Prehistory and Protohistory in India and Pakistan c4: Introduction

Prehistory and Protohistory in India and Pakistan c4

Language: English

c4.s1 Diffusion of Civilization — 2 parts
c4.s2 Cul-De-Sac — 11 parts
c4.s3 1. Sind and Panjab — 1 part
c4.s4 2. U. P., Bihar and Bengal — 1 part
c4.s5 3. Assam — 1 part
c4.s6 4. Madhya Pradesh — 1 part
c4.s7 5. Maharashtra — 1 part
c4.s8 6. Andhra — 1 part
c4.s9 7. Karnatak or Mysore Plateau — 1 part
c4.s10 8. Kerala — 1 part
c4.s11 9. Tamilnad — 1 part
c4.s12 10. Orissa — 1 part
c4.s13 11. Gujarat — 3 parts
c4.s14 12 Rajputana (Rajasthan) — 2 parts
c4.s15 13 Hilly and Forested Area — 2 parts
c4.s16 Attraction and Isolation — 6 parts
c4.s17 Civilization and Environment — 8 parts
c4.s18 Prehistory — 2 parts
c4.s19 Archaeology — 1 part
c4.s20 Proto-History — 3 parts
c4.s21 History of Prehistoric Archaeology — 3 parts
c4.s22 Geology — 15 parts
c4.s23 Three Ages — 6 parts
c4.s24 Palaeontology and Archaeology — 8 parts
c4.s25 Economic Bases — 2 parts
c4.s26 Technological Stages — 3 parts
c4.s27 Relative Chronology — 1 part
c4.s28 Discoveries in Western Asia — 5 parts
c4.s29 Human History — 2 parts
c4.s30 Prehistory in India — 4 parts
c4.s31 Indian Cosmogony — 3 parts
c4.s32 Birth of Civilization — 53 parts

Introduction

INDIA has been, for the first time in her history, grouped into major linguistic states. Recognition has been given to a slow historical process. But the process was not only historical. It is related to a certain *extent* with the geographical (including the geological) features of the land. These have shaped not only her history, but prehistory and proto-history as well. For, availability of raw material, favourable climatic conditions, easy means of communication etc., have hampered or accelerated the progress of man.

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A brief outline of the present set up is necessary for two other reasons: This is directly related to the geographical position of India in relation to Western Asia, and Africa on one side and South-East Asia on the other and to the problem of the origins of civilization.

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*Routes*

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India forms a kind of rhomboidal peninsula¹ in the continent of Asia. The north-west-south-east lying Himalayan ranges have given her a certain seclusion from outside influences—both political and cultural as well as climatic, still these ranges have always been penetrated at several times in India's past history. Particularly this has been so in the north-west where the two famous routes—the Khyber and the Bolan Passes to and from Afghanistan and Baluchistan respectively²—have let in invaders and refugees, traders and travellers, from Central and Western Asia. Thus the Indian seclusion has been violated. And once the foreigners came in they have spread into the Indo-Gangetic plains and beyond by the most suitable lines of communication.

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¹ It is interesting to note (as pointed out by HOLDICH, Colonel Sir THOMAS HUNGERFORD, *India*, 1924, p. 3) that this shape was first defined by the Greek geographer STRABO.

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² Recently FAIRSERVIS has stressed the importance of the Gomel Pass in Afghanistan, *Man*, 1956, p. 156.

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India is, however, approachable by the sea from the west and from the south and south-east as well by the difficult, hilly and thickly forested country on the north-east. The west has been the major gateway during the historical times, but evidence is now accumulating to suggest that this was so during the prehistoric as well as proto-historic times. And hence scholars like HOLDICH said³ long before the new discoveries were made that "India had been from time immemorial peopled by immigrants." Likewise, while India undoubtedly influenced the countries of South-East Asia, during historical times, she has also received influences from the same quarters during the Late Stone Age period and after called here 'Neolithic'. All these cultural influences from the west and north-west, east, south-east and north-east did not *at once* nor uniformly spread all over India, but spread gradually, depending upon several factors, among which geographical were the most important.

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³ *Op. cit.*, p. 1.

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*The Fertile Crescent*

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Now the question arises: "Why should India be always at the receiving end?" Should not have some movements radiated out from India? It has been mentioned above that the role of India as a civilizing influence in historical times *vis-à-vis* South-East Asia and Central Asia has been amply demonstrated. But with regard to the beginnings of civilization which belong to the realm of proto-history it is held that the regions of Western Asia such as Mesopotamia, Syria and Iran were more favourably situated for the birth and spread of civilization, particularly, agriculture and domestication of animals. This belt rising in Egypt and passing over Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Iran was called the "Fertile Crescent" by BREASTED.¹

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¹ This is well reviewed by CHILDE, GORDON, *New Light on the Most Ancient East*, 1958, p. 25.

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Map of the "amphitheatre," with 1,500- and 3,000-foot contours and indication of the vegetation zones. After Times Atlas I, Pl. 8 (1957). Cf. a rainfall map (e.g. Braidwood, 1952a; Dubertret and Weulersse, 1940; Fisher, 1952). Fig. 1 Map of the "amphitheatre" in W. Asia, showing four of the earliest sites, viz. Jarmo, Jericho, Sialk and Hacilar

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The discovery of very ancient sites in all the aforesaid countries had strengthened this hypothesis. And in a large number of cases, these civilizations were earlier than the Indus Civilization. Further it could be shown that some at least of the Indus objects were inspired by those of Western Asia.

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Though the definition of the "Fertile Crescent" has now been modified by BRAIDWOOD⁵ in the light of subsequent research in the Kurdish highlands of Iraq and Iran, still the main hypothesis viz. "that India is situated on the periphery of the cultural spread arising in Western Asia" stands. (*See Fig. 1*).

