Prehistory: A People’s History of India 1

Prehistory by Irfan Habib describes the earliest ages of human life in India, long before the existence of written records. It is part of a larger project, a People’s History of India, but is also intended to stand alone as an independent monograph. In this monograph, as well as others in the series which will be published successively, the style is sought to be kept simple without making it ‘popular’, rhetorical or inexact. Use of technical terms is kept to a minimum, and an effort is made to provide a workable explanation of each term at first use. So too, abbreviations are avoided if these would mean nothing to the lay reader. The monograph is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 treats in brief the geological formation of India, and changes in its climate and natural environment in so far as these relate to an understanding of our prehistory and history. Chapter 2 provides the story of man, first in the global context, and then within India. Chapter 3 describes the coming of agriculture and the beginnings of exploitative relationships. Technical or controversial matters that need special attention are dealt with in notes appended to each chapter. There are bibliographical notes, where the more important books and articles covering the subject of the chapter are listed with brief comments. There are also tables, maps and figures, which are useful aids in understanding the subject as well as interesting in themselves.