ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

• The Harappans built planned cities with a remarkable system of sewers, water facilities and drainage channels.
• WHY THE PERIOD OF PRE-HISTORY CALLED SO?


  THE ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES ARE THE ONLYS SOURCE OF EXPLORATION , WRITTEN HISTORY NOT AVAILABLE
• HOW PRE-HISTORY DIFFERENT FROM PROTO-HISTORY

  WHEN WRITTEN RECORDS ARE SUPPLEMENTING THE ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCED ITS PROTO HISTORY
• EARLIEST FOSSIL OF MAN WAS FROM PLEISTOCENE AGE AND FOUND FROM HATHNORA IN M.P
• CHRONOLOGY OF HUMAN BEINGS DEVELOPMENT

  HOMO HABILIS -> HOMO ERECTUS -> HOMO SAPEINS
• STONE AGE IS CALLED SO BECAUSE OF USE OF STONE TOOLS TO HUNT ANIMALS THAT AGE
• CULTURE IS DEFINED AS A WAY OF LIFE AMNIFESTED THROUGH ART, CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
• WHEN CULTURAL PHENOMENON GETS UNIFORMITY ACROSS LARGE AREA ITS CALLED ZENITH OR CIVILIZATION
• HOW MANY PHASES THE STONE AGE IS DIVIDED INTO AND WHAT WAS THE BASIS OF DIVISION

  3 PHASES - PALEOLITHIC,MESOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC
• OLD STONE STAGE /PALEOLITHIC AGE IS THE EARLIEST PHASE OF STONE AGE CULTURE FROM 5,00,000 B.C. TO 10,000 B.C.
• RADIOCARBON DATING USED TO DETERMINE HUMAN EVOLUTION
• PALEOLITHIC MAN USED LARGE STONES FOR TOOLS and USED FLAKING TECHNIQUE TO GET DESIRED SHAPE
• COMMON TOOLS USED BY P. MAN ARE CHOPPERS, HAND AXES, CLEAVERS
• MAJOR PALEOLITHIC SITES IN SOUTH INDIA ARE ATTIRAPAKKAM, WATGAL, UTNUR, BRAHMAGIRI.
• PALEOLITHIC PHASE FURTHER SUBDIVIDED INTO UPPER PALEOLITHIC, MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC, AND LOWER PALEOLITHIC ON THE BASIS OF TYPES OF STONE TOOLS USED
• UPPER P. EVIDENCE FOUND IN PRE HISTORIC PAINTINGS IN BHIMBETKA
• IN UPPER P. PHASE PEOPLE STARTED USING PARALLEL SIDED BLADES AND SMALLER TOOLS
• SWASTIKA AND TRISHUL SYMBOLS WERE FOUND IN BHIMBETKA PAINTINGS
• CHARACTERISTIC TOOLS USED DURING MESOLITHIC AGE ARE MICROLITHS /SMALLER STONE TOOLS WHICH WERE GEOMETRICAL IN SHAPE
• MESOLITHIC AND PALEOLITHIC PEOPLE WERE NOMADIC IN LIFESTYLE
• LARGEST NO. OF MICROLITHS FOUND FROM BAGOR RAJASTHAN
• POLISHED STONE TOOLS WITH FINE CUTTING EDGE WERE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE NEOLITHIC AGE
• REVOLUTIONARY THING DURING NEOLITHIC AGE WAS BEGINNING OF AGRICULTURE BY WOMEN. WIDESPREAD PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE BY PEOPLE LED TO TRANSFORMATION OF LIFE TO SETTLED AND SEDENTARY
• PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE STARTED FROM MEHARGARH, PAKISTAN ALOS REFERRED TO AS EARLIEST FARMING SETTLEMENT OF AOUTH ASIA
• PROMINENET SITES OF KASHMIRI NEOLITHIC CULTURE WERE - BURZAHOM AND GUFKRAL. WITH PRESENCE OF PIT DWELLINGS WITH ANIMAL BONES INSIDE
• THE KASHMIRI NEOLITHIC CULTURE BURIAL PRACTICE HAD MASTER TO BE BURIED ALONG WITH DOMESTIC DOGS
• NEOLITHIC CULTURE SITES IN N.E. INDIA ARE DAOJALI HADING (ASSAM) AND NAPCHIK ( MANIPUR)
• ASH MOUNDS FOUND IN SOUTHERN INDIA NEOLITHIC SITES
• FIRST METAL DISCOVERED WAS COPPER IN RAJSATHAN WITH MINES IN AHAR AND GILUND.
• PHASE IF CALLED CHALCOLITHIC BECAUSE PEOPLE STARTED USING COPPER TOOLS ALONG WITH STONE TOOLS
• DURING CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD PEOPLE STARTED TO SETLLE DOWN AND PRODUCING ABUNDANT FOODGRAINS AND LOOK FOR OTHER ACTIVITIES LIKE TRADE AND COMMERCE
• BLACK AND RED WARE POTTERY WAS FOUND IN CHALCLOTHIC PHASE
• SURPLUS PRODUCTION OF FOODGRAIN, MULTIPLIED POPULATION AND INCREASE DENSITY LED TO FORMATION OF IVC/ FIRST URBANISATION OF INDIAN CULTURE/HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION/BRONZE CIVILIZATION
• IVC WAS THE LARGEST MAONG CONTEMPORARY CIVILISATIONS IN 13 LAKH SQ KM IN TRIANGULAR SHAPE.
• NORTHERN MOST PART IS MANDA (JAMMU0, WESTERN MOST -SUTKAGENDOR IN IRANIAN COAST, EATERMOST ALAMGIRPUR (WEST U.P) AND SOTHERN MOST OS DAIMABAD (MAHARASHTRA)
• THE CITIES IN IVC WERE DIVIDED INTO-LOWER AND UPPER TOWNS. UPPER TOWN WAS BASED ON CITADEL OR ELEVATED PLATFORM RESIDED BY TRADERS AND MERCHANTS WHICH WERE HIGH CLASS /ELITES
• THE HOUSES WERE CONSTRUCTED IN IVC ALONG THE RAOD WITH THE ADJOINING ROADS INTERSECTING AT RIGHT ANGLES FORMING A GRID PATTERN. THE HOUSE ENTRANCE WERE ON BACKSIDE WITH COURTYARD AND SEPARATE BATHROOMS. THE DOMESTIC DRAININGE JOINED THE MAIN DRAINAGE WHICH WAS COVERED WITH STONESLABS
• PRESENCE OF SEPARATE BATHROOMS AND COVERED DRAINS BY STONE SLABS INDICATE PRESENCE OF HYGIENE IN IVC.
• MOHENJODARO WAS LARGEST HARAPPAN CITY. THE LARGEST MONUMENT OF ITS IS A GRANARY KNOWN AS GREAT GRANARY MADE OF BAKED BRICKS TO COLLECT SURPLUS FOODGRAINS. ANOTHER STRUCTURE IS GREAT BATH FOR COMMUNITY BATHING WHICH IS INSULATED BY BITUMEN ON ITS FLOOR TO PREVENT SEEPAGE OF WATER WITH A FLIGHT OF STEPS SURROUNDING
• HARAPPA LOCATED ON BANKS OF RAVI HAS 6 GRANARIES IN ROWS . IT ALSO HAS LARGE NO. OF BURIALS KNOWN AS CEMETRY-H .AT ONE PLACE 37 BURIALS WERE FOUND CALLED AS R-37. PLACING OF BODY IN NORTH SOUTH DIRECTION.