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A Concise History of Science in India c5: 1 A Survey of Source Materials

A Concise History of Science in India c5

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English

Contents

1 A Survey of Source Materials

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THE source materials on the basis of which attempts have been made in this book to present a connected account of the development of science in India largely comprise archaeological findings, the vast range of the Sanskrit literature originating from the Vedic times, the canonical as well as the secular literature of the Buddhists and the Jainas, Arabic and Persian works, and secondary sources representing scholarly studies, interpretations and analyses of these materials. The scientific and technical writings, both primary and secondary, have formed the main basis of discussions of the various sciences, and as such these have been treated, along with their scientific and technical contents, in the respective chapters. Here, for the sake of completeness, we shall do no more than mention some important texts.

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The position is quite different with regard to sacerdotal texts, canonical literature, philosophical compendia, encyclopaedic works like the *Bṛhatsaṃhitā*, *Arthaśāstra* (work on polity), epics, *purāṇas*, lexicographies and so on in which scientific matters and concepts appear incidentally, mixed up with the non-scientific, but which are nevertheless exceedingly important from the point of view of the history of the development of scientific ideas. The scientific contents and their analyses will, however, appear in their proper places in the chapters concerned, but in this survey we shall give an account of such general sources, including the archaeological, and their chronological position, so that we may not have to refer to them again and again.

Archaeological Sources

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The archaeologist’s spade has turned up objects of great value pertaining to prehistoric, protohistoric and historical periods. Here our main concern will be with pre- and protohistory and consequently with objects typical of these periods, which throw light on the various arts and techniques from which later scientific practices and methods developed.

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The terms 'prehistory' and 'protohistory' and the various cultural divisions within them require some clarification. The beginning of the historical period is now generally determined by the advent of written documents of historical character such as the Aśokan edicts; in other words, the history of a people begins from when they have become literate and mastered the art of writing. Accordingly, accounts of all cultures in which writing has not yet appeared should come under 'prehistory'. Such a definition as far as concerns the Indian subcontinent is fraught with serious difficulties. The Harappan civilization, for example, is marked by a kind of writing, albeit undeciphered, and the builders of that civilization can by no means be called illiterate. Furthermore, how should we describe the account of a people who orally transmitted the literary tradition of the *Vedas* for several centuries since the second millennium B.C.—a tradition rich in near historical materials but committed to writing at a much later date? To resolve these difficulties, the term 'protohistory' is now used to cover the civilization of the Indus valley, the Vedic civilization and the various chalcolithic cultures either contemporaneous with, or successors to, the Indus civilization.a The term 'prehistory' is then reserved for the Stone Age cultures for the understanding of which we have no guideline other than stone (and bone) implements.

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About the various prehistoric cultures, terms like 'palaeolithic', 'mesolithic', 'neolithic'. 'Bronze Age', etc., used in the context of the European and the Mediterranean world, are not quite applicable to the Indian subcontinent owing to differences in cultures and techniques. We have abundant evidence of Stone Age cultures from the time of the interglacial periods of the Pleistocene, and it is now thought more appropriate to describe them as Early, Middle and Late Stone Age on the basis of the major types of stone industries. There is not much difficulty in using the term 'neolithic' to designate the cultures characterized by some kind of mixed farming, domestication of animals, use of potteries, building of dwellings and so on in which stone is still the material of the tools and implements used. In India, the stone-using farm cultures and the metal-using (copper and bronze) ones are not sharply delineated, the term 'chalcolithic' being applied to metal-using farm cultures. On account of the coexistence of both the cultures, the period is often described as the 'neolithic-chalcolithic'. The term 'Bronze Age' cannot be used in India in the same sense in which it is meaningful for the Mediterranean world and elsewhere although bronze found use in the subcontinent at quite an early date and became the distinctive feature of the Harappan culture. The Harappan culture, the so-called Indus Valley Civilization, extended as recent researches have revealed, much beyond the limits of the Indus valley, and in this context pre-Harappan and post-Harappan cultures are now used to follow the sequence.

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a Sankalia (4), pp. ix–x.

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Within the broad neolithic-chalcolithic framework, cultural differentiation as well as affinities are often sought to be made by pottery types such as handmade, wheel-thrown and wheel-turned, with painted decorations varying from monochrome to polychrome, typical of pre-Harappan Baluchistan, Black and Red wares of Harappan and post-Harappan Lothal, Ahar, Rangpur, Prakash and many other sites, technologically innovated Lustrous Red wares believed to be evolved from Harappan types and found in chalcolithic Saurashtra, and finally the Painted Grey and Northern Black Polished wares associated with an Iron Age in India and turned up at Atranjikhera, Hastinapur, Alamgirpur and other sites in the Doab.

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*The Stone Age*

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Of the three phases of the Indian Stone Age, the Early is dominated by the hand-axe, the cleaver and core tools, the Middle by the flakes including scrapers, burins and blades, and the Late by microliths of various types. Quartzite pebbles, stone outcrops and boulders, cryptocrystalline silica like agate, jasper or chalcedony provided the main materials for the stone industries. Some of the Early Stone Age sites include the Soan (or Sohan) and the Beas valley in the Panjab, Adamgarh Hill and Bhera Ghat near Jabalpur in the Narbada valley, the Gudiyam Cave at Attirampakkam near Madras, Wainganga River sites, Nevasa on the Godavari, Khandivli near Bombay and a few other places. Most of the sites mentioned above have also revealed Middle Stone Age flake industries. The Late Stone Age sites are widespread throughout the Indian subcontinent. Gujarat (Langhnaj), Central India (Adamgarh, Barasimha, Nimkhera, Sakri, etc.), the region between the Central Indian hills and the Gangetic plains (Barakaccha, Sidhpur, Lekhania in Mirzapur district, and Morhana Pahar), Birbhanpur on the Damodar in West Bengal, and south India (Raichur, Jalahalli, Kibbanahalli, Nagarjunakonda and Belgaum) are particularly rich in Late Stone Age sites. Adamgarh alone has yielded 25,000 microliths. The Old Stone Age sites in Kashmir and Panjab are related to inter-glacial periods of late Pleistocene (150000 B.C.), the Middle Stone Age cultures which are often mixed with the later phase of the former flourished around *c.* 25000 B.C., while the Late Stone Age emerged definitely during the post-Pleistocene and merged with the Neolithic.a C¹⁴ dating of shells from Adamgarh carried out at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has placed the beginning of the Late Stone Age in that area at 5500 B.C. At Lekhania, the Late Stone Age flourished as late as 1710 B.C. Our main sources of Indian Stone Age cultures are the pioneering investigations of R. B. Foote and F. R. Allchin in South India and Gujarat, H. de Terra and T. T. Paterson in Kashmir, the Panjab and Central India, L. A. Cammiade and M. C. Burkitt in South India, K. R. U. Todd for the Bombay region, R. V. Joshi for Adamgarh and other Madhya Pradesh sites, FIG. 1.1. Map showing Early, Middle and Late Stone Age sites.

