Information Obtained from Archaeological Evidence

Archaeology provides valuable evidence for understanding India’s ancient past. Artifacts such as inscriptions, coins, monuments, and remains of ancient structures help historians understand the culture, religion, politics, economy, and society of different periods. Below is a detailed account of important information obtained from archaeological sources:

1. Early Religious Inscriptions

• The Boghazköy inscriptions, dating to approximately 1400 BCE and located in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), were unearthed in Hattusa (now Bogazköy), the capital of the Hittite state. These inscriptions are crucial for understanding the Indo-European presence in Anatolia and reference the name of Vedic deities such as:

1. Mitra
2. Varuna
3. Indra
4. Nasatya (another name for the Ashwini Kumaras, the twin gods of health)

🔹 This suggests that Vedic culture or its influence had spread beyond the Indian subcontinent during the late Bronze Age. These names appear in Hittite-Mitanni treaties, showing Indo-Aryan presence or influence in that region.

2. Development of the Bhagavata Religion

• The Garuda Pillar Inscription at Vidisha (Besnagar) in present-day Madhya Pradesh is an important archaeological discovery.
• It was installed by a Greek (Yavana) ambassador named Heliodorus, who visited the court of King Bhagabhadra (a Shunga ruler) around the 2nd century BCE.
• The pillar is dedicated to Vishnu (Vasudeva) and refers to Heliodorus as a Bhagavata (devotee of Bhagwan Vishnu).

🔹 This shows the early growth of Bhagavata religion (Vaishnavism) and its appeal even to foreigners.

3. Earliest Mention of ‘Bharatvarsha’

• The Hathigumpha Inscription of King Kharavela of Kalinga (Odisha) is the first known inscription to mention the term “Bharatavarsha“.
• This inscription is engraved in a cave in Udayagiri Hills near Bhubaneswar and belongs to the 1st century BCE.

🔹 The term Bharatvarsha refers to the Indian subcontinent and reflects the idea of a cultural and geographical unity in ancient India.

4. Earliest Record of Famine

• The Sohgaura Copper Plate Inscription, found near Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), gives the first recorded evidence of famine.
• It belongs to the Mauryan period and mentions measures taken by the state to prevent or manage famine, such as establishing grain storage (granaries).

5. First Record of Hun Invasion

• The Bhitari Pillar Inscription of Skandagupta (a Gupta emperor) gives information about the first Hun invasion in India.
• It mentions how Skandagupta defeated the Huns, who were a powerful Central Asian tribe invading India during the 5th century CE.

6. Earliest Written Evidence of Sati-Pratha

• The Eran Inscription from Madhya Pradesh, during the rule of Bhanugupta (a Gupta ruler), provides the first written reference to the Sati system.
• It records a woman burning herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

🔹 This shows the early existence of Sati-Pratha (the custom of widow self-immolation), although it became more widespread in later centuries.

7. Information on Silk Weavers

• The Mandsaur Inscription, dating to the 5th–6th century CE, provides details about a community of silk weavers.
• It mentions their economic contributions, religious donations, and cultural presence in the region.

🔹 It highlights the growth of urban artisan classes and textile industries during that time.

8. Evidence of Prehistoric Houses (Gartavas)

• At the Neolithic archaeological site of Burzahom in Kashmir, remains of pit dwellings (called Gartavas or underground houses) have been discovered.
• These houses had stairs to go down, indicating adaptation to cold climate and unique architectural styles.

9. Ancient Coins and Monetary Evidence

• The earliest coins in India are called “Ahat coins“, meaning punch-marked coins.
  🔹 In ancient texts, they are also referred to as “Karshapanas“.
  🔹 These coins were made of silver and used in trade during the Mahajanapada and Mauryan periods.
• Yavana (Greek) rulers were the first to inscribe writing on coins in India.
  🔹 This started during the Indo-Greek period, and coins bore the king’s name and deity figures in Greek and Brahmi scripts.
• The coin of Samudragupta, showing him playing the Veena, proves that he was not only a powerful ruler but also a patron of music and arts.
• Roman coins have been discovered from Arikamedu, a coastal town near Puducherry (Tamil Nadu).
  🔹 These coins prove active trade between Rome and South India in the early centuries of the Common Era.

10. Early Indian Foreign Relations

• India had early cultural and trade relations with Southeast Asian regions such as:

1. Suvarnabhumi (modern-day Myanmar/Burma)
2. Swarnadvipa (modern-day Malaysia)
3. Kamboja (modern Cambodia)
4. Yavadvipa (modern Java, Indonesia)

🔹 Indian merchants, scholars, and religious teachers traveled to these regions, spreading Hinduism, Buddhism, Indian scripts, and art.