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⁵ In the *Illustrated London News*, October, 22, 1960, pp. 693-99; and BRAIDWOOD and HOWE, *Prehistoric Investigations in Iraqi Kurdistan*, p. 73.

Diffusion of Civilization

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These civilizing forces having entered India either from the north-west and/or west marched along the main lines of communication, their progress depending upon their inherent vitality as well as on the strength of the opposing natural and man-made forces.

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This question of the indigenous origin or the diffusion of civilization to India has now attained a crucial stage becuase 20 years ago one had to account for only one early civilization, confined to a compact geographical area, almost adjoining Western Asia. Now several Chalcolithic cultures falling within the Proto-historic have been brought to light from the Gangetic Valley, Rajasthan, Central India, Saurashtra and the Deccan.

Cul-De-Sac

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But having entered India, these cultures or the immigrant people, have not gone beyond. This is supposed to be due to the sea on either side of the peninsular India. Thus the new forces got into a blind road or country—a geographical *cul-de-sac*.

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There was also another *cul-de-sac*. Within India, there are even now thickly forested and hilly regions, where primitive, aboriginal tribes are concentrated. It is believed that these people have been driven thither as refugees by the advancing civilizations from outside, from more favourable areas which they once occupied during the Stone Ages.

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However, it has not been archaeologically ascertained whether the ancestors of these tribes had not settled there from prehistoric times.⁷

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⁶ HOLDICH, *op. cit.*, p. 1.

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⁷ Cf. DANI, A. H., *Prehistory and Proto-history of Eastern India*, p. 4, "But there is no evidence to show that these hill tribes were refugees from the great plains."

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PHYSIOGRAPHICAL AND CULTURAL DIVISIONS OF INDIA AND SIXTEEN EARLY KINGDOMS (JANAPADAS) C. 500 B.C.

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Fig. 2 Early Historical Centres of Civilization and Physiographical Divisions of India

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*Physio-Cultural Divisions*

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Having thus indicated the position of India in its Asian or continental context, we shall turn to its make up as defined by geography, language and ethnic composition.

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Let us first define the areas or regions.¹ (See Fig. 2)

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¹ SPATE, O. H. K., India and Pakistan (London 1954). He gives a very detailed regional division (pp. 352-61 and fig. 62) which for the present purpose is unnecessary. SPATE'S remarks on the difficulties of a proper division are worth reading. And, SUBBARAO, B., The Personality of India (Baroda, 1958), p. 16 and fig. 6. SUBBARAO'S sketchy picture is here amplified wherever necessary.

1. Sind and Panjab

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The Indus basin which drains central Himalayas is framed by the Aravallis and the desert of Rajputana in the east and the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges on the north-west and west respectively. It is further divided by the junction of the hills from the west and the desert in the east into Lower Indus (Sind) and Upper Indus (Panjab) basins. The latter includes (i) the sub-montane Indus region comprising the Peshawar and other plains, the Potwar plateau and the Salt-Range. (ii) The two Panjabs.

2. U. P., Bihar and Bengal

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The Ganges basin is likewise divisible into (a) Indo-Gangetic Divide or the Upper Ganges Plain, (b) the Middle Ganges Plain and the Deltaic region. These respectively constitute the Delhi, South Panjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. Towards the south-east and south, the Gangetic plain abuts on the old Peninsular landmass and thus all these three states share its prehistory.

3. Assam

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Further eastwards the Brahmaputra Valley forms Assam. But geomorphologically Assam consists of three entirely different regions belonging to three structural formations, the Himalayan frontier; the main Assam or Brahmaputra Valley which is an extension of the Indo-Gangetic trough and the Shillong Plateau which essentially belongs to the older peninsula. (See Fig. 113)

4. Madhya Pradesh

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Bounded by the Aravallis in the west, the athwart lying Vindhyas in the south and the Ganga-Yamuna doab in the east-north-east is the Malwa Plateau and Bundelkand. Its southern portion is built up by the Deccan Lavas; but the north has a varied composition. On the west and north it is drained by the Banas, Chambal, Sipra and their tributaries; in the south by the Narbada, in the east by the Son and south-east by the upper courses of the Ken and the Betwa.

5. Maharashtra

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South of the Vindhyas is Maharashtra, its limits almost co-extensive with the Deccan lavas. It includes three or four former cultural units, Khandesh, Desh or Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Konkan. The most important drainages are the Tapi-Purna, Wardha-Vainganga and the upper Krishna-Godavari, whereas the Konkan which is a narrow strip of coastal plain is drained by numerous fast-flowing streams.

6. Andhra

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Andhra is mostly constituted by the middle and lower basins of the Krishna and Godavari, which flow through some of the oldest rock formations in India.

7. Karnatak or Mysore Plateau

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This is a sort of triangle formed by the Eastern and Western Ghats. Through the upper flow the Krishna and its tributaries; the Tungabhadra, Hageri, upper Pennar and Kaveri constitute the main drainage of the lower.

8. Kerala

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Likewise, the still narrower coastal plain on either side of the Palghat gap in the Western Ghat is Malabar or Kerala. It is drained principally by the Periyar and the Pampa.

9. Tamilnad

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This is believed to be a simple coastal belt, but as SPATE has shown, it is not so simple as that. It is a great quadrant, lying between the sea and the Deccan Plateau. The coastal plain proper extends from the Krishna to the Cape. But this is broken by the Kaveri delta. Inland are the discontinuous Tamilnad hills. In fact, the whole region is capable of six sub-divisions, though here it is treated as one. Its major rivers are the Pennar, Palar, Pennaiyar, Kaveri and the Vaigai.

10. Orissa

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Orissa, ancient Utkal, is also regarded as an emergent low-land, but like the Tamilnad consists of the deltas of the Mahanadi, Brahmani and Vaitarni, a zone of older alluvium, and laterite plateaus and hills on the west, which form part of the Indian landmass.