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a Sankalia (4), pp. xxi-xxii.

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STONE AGE SITES OF INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

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H. D. Sankalia for Bombay and Maharashtra regions, B. B. Lal for Birbhanpur, Beas and Banganga valleys, V. D. Krishnaswami and K. V. Soundara Rajan for Southern India. The results of these investigations will be found in the pages of the *Ancient India*, the *Man*, the Deccan College Monograph series, and a number of general studies by de Terra and Paterson, Sankalia and others.

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*Pre-Harappan Cultures*

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Pre-Harappan cultures in various stages of evolution have recently assumed clearer perspective as a result of intensive archaeological activity in Baluchistan, Sind, the Panjab and Rajasthan. In north Baluchistan, earliest settlements have been found in Kili Ghul Mohammad and Damb Sadaat in the Quetta valley by Fairservis and at Rana Ghundai mound in the Loralai valley by Ross, all showing a number of periods. Pd. I of Kili Ghul Mohammad dated 3688 and 3712 by C¹⁴ methods produced no pottery nor metal objects, Pd. II yielded handmade pottery and Pd. III both handmade and wheel-turned pottery as well as copper.a Damb Sadaat, excavated by Fairservis, shows three periods, with somewhat continuous development, dating from 2528 or 2625 B.C. for Pd. I and 2554, 2425 or 2220 B.C. for Pd. II. Wheel-turned pottery, terracotta figurines and copper objects (Pd. II and III) are among some of the finds. Rana Ghundai excavated by Ross yielded a complete sequence through a number of periods.

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At Anjira and Siah-damb in the Surab valley in central Baluchistan, de Cardi unearthed similar neolithic settlements having pottery affinities with Damb Sadaat. Further south, Nal, in Kalat State, settled somewhat later than northern and central sites, produced distinctive types of pottery, copper objects and evidence of lead smelting.

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These earliest settlements in semi-arid and mountainous Baluchistan in the subcontinent show unmistakable cultural affinities, as, for example, Damb Sadaat I with Kili Ghul Mohammad IV, Anjira III with Damb Sadaat II–III, Anjira II with Kili Ghul Mohammad II and III, Nal with Rana Ghundai III and so on. The most important, however, is the relationship of these settlements with the earlier neolithic settlement at Mundigak in south Afghanistan, which reveals a progressive evolution in culture, through periods I to IV, in pottery types from wheel-made to wheel-turned with varying designs and motifs, in the appearance of copper in Pd. I₂, bronze in Pd. III₆, stone seals and in the development of some kind of township with walls and bastions with sun-dried bricks. In some of these features, Mundigak IV corresponds to Damb Sadaat III and Rana Ghundai III_c, Mundigak II–III to Damb Sadaat I–III, Mundigak IV to Nal, whereas in its later phase, Mundigak itself bears the impress of the Harappan culture. Some of the radiocarbon datings for Mundigak are : Pd. I~5~—2113 B.C.; Pd. III—2360 B.C.

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a By Pd. I, Pd. II, etc., are meant period I, period II, etc., the Roman numbers in ascending order indicating later dates. In several cases, dates of these archaeological periods have been given.

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As we move from Baluchistan to the Indus valley, we come across a number of sites, e.g. Amri excavated by Majumdar and later by Casal, Kot Diji explored by the Pakistan Archaeological Department, and Kalibangana on the Ghaggar excavated by Lal and Thapar, and the pre-defence layers of Harappa itself. All these sites present the pre-Harappan phase in a more marked manner. A fine dark, purple-red ware is the characteristic feature of all these sites. At Amri, different phases of period I show affinities with Anjira III, Kili Ghul Mohammad III–IV and Mundigak III, while during period II Harappan types appear. Kot Diji, about 30 miles east of Mohenjo-daro, at its levels of earliest settlements, reveals pottery types akin to Mundigak III and IV and Anjira III–IV and, at later levels, a mixed culture in which the Harappan is predominant. Radiocarbon datings carried out at the University of Pennsylvania are 2605 B.C. and 2472 B.C. for the early period and 2335 B.C., 2255 B.C. for the later period. At Kalibangan, the Harappan citadel phase is preceded by the pre-Harappan settlement characterized by steatite beads, shell bangles, some pottery types resembling those of Amri and Kot Diji, and a few copper and bronze objects as rarities. C^14 datings determined by the TF on a large number of samples from Kalibangan place its pre-Harappan phase between 2371 B.C. and 2098 B.C. although a few lower dates have also been found.

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*Harappan Culture : The Bronze Age Civilization of the Indus Valley*

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The brilliant series of excavations started by Daya Ram Sahni at Harappa in 1921 and by R. D. Banerjee at Mohenjo-daro during 1922–23 and followed up by Vats, Dikshit, Marshall, Hargreaves, Mackay and Majumdar led to the exciting discovery of the protohistoric Harappan culture which up to 1947 or so was believed to have been confined within the narrow strip of the Indus valley. Archaeological explorations carried out during the post-Independence period have now resulted in the extension of this civilization over an area of about 840,000 square miles.b Besides the Indus valley proper, this area now includes East Panjab and Uttar Pradesh almost up to Delhi, northern Rajputana in the former State of Bikaner, Cutch, Saurashtra and Gujarat up to the mouth of the Narbada and the Makran coastal area in South Baluchistan up to Sutkagen Dor near the Iranian frontier. Over 70 sites, large and small, have so far yielded remains of this once extensive culture, of which some of the important ones of recent discovery include Ruparc on the Sutlej in the Himalayan foothills, Alamgirpurd in Meerut district, Kalibangane in northern Rajasthan, Desalparf in Cutch, Lothalg and Rojdih in Saurashtra, Kot Diji and Amri in Sind.

