Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

1) Discuss briefly the contributions of auxiliary sciences of history in the

reconstruction of ancient Indian history.

Auxiliary (or ancillary) sciences of history are scholarly disciplines which help evaluate and
use historical sources and are seen as auxiliary for historical research. Many of these areas of
study, classification and analysis were originally developed between the 16th and 19th
centuries by antiquaries, and would then have been regarded as falling under the broad heading
of antiquarianism. "History" was at that time regarded as a largely literary skill. However, with
the spread of the principles of empirical source-based history championed by the Göttingen
School of History in the late 18th century and later by Leopold von Ranke from the mid-19th
century onwards, they have been increasingly regarded as falling within the skill-set of the
trained historian.

Several other disciplines are there in order to factualize the history in the reconstruction of
ancient Indian history.and its events. A historian must use the results achieved by the workers
in other fields of human knowledge.They are called ancillary disciplines or auxiliary sciences
such as- Chronology, palaeography, graphology, sigillography, diplomatic, epigraphy,
numismatics and archaeology besides the number of social sciences which have already
examined in the foregoing paragraphs.All these subjects are mainly digests of practical
experience. The best way to acquaint with them is to practise them. The need for these are
inter-related.
Chronology:
Chronology help us to fix the time determines the frame work of the narrative. The time
element is central to the concept of history without which its real perspective would be lost.
Space, time and cause are fundamental to any phenomenon or experience and these three
aspects are the modes of understanding and interpretation.In history it arranges the important
events which took place in the past in their chronological sequence. It was perhaps invented in
the early ages for two equally utilitarian purposes viz, fixation of dates for religious operations.
A sound knowledge of chronology has become indispensable for the student of history as the
dates and eras are so confusing in the records that fixation of correct chronology in respect to
several dynasties, itself become great research.

Paleography:“Paleography” is the systematic study of old hand writing. The shape of alphabets
has varied from period to period and from region to region. It describes the evolution of each
letter in time and in space. A paleographer cannot letter in times and in space.A paleographer
cannot only read old manuscripts or inscriptions but also date them and he can tell us the history
of these characters and how they have changed over a period. In the past as also today,
education had the effect of understanding the shape of letters used in each centre of culture.
For example in India the problem is still more complicated with score of different languages
and different scripts in use.Paleography also deals with the abbreviations used by the scribes
who were more in demand before the invention of printing. There are dictionaries which list
the abbreviation used in manuscripts. It gives scope to mental alertness and to the development
of empirical capacities. It develops the ability to face the difficulties as they present themselves
in solving puzzles and problems. A team of scholars is attempting to decipher the script of the
Indus valley civilization through computer science.

Graphology:
“Graphology” is the science of evaluating the character of a person by studying his hand
writing. Research has shown that an undoubted connection exists between a persons character
and his hand writing which betrays what sort of a person he is Graphologist of a person, he
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

should keep an eye on a few factors such as the material used for the writing, the place and
position of the writer, the circumstances under which the writing was done.For example, you
are traveling in a moving bus or train cannot write properly. Similarly, agitated moods, in
sufficient light or pen or ill health are bound to effect the handwriting. It may betray laziness,
needless haste, carelessness and self indulgence.

Diplomatic:
Diplomatic is the systematic study of the form of the official pattern of behaviour and writing.
The word “Diploma” meant a piece of writing folded double came to be used in course of time
for a passport or letter or recommendation given to persons traveling in province. Its meaning
changed further as it referred to any manuscript or document of legal or historic or literary
value and finally to indicate any kind of official writing.It is observed that such documents
were prepared with the help of government officials. Although these documents were
composed under a particular order but when the findings of paleography and diplomatic
coincides its values is increased. In brief diplomatic is a useful aid to history in trying to find
out the real meaning of a document.

Sigillography:
“Sigillography” is originated from the word “Sigil” means a “Seal” or signature. It also means
a “Mark” or sign supposed to exercise occult power. Particularly, in history it signify the study
of seals and can be looked upon as a department of diplomatic.It is also know “Sphragistic”
meaning the study of engraved seals including their authenticity, age, history, content etc. the
seals of the Indus Valley civilization have remained undeciphered because of the script used in
it.During the Medieval Indian history seals played a very important role in the administration
without which no document was valid. They help us a lot in giving us much information about
the name of ruler, his title, the extent of his empire, the date of document, religion or dynasty
he belonged to as well as the date and era of the issue. These seal also indicates the level of
cultural development of the period.