Inscription	Associated Ruler / Dynasty	Details
Hathigumpha Inscription	Kalinga King Kharavela	Oldest reference to Bharatvarsha; describes military campaigns.
Junagadh (Girnar) Inscription	Rudradaman I (Shaka ruler)	Written in Sanskrit; praises the king’s military and public works.
Nashik Inscription	Gautami Balashri, mother of Gautamiputra Satakarni	Highlights the power of the Satavahana dynasty.
Prayag Pillar Inscription	Samudragupta (Gupta ruler)	A detailed record of his conquests; considered a political charter.
Aihole Inscription	Pulakeshin II (Chalukya ruler)	Composed by poet Ravikirti; gives Chalukya history and battles.
Mandsaur Inscription	Malwa ruler Yashodharman or local guilds	Describes silk weavers; insight into economy and local society.
Gwalior Inscription	Pratihara King Bhoja	Describes the king’s achievements; also mentions a large temple.
Bhitari & Junagadh Inscriptions	Skandagupta (Gupta ruler)	Describes his fight against the Huns and administration.
Devapada Inscription	Vijay Sen (King of Bengal)	Important for eastern Indian regional history.

📝 Note:

• The study of inscriptions is known as Epigraphy.
• Epigraphic evidence is extremely important for reconstructing history where written texts are missing or silent.

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What is the Prehistoric Period?

The Prehistoric Period refers to the time in human history before writing was invented. Since there are no written records from this period, we understand it only through archaeological discoveries, such as tools, bones, fossils, and cave paintings.

• In contrast, the time period after writing was developed, where written records are available, is called history.

What is the Protohistoric Period?

• The Protohistoric Period is the transitional phase between prehistory and history.
• It refers to the time when writing had started appearing, but we have not yet been able to fully decipher or understand those writings.
• Example: The Indus Valley Civilization is considered protohistoric because although it had a script (Indus script), it has not yet been successfully read.

Different regions of India had distinct prehistoric cultures. These are identified through settlements, pottery, and tools found at archaeological sites.

Culture Name	Region / Site	Period	Special Features
Malwa Culture	Central India (MP)	Chalcolithic	Use of painted pottery, farming, and cattle rearing
Burzahom Culture	Kashmir	Neolithic	Pit dwellings, stone tools, domestication
Jorwe Culture	Maharashtra	Chalcolithic	Seen at Inamgaon; farming and advanced pottery
Southern Neolithic	Karnataka, Andhra	Neolithic	Stone tools, early agriculture, megalithic burial sites
Eastern Neolithic	Bihar, West Bengal	Neolithic	Use of polished tools, beginning of rice cultivation

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Pottery is a key indicator of technological progress and culture.

Type of Pottery	Features
Black and Red Ware	Black inside and red outside; found across cultures
Grey Ware	Simple, wheel-made grey pottery
Red Ware	Commonly found; made from red clay
Bright Grey Ware	Fine quality grey pottery, indicating urban life
Brown-Red Ware	Less common, transitional between cultures

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Homo sapiens and Human Entry into India

• Homo sapiens (modern humans), also known as ‘knowledgeable man’, entered the Indian subcontinent around 30,000–40,000 years ago.
• These early humans were hunter-gatherers and moved in small groups.

Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)

• Time Period: 2 million BCE – 10,000 BCE
• Main features:

1. People lived by hunting wild animals and gathering wild fruits.
2. They used crude stone tools, especially made of quartzite or crystal-like stone.
3. The invention of fire was a major achievement.
4. The first Indian Paleolithic tool was found at Pallavaram (Tamil Nadu).
5. Robert Bruce Foote, a British geologist, discovered the first Paleolithic tool in India in 1863.

Neolithic Age (New Stone Age)

• Time Period: 7000 BCE – 1000 BCE
• Main features:

1. People started farming and growing crops (agriculture).
2. They began to live in permanent settlements.
3. Domestication of animals began; the dog was the first animal domesticated.
4. The invention of the wheel happened in this period.
5. The first evidence of rice cultivation in India comes from Koldihwa (Uttar Pradesh).
6. Mehrgarh (in present-day Balochistan, Pakistan) is the oldest site of agriculture, where wheat and barley were the earliest crops grown.

Chalcolithic Age (Copper-Stone Age)

• Time Period: 3000 BCE – 700 BCE
• This was a transitional age when people began to use copper tools along with stone tools.
• Inamgaon (in Maharashtra) was a large Chalcolithic settlement associated with the Jorwe Culture.
• The first metal used by humans was copper, and the first copper tool discovered is an axe found at Athirampakkam (Tamil Nadu).

• The earliest human fossils in India were found in the Narmada Valley, which provides evidence of human existence in the Pleistocene period.
• Fossil remains of animals and early humans have also been found in the Shivalik Hills (in the Himalayan foothills).
• The white-browed gibbon of Assam is the only anthropoid ape found in India today and is considered an evolutionary relative of early humans.
• The oldest city in India is Mohenjo-daro, located in present-day Pakistan. In the Sindhi language, it means “Mound of the Dead”.

Archaeological Evidence and Prehistoric Ages

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