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a *IAR*, 1960–61, pp. 30–31; 1961–62, pp. 39–44; 1962–63, pp. 20–31.

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b Sankalia (4), p. 155.

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c *IAR*, 1953–54.

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d *IAR*, 1958–59.

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e In addition to reference already given, 1963–64; 1964–65.

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f *IAR*, 1963–64.

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g *IAR*, 1954–55; 1955–56; 1956–57; 1957–58; 1958–59.

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h *IAR*, 1957–58; 1958–59; 1962–63.

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The general characteristics of this civilization as enumerated by Wheeler (3) include a thick red-slipped ware in cylindrical and goblet shapes, intersecting circles, *pipal* leaves, rosettes, and peacocks as motifs, Indus seals and script, triangular terracotta cakes, kidney-shaped inlays of shell

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or faience, metal tool types, and town planning according to a gridiron scheme of streets and houses. A cultural uniformity, unquestionable technical competence, if dull, and a flare for standardization are noticeable in all areas of activity—in the making of bricks, in sanitary arrangements, in pottery, in the wide range of copper and bronze tools, vessels and human and animal figurines, and seal-cutting from steatite blocks. In this effortless competence of which evidence has survived in archaeological remains of all descriptions, one can see the picture of city-centered prosperous agricultural communities thriving on wheat, barley, sesamum and mustard, animal husbandry, an industry of woven cotton, various arts and crafts and an extensive trade, all rendered possible by an efficient central government with capitals, defensive city outposts, docks and harbours. The Harappan inscriptions, now numbering about 2,500, have so far defied several attempts at decipherment. B. B. Lal (5) has shown the direction of writing from right to left. It is still an open question if the language belonged to the Indo-European or the Dravidian family, but recent computer studies carried out in Copenhagen by a team of Finnish scholars indicate a preference for the latter.a

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Marshall's estimate of 3250–2750 b.c. as the period of the Harappan culture was already scaled down to 2350–1770 b.c. by C. J. Gadd on the basis of cross-datings with the Sargonic and Isin-Larsa periods. Wheeler's (3) dating of 2500–1500 b.c. for the entire Harappan span, first suggested in 1946, remained generally accepted up to 1962. Radiocarbon datings largely carried out at the TF and recently analyzed by Agrawal have introduced further refinements in the above date-brackets. Some of these datings are given below :b

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| *Mohenjo-daro, Sind* | | b.c. | *Kalibangan, Rajasthan* | | b.c. |
| TF-75 | Harappan level | 1760 ± 115 | TF-138 | Harappan | 1217 ± 103 |
| P-1182A | Mature Harappan | 1864 ± 64 | TF-143 | " | 1665 ± 113 |
| P-1176 | " | 1966 ± 60 | TF-149 | " | 1835 ± 145 |
| P-1180 | " | 1993 ± 61 | TF-150 | " | 1900 ± 105 |
| P-1177 | " | 2062 ± 66 | TF-147 | " | 2030 ± 105 |
| P-1179 | " | 2083 ± 66 | TF-163 | " | 2077 ± 103 |
| | | | TF-160 | " | 2236 ± 103 |
| *Kot Diji, Sind* | | | | | |
| P-195 | pre-Harappan, Late | 2090 ± 138 | *Rojdi, Rajasthan* | | |
| P-180 | " | 2255 ± 140 | TF-199 | Harappan IB | 1745 ± 105 |
| P-179 | " | 2335 ± 156 | TF-200 | " | 1970 ± 115 |
| P-196 | " | 2605 ± 145 | | | |
| | | | *Lothal, Gujarat* | | |
| *Kalibangan, Rajasthan* | | | TF-135 | Harappan, Pd. IIA | 1555 ± 130 |
| TF-161 | pre-Harappan | 2098 ± 103 | TF-23 | " Pd. IIVA | 1866 ± 108 |
| TF-162 | " | 2108 ± 103 | TF-27 | " Pd. I, IIIB | 2005 ± 113 |
| TF-241 | " | 2263 ± 93 | TF-136 | " Pd. IA | 2080 ± 135 |
| TF-157 | " | 2283 ± 103 | | | |
| TF-155 | " | 2371 ± 118 | | | |

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From a careful analysis of these and other radiocarbon data, D. P. Agrawal (2) concluded that for the metropolitan Mohenjo-daro the maximum spread might be taken as 2300 to 2000 b.c. and for the peripheral regions 2200 to 1700 b.c. would be best indicated by these findings.

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a See a note on ‘Harappan may be Dravidian’, *Scientific American*, November 1969, p. 62. For fuller information, Clauson, Gerard, and Chadwick, John, pp. 200–207.

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b Carbon-dating figures are taken from Allchin (B. and R.). To obtain b.c. dates 1950 has been subtracted. P = University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.; TF = Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay; figures following abbreviations indicate sample numbers.

Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cultures outside the Harappan limits

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What was happening in the rest of India when cultural evolution was taking place in the western regions of the subcontinent culminating in the brilliant Harappan phase between the fourth millennium to the middle of the second millennium B.C.? Until Wheeler’s work at Brahmagiri during 1947–48, northern, central, southern and eastern India formed the archaeological *terra incognita*, contrary to expectations raised by many references in the Sanskrit and the Buddhist literature. During the last 20 years, archaeological excavations in these regions have established the existence of neolithic and chalcolithic cultures in all these areas as is naturally to be expected from the extensive Stone Age cultures prevailing in pre-historic times in these very regions. In Kashmir, Burzahoma gave evidence of a neolithic site, dated *c.* 2375 by the C¹⁴ method, whose stone and bone implements, coarse handmade pottery, pit dwellings, and dog burial custom indicated Burzahom’s inspiration from China. This is also true of the neolithic settlements of Assam in the Garo and Naga Hills.