Archaeology, Epigraphy, Numismatics:

Archaeology, Epigraphy and Numismatics are the hand-maids of history. These disciplines are
scientific in character and precise in their methodology. Ancient Indian history owes to these
three branches for the reconstruction of many of its chapter. The explorations, the coping and
reading of inscriptions, the study of coins and soon have brought to light numerous chapters in
the history of the world.Physics is helpful in determining the possible archaeological sites.
Engineering chemistry and photography are summoned to the help of archaeologist. Whose
business is to dig scientifically? It is a scientific study of the remnants of the past. Ancient sites,
relics, monuments, counts, inscriptions and other artifacts all enable an archaeologist to
reconstruct history in a most plausible manner.Epigraphy is a paleography and diplomatic of
inscriptions placed upon monuments or given to individuals on copper plates as title deeds of
land grants. The historian should have the ability to read these records or get them deciphered
and translated for him by those who know the language.In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka there are
thousands of such inscriptions such as a historian Lewis Rice collected as many as ten thousand
inscriptions in a part of Karnataka which was then known as Mysore State. They are valuable
factual source of information on politics, literature, warfare, religion social, economic and
administrative details etc.

Philology, Anthropology, etc:

“Philology” or study of languages both in their past and present conditions has conferred on
history a lot of advantages. The “anthropologist” deals with the human races and their
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

characteristics, it studies human institutions especially in their early stages. Paleo-botany can
decide the age of the fossils and of dead-wood where as medical science is helpful in
determining the nature and possibly the age of skeletal remains. Even natural sciences can be
extremely useful in historical research.

2) What light do the discoveries at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Balochistan

throw on the cultural development of the earlier communities before
Indus valley civilization .

From the earliest times, the Indus River valley region has been both a transmitter of cultures
and a receptacle of different ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Indus Valley civilization
(known also as Harappan culture) appeared around 2500 B.C. along the Indus River valley in
Punjab and Sindh. This civilization, which had a writing system, urban centers, and a
diversified social and economic system, was discovered in the 1920s at its two most important
sites: Mohenjo-daro, in Sindh near Sukkur, and Harappa, in Punjab south of Lahore. A number
of other lesser sites stretching from the Himalayan foothills in Indian Punjab to Gujarat east of
the Indus River and to Balochistan to the west have also been discovered and studied. How
closely these places were connected to Mohenjo-daro and Harappa is not clearly known, but
evidence indicates that there was some link and that the people inhabiting these places were
probably related.

Let us begin with the arguments and evidence presented in support of the hypothesis of
desiccation in Baluchistan. There are three major items: (1) the presence of gabar-bands (stone-
faced embankments or “dams” attributed by the Baluchis to the gabar or Zoroastrians, intended
for the control of surface water, and usually presumed to be prehistoric); (2) the location and
number of prehistoric mounds in contrast to present-day settlements; and (3) the depth of the
mounds and the sharply defined “cultural” areas, indicative of cultural stability and lack of
movement. The presence of gabar-bands, considered in some cases to be storage dams, is said
to imply a SuI ply of rainfall sufficient to justify their construction, yet precarious enough to
necessitate storage. It is also inferred that their massive stone construction points to a large
settled population as the source of the labor. But are these inferences valid? Storage dams are
built to conserve inadequate rainfall. But were these structures storage dams? Probably not.
Their capacities are negligible. Apart from this, most appear to be situated on porous gravel
fans where storage for more than a few hours, or at most a day or two, would have been
impossible. They seem much more likely to have been a means, quite often successful, of
creating cultivable land-check dams in fact. Water probably passed through and under, and
perhaps sometimes over, them but was held long enough for silt to be deposited gradually
upstream. In many cases the silt on the upstream side is level with the top of the gabar-band,
and in one instance Stein reported that this silt still showed traces of former cultivation.
Agriculture in Baluchistan at the present time is carried on in “. . . larger fields surrounded by
embankments three or four feet high, by which rainfall is caught as it descends from the gravel
slopes bordering the valleys” .Near Ughar, walls descend the slope parallel to each other. “The
southern of the two at its lower end serves as part of the enclosures which bound three
successive cultivation terraces. Each of these contains a flat space of arable soil” .In the Nal
area north of Shakar Khan Damb, Stein reported a few fields “with a modern earth dam
intended to catch for their benefit the drainage from a low ridge to the west. Parallel to this
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