11. Gujarat

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Gujarat consists of three distinct units—Kutch, Saurashtra and Gujarat. While the first is mostly marshy, and sandy, but having a rocky core, the great mass of Saurashtra is formed by the Deccan lavas, the rest by earlier sandstone rocks, while the coast is made by the recent alluvium. It is probable that not long ago Saurashtra was an island.

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The major rivers of Saurashtra are the Bhadar and the Shetrunji. The basin of the former is considered the richest agricultural area, the other favoured regions being the Gohilwad low-land along the Nal depression and Sorath, a portion of south-west Saurashtra.

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Gujarat proper has three zones : the purely coastal belt of Southern and Central Gujarat, then the large tract formed by the eolian sand and alluvium (old and new) formed by the Sabarmati, Mahi and other smaller, parallel flowing streams and the easternmost hilly and jungle country which forms, as it were, a bridge between Malwa, Gujarat and Rajputana.

12 Rajputana (Rajasthan)

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Rajputana is made up of two natural divisions : Mewar and Marwar. The country to the west of the Aravallis is mostly sandy and covered by scrubby, stunted acacias, while the eastern part is more hilly, less sandy and fertile. It is being increasingly felt that much of Western Rajputana was formerly a sea. The latter as well as the eastern part of Bikaner drained by the ancient Sarasvati and Drishadvati is built up by the Gangetic-like alluvium.⁹ The Banas is the major river of Mewar. It later joins the Chambal which falls into the Gangetic basin. The Luni is the only river of some consequence in Marwar.

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⁹ This is writer's observation.

13 Hilly and Forested Area

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These areas are interposed or intersected by three or four hilly and forest regions, viz. (i) the great Central Indian belt where several rock formations, the Satpuras, Vindhyas, Maikal, Chota Nagpur and Orissan meet ; primeval forests still flourish in parts of Malwa, Khandesh, Central Provinces (M.P.), Chattisgarh, Chota Nagpur, Andhra and Orissa. This almost forms a solid continuous block in the heart of India.¹⁰ Here reside the Bhils, Dangs, Gonds, Santhals, Uraons, Gadabas, Marias, Savaras and many others. (ii) Likewise the Aravallis still harbour the Bhils. (iii) while along the Western Ghats we have the Warlis, Thakurs, Dhanagars and further south in the Nilgiris Todas, Kurumbars and others. (iv) The discontinuous Eastern Ghats in the present Andhra State are the home of the Baigas, Chenchus, Reddis, Savaras and others.

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¹⁰ This can best be seen in the map No. 23 of National Atlas of India (in Hindi), Calcutta—Dehra-Dun, 1957.

Attraction and Isolation

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Among the physio-cultural regions, SUBBARAO regards (i) the Panjab, the Indo-Gangetic Divide, Gangetic Basin, Bengal, Malwa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnad as " Areas of Attraction or Nuclear Regions; " (2) Sind, Marwar, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Konkan, Kerala, Assam, as " Areas of Relative Isolation " and (3) the Aravallis, the Central Indian highlands and forests, as well as similar areas in Andhra as " Areas of Isolation or cul-de-sac."

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While there is no difficulty in fully accepting¹¹ the last category or group, there is considerable difference of opinion about the first two groups. For, SPATE includes among the nuclear regions Gujarat, and Saurashtra, and Kerala or Malabar, among others in the south.

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¹¹ Though even here it is necessary to prove by archaeological excavations, as HAIMENDORF suggested over 10 years ago, that these primitive tribes are comparatively recent arrivals in the area, and not residing there from time immemorial.

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The main grounds of difference between SPATE and SUBBARAO are that whereas to the former—the nuclear regions—represent the major agricultural areas which have been "perennially significant in Indian historical geography," to the latter, following RICHARDS¹² besides the agricultural potential, relation of the region to the main continental highways is also a major consideration. Since, from SUBBARAO'S point of view, Sind, Saurashtra, Gujarat and even Kerala are situated away from the highways, these are areas of semi-isolation.

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¹² RICHARDS, F. J., "Geographical Factors in Indian Archaeology", Indian Antiquary, Vol. LXII (1933), pp. 235-43.

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This may be. However, these areas are not truly isolated or even semi-isolated. The Indus Valley (besides being more fertile) and the entire west coast are open to direct contact with Western Asia and beyond with the Mediterranean countries. Hence throughout (even during the Early Stone Ages according to WHEELER) the protohistoric and historic times, developments in Western Asia have sooner or later reached India. And in fact, as will be seen in the sequel, Sind, Saurashtra, Gujarat and even Rajasthan show the earliest traces of civilization, including urbanization.

Civilization and Environment

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We are thus up against the exact role of geography and environmental factors in the development of civilization. Without going into much details, it is necessary to point out that even in the West, where formerly the "Fertile Crescent" was regarded as the cradle of civilization, now the hilly flanks characterized by the foothills and intermontane valleys at an elevation of 1250 to 3000 ft. above sea level in Iraqi Kurdistan are regarded as such. Here it appears that transition took place from the earlier food-gathering pattern of life to that of food production. For here more than anywhere else "the wild wheats and barley, the wild sheep, goats, pigs, cattle and horses were to be found in a single natural environment."

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However, after this was written, investigations are being continued in Iran. And it was found¹³ that such a zone of grassy and open oakland ran from Shiraz in Iran through highland Iraq and southern flanks of Turkey—a distance of some 12,00 miles. Hence BRAIDWOOD concluded, "It continues to appear that the more important generative factors in the appearance of effective plant and animal domestication are not to be sought in the facile explanation of environmental determinism."

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¹³ BRAIDWOOD, in Illustrated London News, October, 22, 1960, pp. 695-97.

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He further said that Jarmo or any other site examined by them was not in any way a unique instance in time and place wherein food production began. These were sites which happened to be those which the accident of archaeological discovery had brought forth.¹⁴

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¹⁴ Cf. also WRIGHT (in BRAIDWOOD and HOWE), Prehistoric Investigations in Iraqi Kurdistan, p. 75. "speculation about the effects of climatic change on the inception of agriculture is justified only after the fact of climatic change has been established" and this must be based on geological evidence.