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In south India where Brahmagiri gave the first indication, neolithic settlements have been discovered at Sanganakallu,b Piklihal,c Maski,d Utnur, Tekkalakota,e Hallur,f T. Narsipur,g Hemmige, Nagarjunakonda and other places, all in Andhra-Karnatak and at Paiyampalli, Gaurimedu and Mangalam in the Tamilnad. Radiocarbon datings indicate the comparative lateness of the South Indian neolithic complex, say, between 2000 B.C. and 1485 B.C. One of the samples from Utnur gave as early a date as *c.* 2295 B.C. Narsipur and Tekkalakota gave 1805 and 1780 B.C. Paiyampalli, Sanganakallu, and later phases of Narsipur and Tekkalakota appeared between 1485 and 1615 B.C. Sequential changes from core and flake tradition and simple handmade pottery to more developed wheel-thrown pottery and adoption of copper and bronze tools in the late phase are clearly noticeable. Sankalia thought that Raichur and Bellary were probably the original focus of neolithic cultures in South-east India and stimulated the development of similar cultures in Andhra-Karnatak and Tamilnad regions.h Allchin favours Daimabad in Maharashtra as a focal point which in its turn received inspiration from the Harappan cultures and even from Burzahom as far as early pottery is concerned.i

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f *IAR*, 1964–65.

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More interesting perhaps are the post-Harappan phases, mixed with local cultures, discovered in Saurashtra, Maharashtra, south-east Rajasthan and Malwa, the Panjab and the Gangetic Doab. In Saurashtra, the Harappan phase noticed in Lothal, Rojdi and Desalpar yielded to a post-Harappan phase in Lothal II (1900–1500 B.C.) and Rojdi IB (1800 B.C.).

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a *IAR*, 1960–61; 1961–62; 1962–63.

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b Subbarao, pp. 5 ff.

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c Allchin (F. R.).

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d Thapar (1).

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e Nagaraja Rao.

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g *IAR*, 1959–60; 1961–62.

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h Sankalia (4), p. 247.

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i Allchin (B. and R.), p. 168.

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FIG. 1.3. Map showing principal neolithic and chalcolithic sites.

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To these sites may be added Rangpur,a Prabhas Patan (Somnath),b Bhagatrav and a few other places. In all of them, after an initial decline of the Harappan culture, a new revival is noticeable as in the Black and Red pottery styles and the appearance of the Lustrous Red wares. At Rangpur, rice cultivation appears in Pd. IIA (2000–1750 B.C.) and millet in Pd. III (1200–1000 B.C.). In the concluding phase of Prabhas Patan, iron appears around 1000 B.C. At Lothal and Rojdi, this period possibly commenced after 1800 B.C. and 1745 B.C. respectively; at other places the period might be somewhat later.

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The Banasian culture of Aharc and Gilundd in the Banas river valley in south-east Rajasthan is distinctive in its absence of a stone industry of any kind in its earlier phases and in the presence of numerous copper objects, particularly axes made of locally available copper. Black and Red wares are predominant, with Lustrous Red wares appearing in later phases. Radiocarbon datings carried out in the University of Victoria, Australia, would indicate the beginning of the Ahar culture around *c.* 1990 to 2144 B.C., whereas some late dates, 1727, 1552, 1273 B.C., are indicated by samples analyzed at the TF. According to Allchin, the Banasian phase might have extended from 1800 to 1400 B.C.e

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Further south-east lies the Malwa plateau between the Chambal and the Narbada. Here Navdatoli,f Nagda and a few other sites have revealed four to three phases and a cultural evolution from a stone blade industry, through cultivation of wheat, rice (first evidence from Navdatoli), lentil and oil-seeds and animal husbandry involving cattle, sheep, goat and pig, to a copper using phase. Black and Red pottery is predominant, later on absorbing the Jorwe tradition of spouted pots. Navdatoli's chalcolithic period, IIIA to IIID, has now been put down to 1657–1443 B.C. on the basis of Pennsylvania University’s C¹⁴ datings.g

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In the north-western part of the Deccan plateau, traversed by the Narbada and the Tapti flowing westward and the upper reaches of the Godavari and the Krishna flowing eastward, a series of chalcolithic sites have been unearthed and studied by the Archaeological Department of the Deccan College, Poona. These sites are Prakash,h Bahali and Tekwada in the Tapti valley, Daimabadj and Nevasak in the upper reaches of the Godavari, Sonegaol near the Krishna, Nasik,m Jorwem and Chandolin on the plateau itself. An integrated study of this group of Maharashtrian sites has brought to light a number of phases. Diamabad I presents the earliest phase having cultural affinities with Saurashtra and Malwa as also with the upper neolithic phase of Karnatak. Stone axes, perforated ring-stone, a stone blade industry and a coarse grey pottery form the cultural complex of the first phase. In the second phase represented by Daimabad II and Prakash IA, copper knife blades, a fine reddish-brown ware and Malwa type spouted wares appear. Jorwe, Nevasa, Chandoli and Sonegao which represent the third phase yield a variety of both stone and copper implements, painted red Jorwe wares with spouts, some Lustrous Red wares, and fibres of cotton, flax and silk. C¹⁴ datings on samples from Sonegao put the Jorwe phase between 1375 and 1290 B.C.; the second phase (Daimabad II, Prakash IA) may be placed between *c.* 1700 and 1400 B.C. by comparison with Navdatoli IIIB and IIIC, and the first Daimabad phase before 1800 B.C.

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a Rao (2), pp. 5–207.

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b *IAR*, 1955–56; 1956–57.

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c *IAR*, 1954–55; 1955–56.

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d *IAR*, 1959–60.

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e Allchin (B. and R.), p. 183.

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f *IAR*, 1957–58; *see also* Sankalia, Subbarao and Deo.

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g One high dating 2299±72 B.C. for sample P-1476 is questionable.

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h *IAR*, 1954–55; *see also* Thapar (2).

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i *IAR*, 1956–57.

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j *IAR*, 1958–59.

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k Covered in detail by Sankalia (3).

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l *IAR*, 1964–65.

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m Sankalia and Deo.

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n Deo and Ansari.