dam runs a ruined gabar-band which obviously served the same purpose” .In other cases gabar-
bands seem to have been simple diversion structures intended to deflect some or all of a flood
onto whatever soil was available before the water was absorbed into the gravel. They were, in
such cases, what would now be called water-spreading structures. Such structures are used
today mainly under arid, not wet, conditions. There is, therefore, little sound evidence to
support the assertion that gabar-bands were storage dams operating under wetter conditions.
The use of large quantities of manpower in the construction of gabar-bands may also be
questioned. The massive blocks of which they are built seem evidence rather of engineering
skill than of abundant manpower. Two typical blocks measured by Stein would have weighed
one ton and two tons respectively, and, because of their small size, would have required rollers
or levers and ropes rather than an army of men to lift or move them. Petrie has pointed out that
in building the Gizeh pyramids a gang of eight man would probably have been sufficient to
handle a single average stone block weighing about two and a half tons. In any case the very
small areas of cultivation made available near the gabar-bands could not have supported a very
large settled population. Laborers, therefore, whether numerous or not, probably were imported
for the purpose, perhaps as seasonal migrants on the present-day pattern. Certainly the size of
the stone blocks need not argue for a large settled population in the vicinity. Another major
point is that the date of the construction of the gabarbands is quite unknown. It is very possible
that they are not prehistoric at all. In at least one instance the only pottery found in the area was
medieval Islamic .In Afghanistan similar stone structures are often attributed by local tradition
to the Islamic period .Elaborate stone-built irrigation structures in South Arabia which are in
some ways comparable are dated mainly to the first millennium B.C. A date in historical times
would hardly be an argument. for a prehistoric rainy period; quite the contrary, it would show
that quite recently there had been agriculture in the areas under discussion. Until the question
of this dating can be resolved the presence of these structures in itself cannot be an adequate
indication of the state of weather in antiquity.

The northern regions of Pakistan came under the rule of the Sakas, who originated in Central
Asia in the second century B.C. They were soon driven eastward by Pahlavas (Parthians related
to the Scythians), who in turn were displaced by the Kushans (also known as the Yueh-Chih in
Chinese chronicles).The Kushans had earlier moved into territory in the northern part of
present-day Afghanistan and had taken control of Bactria. Kanishka, the greatest of the Kushan
rulers (r. ca. A.D. 120-60), extended his empire from Patna in the east to Bukhara in the west
and from the Pamirs in the north to central India, with the capital at Peshawar (then
Purushapura). Kushan territories were eventually overrun by the Huns in the north and taken
over by the Guptas in the east and the Sassanians of Persia in the west.The age of the imperial
Guptas in northern India (fourth to seventh centuries A.D.) is regarded as the classical age of
Hindu civilization. Sanskrit literature was of a high standard; extensive knowledge in
astronomy, mathematics, and medicine was gained; and artistic expression flowered. Society
became more settled and more hierarchical, and rigid social codes emerged that separated
castes and occupations. The Guptas maintained loose control over the upper Indus
Valley.Northern India suffered a sharp decline after the seventh century. As a result, Islam
came to a disunited India through the same passes that Indo-Aryans, Alexander, Kushans, and
others had entered.

3) Highlight the main features of Amir & of kot digi settlements in

Sindh & discuss the transformation of the earlier agricultural
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

communities into the metal age that ultimately led to the formation of
the Indus civilization.

Kot Diji, archaeological site located near an ancient flood channel of the Indus
River in Pakistan, 15 miles (25 km) south of the city of Khairpur in Sindh province. The site,
which is adjacent to the modern town of Kot Diji, consists of a stone rubble wall, dating to
about 3000 BCE, that surrounds a citadel and numerous residences, all of which were first
excavated in the 1950s.The origins of Kot Diji are recognized as belonging to the early
Harappan period, which dates to about 3500 BCE. Although Kot Diji lasted through the mature
Harappan period (about 2600–1750 BCE), a layer of burned debris separates structures of the
early and the mature periods, which suggests that the settlement was at some point heavily
damaged by fire. Artifacts, including pottery, that display a distinct Kot Dijian style have been
excavated from Kot Diji and other archaeological sites in the region.

