The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c12.s3.19

c12.s3.19

The associated local pottery is the so-called Russet coated criss-cross painted ware, described as the "Andhra" ware for convenience. The next earlier culture, namely the Megalithic, was found overlapping with the Andhra. Wheeler estimated the duration of the Megalithic culture to about 250 years and was greatly influenced by the dramatic context, provided by the break up of a "universal state" as being instrumental for a folk wandering from the south. Hence he ascribed it to the beginning of the 3rd century B. C. or a little earlier about 236 B. C. (death of Asoka). Dr. Wheeler himself has warned us against any "theoretical attempt to build up a time scale on the depth of the strata". Now the more recent work described later, calls forth a slight revision of the chronology at Brahmagiri without disturbing the main datum. The most important factor is the occurrence in large areas of Northern and Central India of the typical megalithic black-and-red ware in unimpeachable earlier deposits dating almost to the beginning of the first millennium B. C. Its gradual spread southwards will be indicated later. The most important fact is the close affinities of the chalcolithic burials at Bahal and the incompletely investigated pits near the cists V and VI at Brahmagiri which, on Wheeler's own admission, are appreciably earlier than the designated megalithic culture.