The Prehistoric Background of Indian Culture

The object of this book is to present the results of archaeological research, both past and present, in a manner that will be comprehensible to the general reader, while at the same time giving the student those important details which are the essential evidence from which this story of cultural progress has been constructed. In places this evidence is very thin, and there are still a number of very important problems to which at the moment we have no answers, though we cannot be said to be wholly clueless. Stone Age India is unfortunately, lacking in such popular features as cave art, which in the case of Europe serves to lighten the rather dreary jargon of stone chipping techniques. the improvements in man’s ability to fashion stone tools is however part of his story, one of the few parts indeed left for us to read after so many thousands of years; we can hardly neglect it. Archaeological jargon is inevitable, but it has been explained where it cannot be excluded. Much that is purely speculative often set down in generalized accounts as matters of fact. It is for this reason that it is shown here that almost all interpretation of the archaeological material of these early periods is in fact speculative. This does not by any manner of means suggest that such interpretations are necessarily wrong, but merely that they are open to argument. It is for this reason that where contrary opinions are held on what are quite vitally important points, the reader is admitted to the arena of archaeological controversy where conflicting views engage in academic strife. The scope of this volume is to carry the reader forward through the ages to the point where dynasties such as the Mauryas and the Satavahanas make their appearance on the historical scene. There will, without doubt, be some marginal overlapping with subsequent volumes, but this is inevitable if a firm background is to be established. In order to provide this, the narrative brings the reader down to the first century of the Christian era, that is firmly in the early historic period.