Kot Diji is located in the vicinity of several other important historic sites. It sits to the east
of Mohenjo-daro, a group of mounds that contain the remains of what was once the largest city
of the Indus civilization. A massive hilltop fortress constructed by Tālpur ruler Sohrāb Khān
in the early 19th century is also nearby.Sindh, also spelled Sind, province of
southeastern Pakistan. It is bordered by the provinces of Balochistān on the west and
north, Punjab on the northeast, the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat to the east, and
the Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh is essentially part of the Indus River delta and has derived
its name from that river, which is known in Pakistan as the Sindhu. The province of Sindh was
established in 1970. The provincial capital, Karāchi, is situated on the southwestern coast. Area
54,407 square miles (140,914 square km). Pop. (2006 est.) 35,864,000.The area of present-day
Sindh province was the centre of the ancient Indus valley civilization, as represented by the
sites of Mohenjo-daro, Amre, and Kot Diji. This early civilization existed from about 2300 to
1750 BCE. There is then a gap of more than a millennium before the historical record is
renewed with Sindh’s annexation to the (Persian) Achaemenid empire under Darius I in the
late 6th century BCE. Nearly two centuries later, Alexander the Great conquered the region in
326 and 325 BCE. After his death, Sindh came under the domination of the empires of Seleucus
I Nicator, Chandragupta Maurya (c. 305 BCE), the Indo-Greeks and Parthians in the 3rd–2nd
century BCE, and the Scythians and the Kushāns from about 100 BCE to 200 CE. Sindh’s
population adopted Buddhism under the Kushān rulers in the 1st century CE. From the 3rd to
the 7th century CE, the area remained under the rule of the Persian Sāsānids.The Arab conquest
of Sindh in 711 heralded the entry of Islam into the Indian subcontinent. Sindh was part of the
administrative province of Al-Sind in the Umayyad and ʿAbbāsid empires from 712 to about
900, with its capital at Al-Manṣūrah, 45 miles (72 km) north of present-day Hyderabad. With
the eventual weakening of central authority in the caliphate, the Arab governors of Al-Sindh
established their own dynastic rule of the region from the 10th to the 16th century. In the 16th
and 17th centuries Sindh was ruled by the Mughals (1591–1700) and then by several
independent Sindhian dynasties, the last of which lost the region to the British in 1843. At that
time most of Sindh was annexed to the Bombay Presidency. In 1937 Sindh was established as
a separate province in British India, but after Pakistani independence it was integrated into the
province of West Pakistan from 1955 to 1970, at which time it was reestablished as a separate
province.Topographically, Sindh consists of three parallel belts extending from north to south:
the Kīrthar Range on the west, a central alluvial plain bisected by the Indus River, and an
eastern desert belt. The Kīrthar Range is composed of three parallel tiers of ridges, has little
soil, and is mostly dry and barren. The fertile central plain constitutes the valley of the Indus
River. This plain is about 360 miles (580 km) long and about 20,000 square miles (51,800
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

