An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c21.s1.11

v1.c21.s1.11

This significance of irrigation has been highlighted in the argument that irrigated rice agriculture both in the Ganga valley and in the s. peninsula not only enforced plough agriculture but was also the basis of dense populations which could support monarchical system and urban centres. A related discussion centres on the question of whether population pressures led to agricultural innovation or vice versa. The correlation between the method of food-production and urban centres is by now well established. What still remains controversial is the link between state systems and the control of the hydraulic machinery.