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These revised views of an author who believed only a few years ago in a particular site in a particular area as the birth place of civilization are quite relavent to the problem we are discussing.

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Though India appears to be on the periphery of the culture spread in relation to Western Asia, and within India itself the present distribution of forests and the gradual removal of forest-cover from Sind, the Panjab, Saurashtra, Malwa, Uttar Pradesh (as even attested by literary evidence, for instance the burning of Khandavavana, the home of Nagas, for building the new capital of the Pandavas—Indraprastha—is vividly described in the *Mahabharata*) the concentration of primitive tribes in certain inaccessible forests and hills, and above all the increasing archaeological evidence—though all this points to the spread of civilization from west to east, *it still cannot be over-emphasized that our knowledge is relative, based on insufficient evidence (in some cases no evidence at all) and the fact that there is no unanimity among the archaeologists themselves whether the various Chalcolithic cultures which appear in the wake of the destruction or disappearance or gradual transformation of the Indus Civilization are purely indigenous or introduced (again) by movements and ideas from Western Asia.*

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Prehistoric archaeology in India is thus called upon to answer very vital questions. Let us see how far it has done so. However, with a view to following the sequel, let us define clearly the aims and scope of pre- and proto-historic archaeology and indicate its present position in India and Europe, of which it is an off-shoot.

Prehistory

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Prehistory means the history of a region, a country or a nation, people or race, before it took to or knew writing. This, like ordinary history, is not based on accounts of contemporary or later writers. Hence prehistory is also defined as an account of illiterate or preliterate people.

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How is then the history of such an illiterate people or country known? What are or can be its sources? In brief, anything that tells us its past history: language, place-names and study of the people's physical features, customs and manners, legends and traditions, their monuments; even a study of landforms, soil and vegetation and the animals may help to illustrate this story. Of all these several sources—language and linguistics, ethnography and ethnology, geography, geology, physical anthropology, flora and fauna, we are here concerned with archaeology alone.

Archaeology

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Archaeology means study of antiquities. These antiquities may belong to a historical period and thus fall into the sphere of historical archaeology. Others to a period beyond that. This earlier-than-history period is generally called pre-history and it suits well such countries as Africa, Australia and even England, France and Germany, for example, where except for some legends and traditions there was no systematic body of oral tradition or literature. India forms a major exception to this general notion. Here, though no regular, written accounts are available until the middle of the third century B.C., still it has a well developed literature—the Vedic and Sutra—the earliest of which easily goes back to 1,500 B.C. This literature can and has been a source of Indian history. But since it is (was) not written down, it is called here Proto-history.

Proto-History

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Likewise, the Indus Valley or Harappa Civilization, though included by some writers under Prehistory, should and is here included under proto-history.

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For, firstly, their authors were not illiterate, as amply demonstrated by their seals, and it is not their fault if we cannot decipher their script. Secondly, this civilization is one of the sources of the later-day Brahmanism and Hinduism. In a twofold way, thus, Indus Civilization is protohistoric for us. By this definition proto-history in India would also comprise the various Chalcolithic cultures which were contemporary with and very often immediate successors of the Indus Civilization. Their exact geographical scope and time range will be pointed out later.

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Prehistoric Archaeology then will deal with that period of time in India of which we have no legend, no tradition and no object, save stone (and bone) implements and remains of animals. This is not a very precise definition, but will, I find, serve our purpose. Briefly, then, prehistoric archaeology will comprise the various Stone Ages.

History of Prehistoric Archaeology

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The study of the Stone Ages is now over 100 years old in India, almost of the same age as in Western Europe and England. In these countries a suitable atmosphere was created around 1850 for the foundation of prehistoric archaeology. Though the interest in old objects—antiquarianism—was quite old, and though occasional discoveries of Stone Age tools had been reported from England and Germany as far back as 1715 and 1771 respectively,¹⁵ very few scholars including geologists were prepared to accept that the world was much older than 4,004 B.C. according to the interpretation of Old Testament.¹⁶ The geologists then believed that the various rock formations on the earth were not due to certain set principles, but sudden catastrophies. Hence the earlier discoveries of stone tools in association with bones of extinct animals went either unnoticed or were looked upon with suspicion.

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¹⁵ See, DANIEL, GLYN, A Hundred Years of Archaeology, (London, 1950), p. 27. This is a most informative book and has been used in reviewing the development in Europe.

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¹⁶ This was the view (interpretation) of Archbishop USSHER and was printed in the margins of the authorized version of the Bible. Bishop LIGHTFOOT calculated the exact time to be 9 a.m., 23rd October, 4004 B.C., whereas DR. MARGARET MURRAY has suggested 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March, 21, 4004, B.C. in Antiquity, 1901, p. 8.

Geology

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Then CHARLES LYELL (1797-1875) propounded 17 the theory that rocks of a similar nature were developed or laid out in an identical way all over the earth. This is called the theory of uniformitarianism. The theory did not find a ready response or acceptance among all. Its recognition was also slow in an intellectual and social world steeped in Biblical theory of the Deluge.

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However, it facilitated the understanding and the ready acknowledgement by some of the most prominent British geologists—JOHN EVANS, FALCONER, LYELL, PRESTWICH, PENGELLY—of the significance of the discovery of stone tools (hand axes) in association with fossil animal bones deep down in the cliff over the Somme river at Abbeville in France by BOUCHER DE PERTHES in 1836, and of the discovery, under the direct supervision of PENGELLY in a cave at Brixham, South Devon, in England in 1853.

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¹⁷ In his Principles of Geology (1830-33). DANIEL, op. cit., p. 88.