square km) in area and gradually slopes downward from north to south. When the river’s annual
flood was magnified by unusually heavy monsoon rains in summer 2010, Sindh was hard hit
by the ensuing devastation. The eastern desert region includes low dunes and flats in the north,
the Achhrro Thar (“White Sand Desert”) to the south, and the Thar Desert in the
southeast.Sindh has a subtropical climate and experiences hot summers and cold winters.
Temperatures frequently rise above 115° F (46° C) between May and August, and the average
low temperature of 36° F (2° C) occurs in December and January. Annual precipitation
averages about 7 inches (180 mm), falling mainly during July and August.Except for the
irrigated Indus River valley, the province is arid and has scant vegetation. The dwarf
palm, kher (Acacia rupestris), and lohirro (Tecoma undulata) trees are characteristic of the
western hill region. In the central valley, the babul tree is the most dominant and occurs in thick
forests along the banks of the Indus. Mango, date palm, banana, guava, and orange are typical
fruit-bearing trees cultivated in the Indus valley. The coastal strip and the creeks abound in
semiaquatic and aquatic plants.Sizable and ongoing migration to the province has resulted in
an ethnically mixed population. Indigenous groups are the Mehs, or Muhannas, descendants of
the ancient Mēds; Sammas and the related Lakhas, Lohānās, Nigamaras, Kahahs, and Channas;
Sahtas, Bhattīs, and Thakurs of Rajput origin; Jats and Lorras, both admixtures of the
ancient Scythian and the later Baloch peoples; and Jokhia and Burfat. With the advent of Islam
in the region in the 8th century, groups of Arab, Persian, and Turkish origin settled in Sindh:
the most numerous among these were the Baloch, who, beginning in the 13th century, migrated
to Sindh and made it their second homeland after Balochistān. Another great change occurred
with the influx of Muslim refugees from India after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947; a
substantial part of the population is now descended from refugees from India.The major
indigenous languages in Sindh are Sindhi, Seraiki, and Balochi. With the entry of numerous
linguistic groups from India after 1947, other languages have come to be spoken in the urban
areas. Of these, the most common is Urdu, followed by Punjabi, Gujarati, and Rajasthani. The
national official language, Urdu, is taught in the province’s schools, along with Sindhi. The
province’s population is overwhelmingly Muslim.The population has grown rapidly since 1947
and is concentrated in the cities and the irrigated central valley. The pace of urbanization has
also been swift, and two of the largest cities in Pakistan, Karāchi and Hyderabad, are located
in the province.

Agriculture is the basis of the economy. Sindh’s agricultural productivity increased

substantially after 1961 because of advances in agricultural research, the use of inorganic
fertilizers, and the construction of surface drains to relieve waterlogging and salinity in surface
soils. Sindh’s largest water project, the Gudu Barrage, provides water for irrigation.
Cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, corn (maize), millet, and oilseeds are the major crops in the
province. There are also many orchards yielding mangoes, dates, bananas, and other fruits.
Livestock raising is also important, with cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats the main animals kept.
Sindh’s coastal waters contain prawns and shrimp, pomfrets, shad, and catfish in
abundance.Sindh is one of Pakistan’s most industrialized regions, with much of its large-scale
manufacturing centred in Karāchi. The province accounts for a substantial part of the country’s
entire raw-cotton production and contains many of the nation’s cotton mills. Several large
cement factories turn out much of Pakistan’s cement products, and there is a sugar industry
with a large number of mills. There are also plants producing steel and automobiles.Two major
highways, running along the east and west banks of the Indus River respectively, traverse the
province from south to north. Karāchi is connected by road and railway to Lahore in Punjab
province and to Quetta in Balochistān province. The Indus and some of its channels have
served as the main waterways since time immemorial. These waterways are now mainly used
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

for the transport of grain and other agricultural products. Karāchi is Pakistan’s major
port.Karāchi is the stronghold of the national press. Major universities include Sindh
University, centred in Hyderabad, and Karāchi University. The Sindhi Adabi (literary) board,
which publishes works on Sindhi culture, and the Sindh-Provincial Museum and Library are
located in Hyderabad; libraries in Karāchi include the State Bank of Pakistan Library, the
Liaquat Memorial Library, and others.

4) Define paleolithic ,Mesolithic & Neolithic with examples.