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The penetration of the Harappan culture in its latest phase into the Ganges-Jamuna Doab is attested by Alamgirpur. While a post-Harappan phase was persisting in Saurashtra, south-east Rajasthan and a few other places, this culture disappeared from the Doab. In its place we find the emergence of a new chalcolithic phase dominated by the use of a variety of copper implements. Several copper hoards—B. B. Lala counted some 37—have been discovered in the Doab and in the Chota Nagpur Hills in Eastern India, of which some important sites include Bahadarabad in Saharanpur district, Rajpur Parsu, Bisauli, Fatehgarh, Santal Parganas, Baragunda, Saguna and others. An interesting point is the association of ochre coloured pottery with the copper hoard culture in these areas, which is now receiving closer investigation. The association, in some centres, of copper hoards with ochre coloured pottery as in Bisauli and Rajpur and, in some other places, their existence below the Painted Grey ware, as in Hastinapur, suggest that copper hoards might belong to ochre coloured or some such pottery of a pre-Grey Ware period.b As we have already noticed, chalcolithic copper implements in varying degrees of abundance have been reported from Saurashtra, Rajputana, Central India and the Deccan trap. These are largely in the form of flat axe, shouldered celt, antennae sword, dagger, ring, etc.

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*The Iron Age in India and its Association with Black and Red, the Painted Grey and the Northern Black Polished Wares*

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Compared to the introduction around 1800 B.C. of an Iron Age either in the Caucasus or in Asia Minor by the Hittites who discovered the process of smelting iron ores and kept it as a closely guarded secret for several centuries, the Iron Age in India is of recent date. About 20 years back Col. Gordon could place the beginning of this age not earlier than 250 B.C. By 1959 Wheeler, on the basis of new evidence, was able to push it back to the sixth century B.C. when the Achaemenian Empire extended up to the Panjab. The discovery in 1940-44 of a new type of pottery, the Painted Grey wares, in Ahicchatraa and later on in Hastinapur,b Rupar,c Panipat, Indraprastha (Puran Quila), Mathura,d Bairat, Sonpat, Atranjikhera,e Alamgirpur,f Nohg and Sravasti, all in the Doab except Noh in Rajasthan, and its association with Iron Age occupations, has thrown new light on this age and further pushed back its beginnings to around 1100 B.C. This grey pottery is made of well-levigated clay, free from impurities, and is medium to thin-walled and properly baked. In some of these P.G. ware levels, iron finds include, among others, arrow-heads, spearheads and axes in different shapes. Further east in the central Gangetic valley, in Kausambi,h Rajghati (old Varanasi), Prahladpur,j Buxark and Chirand,l Black and Red wares characterize the pottery. No iron object has so far turned up in the early period, but in later periods, possibly around 500 B.C., iron appears to be introduced. Another interesting feature is the appearance towards the end of the P.G. or B. and R. ware phase of a black lustrous pottery called the Northern Black Polished ware, dated from 500 B.C. At Atranjikhera, the P.G. ware period determined by C¹⁴ dating at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research extends from 1025 to 537 B.C.; Hastinapur Pd. II gives two C¹⁴ dates, 573 and 506 B.C.; Noh (Rajasthan) provides 821 and 604 B.C. on the basis of radiocarbon dating carried out at the California University, Los Angeles; Kausambi yields (TF dating) 500 and 400 B.C.; Chirand (B. and R. period) 846 and 769 B.C.; and Sonepur (pre-N.B.P. period) 637 B.C. All these indicate a period between 1025 and 500 B.C., in which P.G., B. and R. and N.B.P. wares and the associated Iron Age played a dominant part.

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a Lal (1), pp. 20–39.

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b Sankalia (4), p. 223.

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In Gujarat, Malwa and Central India, the Iron Age follows the chalcolithic period in a general way. In these areas, iron objects appear in association with Black and Red wares, as in Prabhas Patan,m Nagal,n Nagarao (old Cambay), Nagda and Ujjain. Black and Red occupation levels are followed by N.B.P. wares imported probably from the Gangetic valley. This Black and Red ware in India was extensive both in space and time, and its full cultural significance is not yet understood. What appears to be certain is the dominance of both iron and the Black and Red ware about the fifth century B.C.p

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g *IAR*, 1963–64; 1964–65.

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In peninsular India, Black and Red pottery side by side with iron objects and the later N.B.P. phase have been discovered in Prakash IIq and Bahal II towards the close of the chalcolithic period. Another important characteristic of peninsular India as well as of Ceylon is the pit burial and urn burial, also called 'megalith', in which iron objects have been found with pottery, stone objects and carnelian beads. These types of burial have been known for a long time from the excavations carried out between 1851 and 1862 by Meadows Taylor in Shorapur, by Alexander Rea between 1899 and 1904 in Adichanallur, and by Hunt between 1916 and 1924 in Raigir and Bhongir. Recently, Deshpande found three urn burials and one pit burial in Tekwada. Brahmagiri,a Piklihal,b Sanganakallu and Maskic carry the same type of story. Brahmagiri burial grounds, excavated by Wheeler, yielded B. and R. wares, mat-painted red pottery similar to Jorwe type and iron objects. Hallur (in south Dharwar) shows up an Iron Age fairly early, as indicated by TF radiocarbon datings of 1105 and 955 B.C. At Piklihal, Sanganakallu and Maski, iron objects, in association with copper and sometimes gold, are common in graves as well as habitational sites. The large number of south Indian megalithic or urn burial sites have yielded Black and Red ware, almost uniform types of iron objects—spade, hoe, pick-axe, sickle, wedge, crowbar, spear, knife, dagger, sword, chisel, tripod, saucer hook-lamps, occasional copper, bronze or stone objects and beads. Some grave types and burial customs, developed during the neolithic-chalcolithic period, are distinctly indigenous; some bear similarities with those of Central Asia, Iran or the Caucasus, suggesting the influence of Indo-Iranian speaking immigrants; while still others are reminiscent of practices noticed in the Levant and the south coast of Arabia.d

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a Ghosh and Panigrahi, pp. 55–59.

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b Lal (2), pp. 138–47.

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c *IAR*, 1953–54.

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d *IAR*, 1954–55.

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e *IAR*, 1962–63.

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f *IAR*, 1958–59.

