Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

ARCHAEOLOGY

ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeology is a science which reconstructs the history of people who lived in the past, primarily with a view to trace human evolution. It is amultidisciplinary study dealing with the progress of man, physical and natural sciences. The main sources for ar- chaeological study are ancient human settlements, monuments, artefacts, epigraphs, coins and literary works. Myths and legends are also useful in understanding cultural diffusion, social and relig- ious institutions of the day. Although artefacts may not reveal every thought the producer had, it is possible in most instances to trace the thought process of a man and his achievements. For instance, the thought process behind the simplification of the picto- rial writing of the Indus valley people or the urban discipline result- ing from the practice of yoga have been traced by a study of the related objects of the Indus Valley civilisation. Rig Veda, the earliest literary work of the world, which is almost 4000 years old, mentions arma and armaka, the ruined settlements of the ancestors in the Sarasvati valley. In fact they are found to be ruins of Indus (Harappan) settlements datable to 2500 B.C. The epic Mahabharata mentions that Dwaraka was founded by Lord Krishna on the west coast where an earlier town known as Kusasthali stood. Both the traditions have been investi- gated by archaeologists and found to be true. In Europe, Herodotus, a Greek historian, visited the pyramids in Egypt and wrote about them.' In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte brought from Egypt the Rosetta Stone which later became famous as it provided the key to the decoding of the ancient Egyptian writing. Real archaeological discovery began with the excavation of ancient Troy by the German scholar Heinrich Schliemann. Archaeology received official recognition in India in 1861 when Alexander Cunningham was asked to survey ancient monuments and sites. Prehistoric archaeology began with the discovery of a palaeolith in a ballast pit at Pallavaram near Madras in 1863 by the geologist Robert Bruce Foote. Earlier, neoliths were found by M.P. Le Mesurier of the East India Railway in the Tosney River valley. Cunningham as Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India explored a major part of northern India and published 23 History of Archaeology

volumes of survey reports containing valuable information on Bud- dhist and Brahminical sites and monuments. His successor, James Burgess, made extensive architectural and epigraphical surveys from 1902 onwards. John Marshall as Director-General excavated Buddhist sites including Taxila (now in Pakistan) and Vaisali in Bihar. Other noteworthy sites are Kasia, Nalanda, Pataliputra, Rajagriha, Sanchi, Sravasti and Sarnath. The Indus civilisation came to light from the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro under his direction from 1922 to 1932. The reports on Mohenjo- Daro were published by him and those on Harappa by M.S. Vats. Mortimer Wheeler’s contribution as Director-General from 1944 to 1948 was twofold. He laid the foundation of scientific excavation- by imparting training to young archaeologists from the Archaeo- logical Survey and universities. Another contribution of his is the introduction of strategic planning in the solution of archaeological problems such as filling the gap in Indian history between the end of the Indus civilisation and the beginning of the Mauryan rule. For filling the gap he selected Taxila and Harappa in the north and Brahmagiri and Arikamedu in the south. At the two ends contacts with the dated sites outside India were known. Periodisation in Archaeology Two main divisions are pre-historic archaeology and historical archaeology, the former relating to the period before the use of writing and the latter to the period for which record of events is available. Until Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro seals were found, it was thought that the history of India began with the invasion of Alexander in 326 B.C. Pliny and others give a brief account of the kingdoms of India. The period before 326 B.C. was considered as pre-history. A third division namely proto-history in the case of India is necessary because there are 3000 seal inscriptions of the Indus civilisation dating back to 2500 B.C. and much historical data are likely to be collected when they are read. The latest attempt by S.R. Rao at decipherment of the Indus script having proved suc- cessful many scholars are looking forward to the elicitation of historical events. The period between 2500 B.C. and 326 B.C. is however considered as proto-history, as coherent chronological framework for the Indus and post-Indus periods is yet to be established.