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*Environmental Archaeology*

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These discoveries proved beyond doubt that man, the maker of stone tools, and the associated animals—such as lion, elephant, rhinoceros, ox, belonged to a time and clime which were not only of hoary antiquity but belonged to a time when Europe was much different climatically and to some extent geographically. Thus the new disciplines of palaeogeography, palaeobotany, palaeoclimatology—what is now called "Environmental Archaeology"—were slowly being ushered in, though their regular establishment in Universities was much later.

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*Evolution of Man*

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The discovery of the skeletal remains of man himself (as distinguished from his tools) was not far to come. Already a human skull had been found in 1700, but went unnoticed. Then a skull was unearthed at Neanderthal on the river Dussel in Germany in 1857.¹⁸

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¹⁸ For this and other earlier discoveries see DANIEL, A Hundred Years of Archaeology, p. 35.

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This has later been recognized as the species of an extinct type of man known as Neanderthal Man. This man had high brow ridges and backward sloping dome of the skull and was regarded as "the most ape-like" by HUXLEY.

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So everything—tools, extinct animals and man—were there to disprove the beginning of Earth only some 5000 years ago. A scientific explanation was necessary to understand their relationship. This was provided by Charles DARWIN¹⁹ and HUXLEY.²⁰

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¹⁹ Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871).

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²⁰ Man's Place in Nature (1863).

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A new point of view was now given for looking at these momentous discoveries.

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*Foundation of Museums*

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Though the British Museum had been founded in the 18th century, it was the Danish archaeologists who thought of and founded a museum of antiquities, classified them on some principles and later tried to explain the bases of similarity and difference by reference to tradition, comparative methods and ethnography. Thus between 1800—1850, they had laid down the real foundation of prehistoric archaeology. The outstanding names in this movement were RASMUS NYERUP, VEDEL-SIMONSEN, CHRISTIAN JURGENSEN THOMSEN, SVEN NILSSON and J. J. A. WORSAAE. NYERUP advocated the formation of a National Museum of Danish Antiquities in 1806, but was unable to classify the small collection of antiquities he had made at the University of Copenhagen. This was achieved by THOMSEN, developing the notion of Three Ages first set out by VEDEL-SIMONSEN in 1813. THOMSEN, as first Curator of the National Museum of Denmark "arranged his collections by classifying into three ages of Stone, Bronze and Iron as the basis of the material used in making weapons and implements." The specimens were divided into three groups as they represented, according to THOMSEN, three chronologically successive ages.

Three Ages

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In spite of several fundamental changes, in the Three Age conception, the basic idea has remained, viz. that originally man did not know copper or iron, and used implements of stone alone. Then came the knowledge of copper and still later of iron.

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However, it was never maintained by THOMSEN or his pupil WORSAAE that the concept of the Three Ages implied a straight forward evolution or development from one technological stage to another. They were aware of the breaks in development, as well as of the causes, such as invasion, diffusion of new ideas and migration of people which might have brought about new knowledge of copper and iron. It was NILSSON who declared the exact role of prehistoric archaeology. "It demonstrated that " he said, "notwithstanding apparent or partial retrogression the human race was constantly undergoing a gradual and progressive development."

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Prehistory thus is a study of man's material (as well as moral and spiritual) progress. And these Scandinavian scholars were not merely content with the formulation of the Three Age theory: they stressed the need for accurate description and classification of antiquities and the value of tradition and comparative methods in the interpretation of the use of antiquities.

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This enabled NILSSON to distinguish four stages in the development of man: (1) The Savage Stage (2) Huntsman or Nomad (3) Agriculturist (4) Civilization (on the basis of coined money, writing and the division of labour). Herein we find the seeds of the later development in the conception of the Three Ages by anthropologists and archaeologists and students of human geography. NILSSON did not equate the subsistence classification of man with the ages of stone, bronze and iron.

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Enough was done by THOMSEN, WORSAAE and NILSSON to chalk out the road on which prehistoric archaeology was to proceed. Subsequent scholars by splitting up the Stone Age into Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, and dividing still further the first into two or three periods, as knowledge grew, or redefining the Three Age concept as technological stages and associating with each stage the economic and social status of man, have merely incorporated the new ideas which have dominated the world since the Russian Revolution. Even the great interest in Denmark's past, WORSAAE attributed to the French Revolution, for, "with a greater respect for the political rights of the people, there awakened in the nations themselves a deeper interest in their own history, language and nationality."

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First the prehistorians had to expand the Three Ages into Four: Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Copper and Iron. Later, as discovery followed discovery, the first was split up into three sub-divisions: Lower Palaeolithic, Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Palaeolithic and so also others. The initiator was Lord AVEBURY (formerly Sir JOHN LUBBOCK). His lead was followed by LARTET, de MORTILLET and MONTELIUS and the various chronological frameworks of prehistory so developed were adopted by the leading writers, until drastic changes were proposed by the Abbe BREUIL. LARTET for the first time put forward a classification of archaeological material from the various French caves on the palaeontological data. He thus respectively distinguished four periods according to the occurrence of such animals as the Bison, the Reindeer, the Wooly Mammoth and the Cave Bear.

Palaeontology and Archaeology

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DE MORTILLET went a step further. Combining this basis of classification with the archaeological, he divided the whole development into *Times, Ages, Periods and Epochs*. Tertiary, Quaternary, Recent, Prehistory, Protohistory and History were the broad divisions of Time; the Ages were those of Stone, Bronze and Iron, and the Periods Eolithic, Palaeolithic and Neolithic, and the Epochs were the smaller divisions of each Period.

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His epochs such as the *Chellean, Acheulian, Solutrean* which were after the local French sites were supposed to indicate small periods in human history when man used only Chellean types of tools. Such an extension of a purely local French cultural manifestation into other areas in France or to other countries of Europe was not justified. For it implied parallel or synchronous development of cultures all over the world.

