Indra, Agni, Varuna.

• Later Vedic texts (1000–600 BCE): Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, Brahmanas, Upanishads.

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3. Political and Social Institutions

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4. Theories of the State

• Divine theory (king as god’s representative).

• Social contract theory (Mahabharata mentions the people choosing Manu as king).

• Dandaniti (law and punishment) as means of governance.

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5. Social Stratification

• Varna system evolved (Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra).

• Gotra system introduced.

• Patriarchal family with growing private property rights.

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6. Religious and Philosophical Ideas

• Transition from ritualism (Brahmanas) to philosophical speculation (Upanishads).

• Idea of Karma, Samsara, Moksha emerged.

• Worship shifted from nature gods to abstract concepts like Brahman and Atman.

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7. Iron Technology and Megaliths

• Iron introduced c. 1000 BCE → expansion of agriculture, especially in Ganga valley.

• Megaliths (South India): Burials marked by large stones; found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala.

  • Evidence of iron use, warrior elites, and complex societies.

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🟢 V. Expansion of State System and Second Urbanization (600–300 BCE)

1. Mahajanapadas

• By 6th century BCE, 16 major states (Mahajanapadas) emerged:

  • Monarchies: Magadha, Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa

  • Republics (Gana-Sanghas): Sakyas, Mallas, Vajji, Kambojas

Sources: Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya, Jain Bhagavati Sutra.

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2. Economic and Social Developments

• Use of iron ploughs, urban crafts, and surplus agriculture.

• Punch-marked coins facilitated trade.

• Rise of merchant guilds (Shrenis).

• Formation of urban centers like Rajgir, Kaushambi, Ujjain, Vaishali → marks Second Urbanization in India.

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3. Emergence of Heterodox Sects

(a) Jainism

• Founded by Mahavira (6th century BCE).

• Doctrine: Ahimsa, Aparigraha, Anekantavada.

• Texts: Acharanga Sutra.

(b) Buddhism

• Founded by Gautama Buddha (563–483 BCE).

• Teachings: Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Middle Way.

• Texts: Tripitakas.

(c) Ajivikas

• Believed in Niyati (fate); emphasized strict asceticism.

• Patronized by Bindusara and Ashoka before conversion.

These sects challenged Vedic ritualism and Brahmanical orthodoxy, promoting ethics and equality.

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✅ In Summary