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h *IAR*, 1959–60; 1960–61; 1961–62; *see also* Sharma (G. R.).

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i *IAR*, 1960–61; 1961–62; 1962–63.

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j *IAR*, 1962–63.

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k *IAR*, 1963–64.

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l *IAR*, 1962–63; 1964–65.

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m *IAR*, 1955–56.

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n *IAR*, 1961–62.

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o *IAR*, 1963–64; 1964–65.

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p Sankalia (4), pp. 281–82.

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q *IAR*, 1954–55.

Faience, Vitreous Paste, Glaze and Glass

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Faience, vitreous paste, glaze and finally glass and the techniques involved in making them appeared during the protohistoric period. Faience spindle-whorls side by side with those made of pottery have been found in Mohenjo-daro.e From the same Harappan phase we have the specimen of a vitreous paste,f an opaque glassy substance, having a chemical composition—silica—88·12%, ferric oxide—3·20%, calcium oxide—1·82%, alkali oxides—5·04% and cupric oxide—0·46% and a few vitreous slabs of carnelian blue colour of more or less the same composition. Such vitreous paste and slabs were intended to be ground to powder and then used for glazing purposes. Glazed ivory shells, faience and pottery objects have been found in Mohenjo-daro. In Egypt, green glazes appear much earlier on Badarian pottery (*c.* 4000 B.C.) and in Mesopotamia from the Jemdet Nasr period (*c.* 3000 B.C.).

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True glass turns up in India rather late, at the beginning of the historical period, whereas this man-made fourth state of matter, in the form of coloured beads, are known in Egypt from predynastic graves at Naquada (4000–3500 B.C.), Abydos (3500–3250 B.C.), Qau (2600–2500 B.C.) and Dahshur (2100 B.C.). The art of making glass vessels has been practised in Egypt and Mesopotamia from about *c.* 1500 B.C. The earliest true glass objects in India have so far turned up in Taxilaa in its three main mounds, Bhir (*c.* fifth century B.C.), Sirkap and Sirsukh and in Kopia in U.P. (fifth century B.C.), although references to glass in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* would indicate its use in India at a much earlier period. Other finds at Dharmarajika Stupa (*c.* first or second century A.D.), Ahicchatra (*c.* from A.D. 100 onwards), Chandravalli (*c.* first century A.D.) and Arikamedu (*c.* second century A.D.) belong to later periods. Kopiab has also yielded evidence of glass manufacture at the site itself. Chemical analyses of Indian specimens reveal considerable difference from those of contemporary Babylonian, Roman or Chinese glass and point to an indigenous industry. It is, however, quite possible that the technical know-how was originally derived from the craftsmen of this long-established ancient art of West Asia.

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a Wheeler (1), pp. 187–99.

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b Allchin (F. R.), pp. 136–39; p. 10.

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c Thapar (1), pp. 115–19.

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d Allchin (B. and R.), p. 229.

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e Marshall, p. 469.

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f *Ibid.*, p. 574.

The Vedic Literature

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The Vedic literature is the oldest Indian and also the most outstanding specimen of the earliest Indo-European literary effort. Unlike the canonical literature of other great religions, which often represents a complete collection worked out in some definite time, the *Vedas* are considered to be revealed (*śruti*) knowledge *par excellence* handed down from generation to generation by a unique method of oral transmission. The whole literature has been conveniently divided, according to content and chronology in a general way, into three distinct classes, e.g. the *Saṃhitās*, the *Brāhmaṇas*, and the *Āraṇyakas-Upaniṣads*. Despite this classification, there is a great deal of unity and intermixture of materials among the three divisions. Chronologically, although the *Saṃhitās* are older than the *Brāhmaṇas* and the *Brāhmaṇas* than the *Āraṇyakas-Upaniṣads*, some of the *Brāhmaṇas* are older than, or contemporaneous with, some of the *Saṃhitās*, and likewise with the *Brāhmaṇas vis-à-vis* the *Āraṇyakas-Upaniṣads*.

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*The Four Saṃhitās*

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The *Saṃhitās* are lyrical collections of hymns, prayers, invocations, sacrificial and magical formulas, of which a great variety must have existed at one time, depending on the numerous families of the Vedic bards. We now possess only four such great collections, e.g. (i) the *Ṛgveda*, the book of strophes (*ṛcas*) or hymns and prayers (*mantras*) to be recited during sacrifices and rituals, (ii) the *Sāmaveda*, the book of melodies (*sāmans*) in accordance with which the *ṛcas* are to be sung, (iii) the *Yajurveda*, the book of sacrificial formulas (*yajūṃṣi*) available again under two distinct groups, the Black and the White, and (iv) the *Atharvaveda*, the book of magical formulas.

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a *ARASI*, 1919–20 (1920); *see also* Lal (B. B. Dr.), pp. 19-22.

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b Roy and Varshney, pp. 366–68, 392.

The Ṛgveda

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The *Ṛgveda* is the most ancient and important collection comprising 1,028 hymns and 10,462 *ṛcas* distributed over 10 *maṇḍalas* or books. From the researches of Bergaigne, Oldenberg, Bloomfield and others, it is now well known that these *maṇḍalas* and the hymns constituting them were formulated in different periods—how different or ancient it is impossible to say with any definiteness. The books II to VII, for example, contain the oldest hymns, and books I and X, containing an assortment of hymns on diverse subjects, including the oft-quoted cosmogonic hymns, represent the latest collections. Book IX dealing with the glorification of the *soma* drink and carrying forward the *soma*-cult of the Indo-Iranian period must be given high antiquity. The portrayal, in the oldest hymn-books, of a simple patriarchal life in small communities on the banks of the Indus, with a warm love and adoration of nature and, in the latest books, of an organized Brahminical hierarchy already propagating the virtues of a society based on caste, penetrating farther east, clearly indicates the great difference of time between the primitive origin of the hymns and their redaction into the *Ṛk-Saṃhitā* we are familiar with.

