The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c15.1

c15.1

The picture represented above reminds me of a crossword puzzle on the point of completion with so many interlockers and probable alternative solutions. But it has the one merit of narrowing down the issues and locating the weak spots in our evidence. In the development of any study, we normally pass through three stages. In the early stages of bringing some order into a chaos, we start with a bold working hypothesis. The second stage begins with the application of this key solution. In the initial phase, this results in a very apparent simplification and easy generalization. In Indian archaeology we are at this stage, and I must confess, that my account is at best an attempt at correlating the sequence of cultures of the whole sub-continent, in time and space, within the framework of a very tentative chronology. We will be inaugurating the third and the final stage, when we follow this tentative scheme with a more critical examination, based on much more evidence and intensive field-work. More complications are bound to arise, and we can face them, given patience, skill and resources.