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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.
History of Archaeology
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
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.