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This concept vitiated the principle of regional and geographical differences, which was then discovered by students of human geography and cultural anthropologists. It has now been realized that not only one has to provide for varying human needs and development on broad regional bases, but the same locality—for instance a site in South of France²² or in England²³—may exhibit different cultural relics according to the seasonal climatic changes²¹ and one may even talk of "summer and winter archaeology". Thus the former (new) theories about separate but parallel existence of Flake Cultures and Core Cultures are under scrutiny and it is quite possible that this view will be soon abandoned.

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²¹ See *Bonnes* in *Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society* for 1950, New Series, Vol. XXII, 1957, p. 5.

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²² CLARK, J.G.D., *Excavations at Starr Car*, Cambridge, 1954.

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²³ CLARK, GRAHAME, *Archaeology and Society*, London, 1957.

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New connotations of the Three Age system were advocated by culture historians and anthropologists. When new types of tools etc. were found in different associations, the differences were sought to be explained by the arrival of new people or ideas. And at times these supposed new arrivals were named after the site, or from tradition or given well-known racial names. This identification of a prehistoric industry or culture with this or that race or people is extremely hazardous. At best, the name of the type-site might be given—such as "Harappan" after Harappa. The diffusionist theory did one good. It gave a blow to the epochal theory of DE MORTILLET of parallel and uniform development all over the world.

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But if we now ask "when was it that man began to produce his own food, that is, learnt cultivating grains and fruit and ceased to be a hunter and nomad, living on wild fruits, vegetables and game?" can we demarcate the stages and correlate them with chronological development as envisaged by archaeology?

Economic Bases

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It may be recalled that WORSAAE had thought of dividing human history on the basis of subsistence, but not taken the further step in equating them with the archaeological data. It was ELLIOT SMITH who first divided human history into two stages: The first of food-gathering and the second of food-production. The idea was later developed by a number of scholars, amongst whom the late Professor GORDON CHILDE might be described as the most outstanding.

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The emergence of man from the state of food-collector to that of food-producer, is characterized as the First Revolution in human history. The second was the Urban Revolution. This again took place in prehistoric times, when with the discovery of metals—copper and its alloys—there was specialization in labour, regular foreign trade, surplus wealth and ultimately a city. Of course, all this was a very, very slow process. Mere discovery of the metals, or its import from a distant place, as our own excavations in Central India and the Deccan show, did not immediately bring about a change in the life of the people. Notable, however, is the inherent change in the way of life.

Technological Stages

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CHILDE²⁴ later came forward with another suggestion, viz. that the various ages: Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Copper and Iron, were not chronological ages, but technological stages. That is, no longer should the terms "Neolithic" etc. denote a particular period in human history; they should merely indicate the stage in which human beings in a particular region or country are. Thus if the Australian aboriginals are called "Palaeolithic" or "Neolithic", it means only that these people have learnt the art of making stone implements in the way we associate with these "ages", but they did not necessarily belong to the hoary past.

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²⁴ GORDON CHILDE, V., in JRAI, Vol. LXXIV, 1944, p. 7.

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CHILDE further advised us, after HUXLEY nearly a century ago, to regard the Ages as "homotaxial", but not as synchronous. That is, it is possible that the same types of tools or assemblages of fossils follow one another in the same order all over the world, but this does not imply that these (tools) must everywhere occupy the same position if aligned according to the series of solar years. Thus we can express this mutual relationship by the term "homotaxial" and avoid the implication of parallel development all over the globe.

Relative Chronology

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It is also now customary to employ relative stratigraphy for dating purposes. For instance, the Chalcolithic deposits at Navdatoli (NVT) on the Narbada opposite Maheshwar, Nimad District could be divided into four sub-periods on stratigraphical grounds, as NVT₁, NVT₂, NVT₃, NVT₄. Now pottery similar to NVT₂, may occur at Nevasa, some 200 miles southwards, in the Deccan. Then Nevasa Chalcolithic Culture could be assigned this age. This is no doubt relative dating, but when NVT₁ has an absolute date based on C-14 method, then Nevasa could have the benefit of this carbon-dating.

Discoveries in Western Asia

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Further demonstration of the truth of the Three Age theory was provided by startling discoveries in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Crete. Of course, the earlier work in all these countries, particularly Egypt and Mesopotamia, was far from scientific and nothing less than loot and pillage. Nevertheless, the antiquities, large and small, magnificent sculptures, tools and weapons of copper and bronze and jewellery and the buildings from which they were somehow unearthed, struck the European world with awe. Realization that the East had seen better days than Europe in the past began to dawn upon the scholars and the common man. Its antiquity was proved when CHAMPOLLION and others deciphered the hieroglyphic script of Egypt and RAWLINSON read the cuneiform and Old Persian.

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All this helped in bridging the gulf between the Stone Ages and the historical period.

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Later discoveries in this century are proving the truth of various Biblical accounts²⁵ and even those of the mythical kings and dynasties mentioned in the king-lists of Mesopotamia. Judged by the test of the existence of writing, the history of countries like Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece and Crete, is stretched much farther back. What was once believed to be prehistory has now come into the range of history. Thus both in Egypt and Mesopotamia history commences around 3,000 B.C. So will it be in India (or Sind and the Panjab and Saurashtra and Rajasthan) when the Indus script is deciphered. Hence the period prior to 3,000 B.C. and upto about 5,000 B.C. may be called Protohistory. For during this interval of 2,000 years or so (it indeed varies from region to region or country to country) many of the essentials of the historical period were being formulated or taking shape. Towns or villages, agriculture, metallurgy (though often rudimentary), monumental architecture, pottery and other crafts were all there—only the knowledge of writing²⁶ (literacy in the modern sense!) was absent.

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²⁵ ALBRIGHT, Archeology and the Bible.

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²⁶ After the discovery of the oldest town-wall at Jericho in Palestine, Sir MORTIMER WHEELER finds this condition as arbitrary.