Paleolithic archaeology is concerned with the origins and development of early

human culture between the first appearance of human beings as tool-using mammals (which is
believed to have occurred sometime before 3.3 million years ago) and about 8000 BCE (near
the beginning of the Holocene Epoch [11,700 years ago to the present]). It is included in the
time span of the Pleistocene, or Glacial, Epoch—an interval lasting from about 2,600,000 to
11,700 years ago. Modern evidence suggests that the earliest protohuman forms had diverged
from the ancestral primate stock by the beginning of the Pleistocene. In any case, the oldest
recognizable tools were found in rock layers of Middle Pliocene Epoch (some 3.3 million years
ago), raising the possibility that toolmaking began with Australopithecus or its contemporaries.
During the Pleistocene, which followed directly after the Pliocene, a series of momentous
climatic events occurred. The northern latitudes and mountainous areas were subjected on four
successive occasions to the advances and retreats of ice sheets (known as Günz, Mindel, Riss,
and Würm in the Alps), river valleys and terraces were formed, the present coastlines were
established, and great changes were induced in the fauna and flora of the globe. In large
measure, the development of culture during Paleolithic times seems to have been profoundly
influenced by the environmental factors that characterize the successive stages of
the Pleistocene Epoch.Throughout the Paleolithic, humans were food gatherers, depending for
their subsistence on hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild fruits, nuts,
and berries. The artifactual record of this exceedingly long interval is very incomplete; it can
be studied from such imperishable objects of now-extinct cultures as were made of
flint, stone, bone, and antler. These alone have withstood the ravages of time, and, together
with the remains of contemporary animals hunted by our prehistoric forerunners, they are all
that scholars have to guide them in attempting to reconstruct human activity throughout this
vast interval—approximately 98 percent of the time span since the appearance of the first
true hominin stock. In general, these materials develop gradually from single, all-purpose tools
to an assemblage of varied and highly specialized types of artifacts, each designed to serve in
connection with a specific function. Indeed, it is a process of increasingly more complex
technologies, each founded on a specific tradition, that characterizes the cultural development
of Paleolithic times. In other words, the trend was from simple to complex, from a stage of
nonspecialization to stages of relatively high degrees of specialization, just as has been the case
during historic times.In the manufacture of stone implements, four fundamental traditions were
developed by the Paleolithic ancestors: (1) pebble-tool traditions; (2) bifacial-tool, or hand-ax,
traditions; (3) flake-tool traditions; and (4) blade-tool traditions. Only rarely are any of these
found in “pure” form, and this fact has led to mistaken notions in many instances concerning
the significance of various assemblages. Indeed, though a certain tradition might be superseded
in a given region by a more advanced method of producing tools, the older technique persisted
as long as it was needed for a given purpose. In general, however, there is an overall trend in
the order as given above, starting with simple pebble tools that have a single edge sharpened
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

for cutting or chopping. In southern and eastern Asia, pebble tools of an early type continued
in use throughout Paleolithic times.

Mesolithic:In the Upper Paleolithic of Europe, certain evidence exists for what must have
already been well-organized collective-hunting activities, such as the horse-stampede traces of
Solutré, France, and the great concentrations of mammoth bones of the Gravettian hut
settlements of Czechoslovakia and Russia. Cultural adaptations appear to have been made to
restricted local areas or niches and to the fluctuations of climate and environment during the
changing phases at the end of the Pleistocene range of time. In fact, it could be maintained
generally that Upper Paleolithic traditions flowed rather smoothly into the Mesolithic, with no
more significant indication of cultural development than further environmental readaptations.
The people of the Mesolithic stage, or level of development, can be said to have “changed just
enough so that they would not have to change.”The level of intensified food-
collecting cultures of the early Holocene Period in the Old World is best known from
northwestern Europe, and it is with regard to this area that the term Mesolithic has greatest
currency to denominate archaeological traces. A classic example of such traces comes from the
Maglemose bog site of Denmark, although there are comparable materials ranging from
England to the eastern Baltic lands. These bogs were probably more or less swampy lakes in
Mesolithic times. At about 6000 BCE, when the Maglemosian culture flourished, traces of huts
with bark-covered floors have been found. Flint axes for felling trees and adzes for working
wood have appeared, as well as a variety of smaller flint tools, including a great number of
microlithic scale. These were mounted as points or barbs in arrows and harpoons and were also
used in other composite tools. There were adzes and chisels of antler or bone, besides needles
and pins, fish-hooks, harpoons, and several-pronged fish spears. Some larger tools, of ground
stone (e.g., club heads) have appeared. Wooden implements also have survived because of the
unusually favourable preservative qualities of the bogs; bows, arrow shafts, ax handles,
paddles, and even a dugout canoe have been discovered. Fishnets were made of bark fibre.
There is good evidence that the Maglemosian sites were only seasonally occupied. Deer were
successfully hunted, and fish and waterfowl were taken, and it appears possible that several
varieties of marsh plants were utilized. At Star Carr, in northern England, there are indications
that four or five huts existed in the settlement, with a population of about 25 people.This
description of the Maglemosian must suffice to represent a considerable variety of
European manifestations of the level of intensified post-Pleistocene food collecting. The
catalogs of the Azilian and Tardenoisian industries of western Europe, of the Ahrensburgian of
northern Germany, of the Asturian of Spain, etc., would each differ in detail, but all would
point in the same general direction as regards cultural-historical interpretation.As a further and
far-distant example, the Nachikufan culture of southern Zimbabwe might be cited. Here again,
microlithic flint bladelet tools, with certain types mounted as projectile points or in composite
tools, existed. The Nachikufan cave walls show seminaturalistic drawings, and the caves also
contain “pencils” of red and black pigment. Ground-stone axes and adzes, bored stones
(digging-stick weights?), and normal-sized chopping and scraping tools of chipped stone also
occurred. Grindstones of various types indicate a degree of dependence on collected vegetable
foods, and the animal bones suggest specialization in the hunting of
zebras, wildebeests, hartebeests, and wild pigs. These Nachikufan materials date back to at
least 4500 BCE. Again, an intensified level of food collecting is implied.Though there are vast
gaps in our knowledge of the Holocene Period in many parts of the Old World, enough is
known to see the general cultural level of this range of time. Outside of the regions where food
production was establishing itself, the period was one of a gradual settling-in and of an
increasingly intensive utilization of all the resources of restricted regional niches. At first, the
level seems nowhere to have achieved a climax of artistic expression, such as that for example,
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