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As to sciences, their origins, although couched in mythological forms, are traceable in the *Ṛgveda*. References to the threefold division of the heaven, the sun and the moon, their motions through stellar constellations, solar eclipse, division of time in days, months, year, intercalation, etc., clearly herald the beginning of astronomy and calendrical science. Interest in medicine is reflected in the fact that several of the Vedic gods occasionally play the role of physicians providing remedies. The foremost among them are the twin brothers Aśvins, sometimes also called Nāsatyas, who had the powers of healing the blind, the thin and the feeble and men with broken bones.a Another Vedic god who has something to do with healing is Varuṇa, the lord and guardian of *ṛta*, the Vedic equivalent of the Indo-Aryan word *āsa* (old Persian, *arta*), which has been variously interpreted as meaning 'a regular order in general', 'moral rectitude', 'a true law of the universe' and so on.b This *ṛta* which is responsible for the orderly functioning of universal laws such as the fixity of the stars, the movements of celestial bodies, etc., also controls matters terrestrial and spiritual, including the orderly or disorderly functioning of bodies of human beings on the earth. The beginnings of a plant science have been traced in stray references to external and internal structures of plants, some physiological processes involved in manuring, plant classification and evolution. Regarding agriculture, trade and industry, Winternitz mentions that barley used to be cultivated, cattle-rearing formed the main source of income, horse was highly prized and harnessed before the chariot in war and peace, and wood-workers, cabinet and chariot makers, metal workers, shipbuilders and so on formed the main backbone for what passed for industries in Vedic times.a No less important are the philosophical hymns enquiring about the origin of things and of a creator who is variously named as Prajāpati, Bṛhaspati, Viśvakarman, and ‘the One’.

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a *ṚV.*, X. 39.3.5.

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b Filliozat (2), p. 76 (French version).

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*The Sāmaveda*

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The *Sāmaveda* is an anthology of the *Ṛgveda*. The *Saṃhitā* has come down to us in three recensions or schools, e.g. those of the Kauthumas, the Rānāyanīyas and the Jaiminīyas or Talavakāras. It is a collection of both songs and verses. The majority of the verses are borrowed from the *Ṛgveda*, although these are often marked by variations of a linguistic character or those due to exigencies of musical adaptations. A source book of great importance for the study of the most ancient history of Indian music, the *Sāmaveda* and its *Brāhmaṇas* and *Sūtras* are also full of interest from the viewpoint of calendrical astronomy because of their fuller treatment of *gavām ayana*, the *sattras* of various durations and other ceremonies built round the daily progress of the sun. As a derivative work, the *Saṃhitā* naturally enough offers no clue towards the determination of its date except that it is posterior to the *Ṛgveda*.

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*The Yajurveda*

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As a compendium of sacrificial formulas, the *Saṃhitā* of the *Yajurveda* came to be developed in a large number of schools of Adhvaryu priests and recensions. Although Patañjali, in the introduction to his *Mahābhāṣya*, mentions 100 schools of the *Veda* of the Adhvaryus, works of the following five schools have come down to us: (a) the *Kāṭhaka* or, more correctly, the *Carāyaṇīya-Kaṭha-Saṃhitā*, representing the main recension of the *Kaṭha* school; (b) the *Kapiṣṭhala-(Kaṭha)-Saṃhitā*, representing another recension of the same *Kaṭha* school, preserved only in fragments; (c) the *Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā*, of the Maitrāyaṇīya school; (d) the *Taittirīya-Saṃhitā*, of the Taittirīya or, more particularly, the Āpastamba school; and (e) the *Vājasaneyi-Saṃhitā*, after the teacher Yājñavalkya Vājasaneya, in the recensions of Kanva and Madhyandina.

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Traditionally, the works of the first four schools are grouped under the *Black Yajurveda* and the last *Saṃhitā* belongs to the *White Yajurveda*, but both the groups, on the whole, deal with common materials. As to their relationship to the *Ṛgveda*, both the groups and their recensions abound in *mantras* borrowed from the *Ṛgveda*, with, however, many and profound variations. The chief difference between the *Black* and the *White Yajurveda* lies in the fact that, in the former, the *mantras* are followed by, and often intermingled with, theological discussions and explanations, in prose, called *Brāhmaṇas*, whereas, in the latter, the *mantras* are carefully separated from the *Brāhmaṇas* and the materials treated in a more systematic manner.

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a Winternitz, I, pt. 1, pp. 55–57.

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From the geographical data embedded in these texts, it appears that the *Kaṭha-Kapiṣṭhala* school flourished in Kashmir and the Panjab and the *Maitrāyaṇīya* school in Gujarat, the *Taittirīyas* had their largest number of adherents in South India from where Āpastamba and Baudhāyana came and the sphere of activity of the Vājasaneyins was confined largely in north-eastern and eastern parts of India.a Such a distribution of spheres of influence of the various Yajus schools was, however, by no means water-tight, for there exists clear evidence of the Kaṭha and the *Taittirīya* schools operating in the Madhyadeśa as well.

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The verses or *ṛcas* which occur in the various recensions of the *Yajurveda* are also found in the *Ṛgveda*, with the difference that the whole hymns of the latter are rarely incorporated in the former. As Winternitz has pointed out, the *Yajurveda* used only single verses, 'torn from their context, which just appeared suitable to some sacrificial ceremony or other...' There is hardly any ground for doubting that the various recensions of the *Yajurveda* are posterior to the *Ṛgveda* and that the *Saṃhitās* of the *Kāṭhaka*, *Kapiṣṭhala*, *Maitrāyaṇī* and *Taittirīya* schools are older than the *Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā*.

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The importance of the *Yajurveda* texts as possessing several passages of considerable astronomical significance need hardly be overestimated. While the *nakṣatras* are doubtless mentioned in the *Ṛgveda*, their whole series numbering 27 or 28 and headed by *Kṛttikās* turn up for the first time in the recensions of the *Yajurveda*. The *gavām ayana* and the *sattras* resembling those already given in, and probably taken over from, the *Sāmaveda* and its *Brāhmaṇas*, find lengthy treatment in these *Yajus* texts. Traces of mathematical knowledge are reflected here and there in the enumeration and naming of large numbers in multiples of ten, cases of addition, subtraction and multiplication, fractions first noticed in the *Ṛgveda* and further developed in the *Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā*, and progressive series.