Human History

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Prehistoric archaeology has no longer remained a simple collection of antiquities, nor a study and classification of artifacts of the dim past. Whether a person is an archaeologist or anthropologist or geologist, or a culture historian, ultimately it is the human history to which one has to aim at in interpreting the artifact.

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This has necessitated the help of so many collateral disciplines. Though founded on geology, it has been nurtured by palaeontology—a specialized branch of geology—botany, anthropology, ethnology, history and the latest developments in chemistry and physics.

Prehistory in India

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Prehistory in India began none too late. The first tool—a ground or polished stone axe was found by MEADOWS TAYLOR at Lingsugur in 1842, though ROBERT BRUCE FOOTE discovered the first palaeolith at Pallavaram near Madras in 1863; so did BALL in 1875 at some four sites in Orissa and HACKETT at Bhutra on the Narmada in 1873 and WYNNE at Mungi-Paithan on the Godavari in 1865 and COCKBURN in the Singrauli basin, South Mirzapur, in 1883.

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BURN'S, HACKETT'S and WYNNE'S finds were associated with extinct animal bones.

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But except FOOTE nobody systematically carried on the search. Whereas sporadic discoveries continued to be made, he alone for nearly 40 years explored the rivers of Madras, Andhra, Mysore, Karnatak and Gujarat, while attending to his main work as consulting geologist. Not only he amassed a vast collection, but classified and catalogued it. This has been published by the Madras Museum. Thus FOOTE combined in himself the work of THOMSEN, WORSAAE and BOUCHER de PERTHES. He was the true pioneer of Indian Prehistory.

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Unfortunately his work was not followed up, either by the Department of Archaeology or by the Universities. It was indeed sad, but in truth nobody was to be blamed. Though in India we were not shackled by the Biblical notion of the antiquity of the world, the political, social and cultural atmosphere which had manifested itself in Europe was completely absent in India. Therefore these early discoveries did not take root.

Indian Cosmogony

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Every religion in India, whether it be Hindu (Brahmanical), Buddhist or Jain had its theory of cosmogony. Unlike the Christian, they regarded the world as of inconceivable antiquity (anadi). However, its history could be divided into four ages : Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, during which the world gradually deteriorated from all truth and happiness—the Golden Age²⁷—to untruth and misery. We are now in the last.

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²⁷ This conception may be compared with those of the Greeks preserved by HESIOD. He had envisaged five stages: (1) The Age of Gold and Immortals; (2) The Age of Silver, when man was less noble by far; (3) The Age of Bronze, when not only everything was of bronze, but when man was delighted in war; (4) The Age of Epic Heroes and (5) The Age of Iron and Dread Sorrow. Later the Roman author Lucretius had also put forward a semi-philosophical, semi-materialistic scheme, according to which man first used his nails, teeth, bones, wood and fire, then copper and still later iron. DANIEL, A Hundred Years of Archaeology, pp. 16-7.

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Then later, about the 4th century A.D. developed the theory of the avataras (incarnations) of the god, beginning with that of the Fish and ending with the emergence of "Full Man". This theory reminds us of the biological evolution of man.

Birth of Civilization

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The Jains and the Brahmins also speculated and in one of the later accounts of the world's development, accidently hit upon the birth of civilization as now envisaged by archaeology These are briefly cited here.

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A Jaina tradition preserved by Puspadanta, the author of the Mahāpurāṇa (in Apabhraṃśa) while commenting on the statement of a much earlier work called Kalpasūtra says that before the king Nābhi there were kalpavrikṣas (wish-fulfilling trees), and so people could get what they liked. But during Nābhi's reign, these trees had disappeared. There was the first rainy season, but people did not know how to till and how to collect grains and so were starving. When this was the state of the people, Nābhi taught them to make earthen pots out of the temples of the elephant. He taught them to crush the grain with a pestle, to enkindle fire and to cook. He explained them the method of drawing a thread out of cotton and weaving cloth. Thus Nābhi and his son Ṛṣabhadeva were not only the first teachers of Jainism, but from the point of view we are discussing here, the bestowers of civilization.²⁸

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²⁸ For details see, SANKALIA, H. D., "Ṛṣabha or Ādinātha" in Jaina Antiquary, 1957, p. 82.

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CONTENTS

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FOREWORD . . . . . ix PREFACE . . . . . xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . XXIII

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*Introduction*

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PAGE | PAGE --- | --- India and Western Asia ... ... ... i | Geology . . . . . x Routes . . . . . i | Environmental Archaeology ... ... xi The Fertile Crescent ... ... ... i | Evolution of Man ... ... ... xi Diffusion of Civilization ... ... ... iii | Foundation of Museums ... ... xi Cul-de-Sac . . . . . iii | Three Ages . . . . . xii

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| Palaeontology and Archaeology ... xiii

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PHYSIO-CULTURAL DIVISIONS | Economic Bases ... ... ... xiii

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| Technological Stages ... ... ... xiv

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SIND and PANJAB ... ... ... v | Relative Chronology ... ... ... xiv U.P., BIHAR and BENGAL ... ... v | Discoveries in Western Asia ... ... xiv ASSAM . . . . . v | Human History ... ... ... xv MADHYA PRADESH ... ... ... v | Prehistory in India ... ... ... xv MAHARASHTRA . . . . . v | Indian Cosmogony ... ... ... xvi ANDHRA . . . . . vi | Birth of Civilization ... ... ... xvi KARNATAK or MYSORE Plateau ... vi | Antiquarianism Absent ... ... xvii KERALA . . . . . vi | New Impetus . . . . . xvii TAMILNAD . . . . . vi | Yale-Cambridge Expedition ... ... xvii ORISSA . . . . . vi | Indian Universities ... ... ... xvii GUJARAT . . . . . vi | Beginning of Protohistory ... ... xviii RAJPUTANA (Rajasthan) ... ... vii | Work Ahead . . . . . xviii Hilly and Forested Area ... ... vii | The Four Ages in India ... ... xix Attraction and Isolation ... ... vii | Palaeolithic . . . . . xix Civilization and Environment ... viii | Mesolithic (or Late Stone Age) ... xix Prehistory . . . . . ix | Neolithic . . . . . xx Archaeology ... ... ... ix | Bronze Age . . . . . xx Proto-history ... ... ... ix | Iron Age . . . . . xxi History of Prehistoric Archaeology ... x | Chronological Table ... ... xxi-xxii