of Upper Périgordian–Magdalenian times. But, as time went on, certain climaxes within the
matrix of an intensified level of food collection did occur.

Neolithic:The origins and history of European Neolithic culture are closely connected with
the postglacial climate and forest development. The increasing temperature after the late Dryas
period during the Pre-Boreal and the Boreal (c. 8000–5500 BCE, determined by radiocarbon
dating) caused a remarkable change in late glacial flora and fauna. Thus, the Mediterranean
zone became the centre of the first cultural modifications leading from the last hunters and food
gatherers to the earliest farmers. This was established by some important excavations in the
mid-20th century in the Middle East, which unearthed the first stages of early agriculture and
stock breeding (7th and 6th millennia BCE) with wheat, barley, dogs, sheep, and goats. Early
prepottery Neolithic finds (probably 6th millennium BCE) have been made in the Argissa
Magula near Larissa (Thessaly, Greece), while excavations in Lepenski Vir (Balkan Peninsula)
have brought to light some sculptures of the same period. The independent origin of European
Neolithic was established, and it was thought highly probable that the cradle of farming in the
Middle East had not been the only one: there were others in Europe, too.Neolithic farming in
Europe developed on its own lines in the four different ecological zones. These are: the
Mediterranean zone of evergreen forest and winter rains; north of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and
the Balkans, the temperate zone of deciduous forest and evenly distributed annual rainfall; still
farther north the circumpolar taiga, or coniferous forest (the only zone to remain free of
agriculture and stock breeding); and to the southeast the western end of the Eurasian Steppe.
Each zone itself is subdivided into natural regions by physiographic boundaries and
peculiarities of climate or soil. Only the three major divisions of the temperate zone are not
obvious from every map. We may distinguish: western Europe, from the Atlantic to
the Vosges and Alps and including the British Isles; the loesslands of central Europe, including
the Ukraine and limited by the Balkans and the Harz; and the northern province, that portion
of the Eurasiatic plain lying between the Rhine and the Vistula and including Denmark and
southern Sweden. The substantial Neolithic communities that arose by 6000 BCE must have
been largely recruited from indigenous Mesolithic hunters and fishers, attested to so
abundantly in western and northern Europe by various remains. (Some communities indeed
seem to be composed entirely of such Mesolithic stocks, though they had adopted a Neolithic
equipment from immigrant farmers; such are sometimes termed Secondary Neolithic. From
these Mesolithic survivors, too, must be derived much of the science and equipment applied in
Neolithic times to adapting societies to European environments. Upon the resultant
distinctively European technology and economy was reared a no less original ideological
superstructure expressed in distinctive sepulchral monuments, styles of ceramic decoration,
and fashions in personal ornaments.In each of the above-mentioned provinces, the
archaeological record begins with the early stages of farming, as in Thessaly. In the
Mediterranean zone, this early farming is connected with the cardium pottery (decorated by
shell impressions of Cardium edule), cultivation of the land having been proved by pollen-
analytical methods in France, as elsewhere in temperate Europe, while northern Germany and
southern Scandinavia revealed grain prints in potsherds (Ertebølle-Ellerbek). The process of
cultural formation and modification during the Neolithic may be studied with the help of the
different kinds of pottery and stone artifacts.