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From the point of view of medicine, the *Yajurveda* texts also contain information of importance, though not much different from other *Saṃhitās*, except of course the *Atharvaveda* about whose importance in relation to medicine we shall say more in what follows. Rudra who is represented in the Vedic literature as one possessing great strength and power and as the cause of terror is described in the *Yajurveda* as the first divine physician—*prathamo daivyo bhiṣak*.b This idea is also found in the *Ṛgveda* where this terror-inspiring Rudra is also famed as the best of all physicians.c About the different diseases, the *White Yajurveda* mentions 100 types of *yakṣmā*, including the *rājayaksmā* and the legend of Soma, the moon being afflicted by the disease.d Of the anatomical nomenclature compiled by Filliozate from the various Vedic *Saṃhitās*, several are found in the *Yajurveda* and its *Brāhmaṇas*. The pathological relationship of bile (*pitta*) with *agni* is attested in both the *Atharvaveda* and the *Yajurveda*.a A large number of plant remedies are recommended for curing diseases in the various recensions of the *Yajurveda*. In this connection important references to plant structures, physiology and classification are also met with in this *Saṃhitā*.

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a Keith (2), p. xciii.

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b *Taitt. S.*, IV. 1.2; *Vāj. S.*, XVI. 5.

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c *ṚV.*, II. 33.4.

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d *YV.*, XII. 97; *Taitt. S.*, II. 3.5.2.

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e Filliozat (2), pp. 121–28 (French version).

The Atharvaveda

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The *Atharvaveda* comprises 731 hymns and about 6,000 verses grouped under 20 books of which the first eighteen form the *Atharvaveda* proper and the last two supplementary additions of comparatively recent date. Its borrowings from the *Ṛgveda* are considerable, as much as one-seventh deriving without variation from the *ṛcas* belonging to books X, I and VIII. But quite a large number of the verses are original and bear marks of great antiquity. At the time of its taking shape, the Vedic Indians had already penetrated to the south-east and settled down in the Gangetic plains, as evidenced by the mention of a tiger-skin as symbol of royal power.b Society also became differentiated into four castes with the Brāhmaṇas claiming the highest privileges.

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The oldest name of this fourth *Veda* was probably *Atharvāṅgirasaḥ*. The frequent separation of this compound word and the mention of the *Veda* by each name show ‘that the compound is not a congealed formula, but that the texts are conscious of the fact that each has a distinct individuality, a right to separate existence.’c Originally, both the words ‘*atharvan*’ and ‘*aṅgiras*’ meant fire-priest, the fire-cult playing an important role in the daily life of the Indian people in much the same way as it did in the case of the ancient Persians. The two terms further signified two different species of magic formulas; the *atharvan* referred to holy magic bringing about happiness and the *aṅgiras* to hostile sorcery or black magic.

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The Atharvan songs and spells concerning healing of diseases throw important light on the oldest system of Indian medical science. Through these charms and spells the symptoms of a large number of diseases are described with great clarity. Winternitz notices a remarkable similarity between the magic incantations of the Indians and those of old Germans in the fact that while the *Atharvaveda* mentions 55, 77, or 99 diseases, German incantations often refer to 77 or 99 diseases.d Another peculiarity of the *Atharvaveda* consists in its recognition of worms as the causes of many diseases. Descriptions given of these worms are also of considerable zoological interest. The *Atharvaveda* is also very rich in anatomical nomenclature as will be clear from a glance at Filliozat’s list mentioned previously.

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b Winternitz, I, pt. I, p. 108.

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Opinion is divided on the question of origin of the theory of *tridoṣa* or *tridhātu* in the *Atharvaveda*. But the physiological role of air or *prāṇa* as an organic and cosmic force is well attested in the *Saṃhitās*, including the *Atharvaveda*. This point is important from the point of view of the evolution of the pneumatic theory, its maturity in later Āyurvedic texts and the parallelism noticed in some Greek texts such as one treatise on this subject by Hippocrates and Plato's *Timaeus*.

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a *AV.*, XVIII. 3.5; *Vāj. S.*, XVII. 6; *Kāṭh. S.*, XVII. 17.

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c Bloomfield, p. xviii.

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d Winternitz, I, pt. I, p. 115.

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The *Atharvaveda* offers little assistance towards our understanding of the nature and extent of the Vedic astronomy. Nevertheless, it does contain stray passages of astronomical consequence, such as the solar eclipse, the mention of *rāhu* for the first time, intercalation with a thirteenth month and similar titbits. Its late nineteenth book reproduces the list of 28 *nakṣatras* including *Abhijit*.

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Finally, its cosmogonic and philosophical hymns belonging doubtless to the latest parts of this *Veda* are of no less importance to the history of Indian science. In 63 hymns addressed to goddess earth, a specimen of good ancient poetry, Mother Earth is described with all her physical geographical peculiarities as the supporter and preserver of life. Likewise, time (*kāla*) is recognized as the first cause of all existence. Time is ageless, begot the yonder heaven and the earth, then the waters, the *brahma*, the *tapas* and the regions of space and so on.

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*The Brāhmaṇas*

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The *Brāhmaṇas*, the second great division of the Vedic literature, have been styled by Winternitz as the ‘Science of Sacrifice’. Eggeling, in his introduction to the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, has traced the genesis of this class of literature to the gradual dispersal of the Brāhmaṇa communities from the Panjab to the eastern and southern parts of the country and to the necessity of dividing sacrificial duties among different classes of priests, namely the Hotār, the Udgātar, the Adhvaryu (the performer of the actual sacrificial acts) and the Brāhmaṇa or high priest.

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The beginnings of such theological elucidations may be seen in the *Saṁhitās* of the *Black Yajurveda* where the *mantras* as a rule are either followed by, or intermingled with, their dogmatic explanations to constitute the *Brāhmaṇa* portion which thus developed into a convenient textbook for the Adhvaryu priest. This might have stimulated concurrently the compilation of *Brāhmaṇa* texts for the Hotār and the Udgātar priests. The Vājasaneyins who came later obviously profited by the experience of the older schools and from the beginning separated the *Brāhmaṇa* from the carefully selected *mantras* and arranged the whole literature in a highly systematic manner. The principal *Brāhmaṇas* which thus came to be attached to the different *Saṁhitās* are enumerated below:

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