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*Chapter I*

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LOWER PALAEOLITHIC CULTURE

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EARLY STONE AGE

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Geographical Survey ... ... 1 | Third Glacial . . . . . 4

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| Late Sohan Industry ... ... ... 5

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WEST PANJAB | Third Interglacial Terrace III ... 5

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| Fourth Glaciation Terrace IV ... 5

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De Terra's Work ... ... ... 1 | Evolved Sohan Industry ... ... 5 Siwaliks and Early Man ... ... 1 | Climatic and Stratigraphic Correlation 6 Nature of Evidence ... ... ... 2 | Industries . . . . . 6 Glacial and Interglacial Terraces ... 2 | Pre-Sohan Industry ... ... ... 6 Second Ice Age: Boulder Conglomerate 2 | Early Sohan Industry ... ... 6 Second Interglacial Terrace ... ... 4 | Pebble Tools: Choppers ... ... 8 Sohan and Handaxe Industries ... 4 | Chopping Tools ... ... ... 8

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EAST PANJAB

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MYSORE

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RAJPUTANA . . . . . 56 Banas and Gambhiri Valleys ... 56 Luni Valley . . . . . 58 N.E. RAJPUTANA ... ... ... 58 Illustrated Tool Types ... 58 Distribution of Lower Palaeolithic Culture . . . . . 67 Ecological Approach ... ... 67 Sohan Man . . . . . 70 Hand-axe Man ... ... ... 70 Density of Palaeolithic Population ... 71

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Chapter II

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MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC CULTURES

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OF INDIA

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MIDDLE STONE AGE

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Discovery at Nevasa ... ... 72 Taminhal . . . . . 72 Maheshwar . . . . . 72 Other Regions ... ... ... 73 Stratigraphy ... ... ... 73 Nevasian . . . . . 73 Middle Palaeolithic or Middle Stone Age? 75 Evidence . . . . . 75 Mode of Occurrence ... ... 76 Environment ... ... ... 76 Tool Size . . . . . 77 Raw Material ... ... ... 77 Techniques . . . . . 77 Flake Culture (?) ... ... 78 Tool Types . . . . . 78

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MAHARASHTRA ... ... ... 78 Tool Percentage ... ... 81 Points . . . . . 81 Tanged Points ... ... ... 82 Borers . . . . . 82 Scrapers . . . . . 85

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KARNATAK . . . . . 87 Percentage . . . . . 90 Points . . . . . 90 Scrapers . . . . . 90 Borers . . . . . 91

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KURNOOL . . . . . 91 Stratigraphy ... ... ... 91

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ORISSA . . . . . 93 Stratigraphy ... ... ... 93 Tool Percentage ... ... 93 Tool Character ... ... 93 Burins . . . . . 94 Illustrated Types ... ... 94

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WEST BENGAL ... ... ... 96

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MALWA . . . . . 96 Illustrated Types ... ... 96

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RAJPUTANA . . . . . 96 Luni Valley ... ... ... 98 Past Climate ... ... ... 98 Stratigraphy ... ... ... 98 Raw Material ... ... ... 99 Hand-axes ... ... ... 99 Cleavers . . . . . 100 Tortoise Core ... ... ... 100 Flake Knives ... ... ... 100 Borers . . . . . 100 Borer-Scrapers ... ... ... 100 Points . . . . . 103 Bifacial Points ... ... ... 103 Scrapers . . . . . 103 Bundelkhand ... ... ... 104 Special Features ... ... 104

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OTHER SITES ... ... ... 105

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NAGPUR . . . . . 108 GUJARAT . . . . . 119

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Stratigraphy ... ... ... 108 SAURASHTRA-JETPUR ... ... ... 120 Upper Palaeolithic (?) ... ... 108 Distribution of Middle Palaeolithic BOMBAY AREA . . . . . 108 Culture . . . . . 120

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Re-examination of Todd's section ... 110 Chief Features . . . . . 122 Only One Deposit ... ... ... 110 Cultural Affinities . . . . . 122 Terraces . . . . . 112 Limitation . . . . . 123 Tools . . . . . 113 Origin . . . . . 123 No Handaxes . . . . . 116 Africa or Central Asia ... ... ... 123

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MESOLITHIC CULTURES OF INDIA

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Origin of the Term ... ... ... 125 MYSORE . . . . . 139 Stratigraphical Position ... ... 125 Types of Microliths ... ... ... 139 Environment . . . . . 125 Microliths . . . . . 126 NORTH KARNATAK ... ... ... 140 Mode of Occurrence ... ... ... 127 Microliths Derived from ... ... 128 MAHARASHTRA . . . . . 140 Upper Palaeolithic ... ... ... 128 Age and Distribution ... ... ... 129 SALSETTE ISLANDS, BOMBAY ... ... 141 Eastern India . . . . . 129 Tools . . . . . 141 BIRBHANPUR . . . . . 131 GUJARAT . . . . . 143 Site . . . . . 132 Tools . . . . . 132 LANGHNAJ . . . . . 143

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SINGRAULI BASIN, MIRZAPUR ... ... 132 Stratigraphy . . . . . 145 Past Climate . . . . . 146 ORISSA . . . . . 134 Tool Types . . . . . 148 Human Skeletons ... ... ... 148 ANDHRA . . . . . 134 Dentalium Shell Beads ... ... ... 148

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