5) Write notes on the following topics.

a) Reasons of the decline of Indus valley.

Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

The Indus Valley Civilization declined around 1800 BCE, and scholars debate which factors
resulted in the civilization’s demise. One theory suggested that a nomadic, Indo-European tribe
called the Aryans invaded and conquered the Indus Valley Civilization, though more recent
evidence tends to contradict this claim. Many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus
Valley Civilization was caused by climate change. Some experts believe the drying of the
Saraswati River, which began around 1900 BCE, was the main cause for climate change, while
others conclude that a great flood struck the area.
Various elements of the Indus Civilization are found in later cultures, suggesting the
civilization did not disappear suddenly due to an invasion. Many scholars argue that changes
in river patterns caused the large civilization to break up into smaller communities called late
Harappan cultures.
Another disastrous change in the Harappan climate might have been eastward-
moving monsoons, or winds that bring heavy rains. Monsoons can be both helpful and
detrimental to a climate, depending on whether they support or destroy vegetation and
agriculture.
By 1800 BCE, the Indus Valley climate grew cooler and drier, and a tectonic event may have
diverted or disrupted river systems, which were the lifelines of the Indus Valley Civilization.
The Harappans may have migrated toward the Ganges basin in the east, where they could have
established villages and isolated farms. These small communities would not have been able to
produce the same agricultural surpluses to support large cities. With the reduced production of
goods, there would have been a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia. By around 1700
BCE, most of the Indus Valley Civilization cities had been abandoned.

b) Twin cities of Indus valley civilization.

The twin cities of the Indus River Valley civilization were known as Harappa and Mohenjo-
Daro.The Indus Valley Civilization may have been one of the things you read in school and
forgotten. But did you know that many questions about the civilization still remain unanswered
because the experts couldn’t decipher the inscriptions found at the site? Scientists are still
clueless about the reason for its sudden extinction. They dont know where the people of such
advanced civilization went
Indus Valley Civilization was one of the three early civilizations along with Mesopotamia and
Egypt. It stretched from the present-day north- east Afghanistan to Pakistan to north-west India.
Harappa civilization, which is also known as Saraswati Sindhu Civilization, thrived in the basin
of the Indus River. The civilization is among the most fascinating and mysterious cultures of
the old world.
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, two great cities flourished along the valley of Indus River. The
civilization was discovered after excavations at Harappa in west Punjab and Mohenjo-daro in
Sindh in the 1920s. The twin cities had a similar layout and planning. The ruins of these cities
show that the civilization was technologically advanced with the knowledge of efficient
municipal government and urban planning. The cities’ urban plan included the world’s first-
ever urban sanitation systems. The towns had a proper wastewater management system that
was much better than those in many places in India and Pakistan today. The people of the
towns had trade networks and had domesticated animals. And yet, this advanced civilization
disappeared by 1700 BC.
Based on the excavation, people in Harappa had an evolved system of written communication.
However, the system has still not been deciphered and the civilization is not fully understood.
Several seals were found at both the sites with pictographic inscription which is thought to be
a form of script or writing but despite using modern cryptographic analysis and the efforts of
Ancient cultures & civilization of India (5672)

experts from all around the world the signs remain a mystery. The scientists are still not sure
whether they are proto-Dravidian or any other language. According to Indian epigraphist
Iravatham Mahadevan, the Indus Valley used the Dravidian language.
You can now visit Mohenjo Daro, which is located in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, as India
and Pakistan have a new visa agreement. Under the new agreement, single-entry visas will
cover five cities. The visa will be valid for a maximum period of six months. You can also plan
a group trip to Pakistan, as the country has declared a group tourist visa that will be issued for
groups of 10 to 50 people. The group visa will be valid for 30 days.