Archaeological Sources

The study of the human past through material remains is known as

Archaeology. An artifact is any portable object made and altered by human
hands. Similar artifacts made of the same material found in a site comprise an
Industry. All industries found at a site form its assemblage. If similar
assemblages are found at several sites, these sites are said to belong to the
same archaeological culture. Interpretation is as important in archaeology as
in literary sources. Archaeology usually provides an anonymous history, on
that sheds light on cultural processes rather than events, but is the only
source of history for prehistory, the longest part of the human past. It
provides us information on the history of human settlements and gives very
specific details about the modes of subsistence-the food that people procured
to live and how they procured it. It offers details about the crops that people
grew, the agricultural implements that they used, and the animals they hunted
and tamed.

Artefacts found in the archaeological record generally consist of things which

have been thrown away, lost, forgotten, hidden or left behind (intentionally or
unintentionally). Sites are often discovered by accident. They can also be
discovered using clues in literature, by regional or village surveys or aerial
photography. There are also many scientific methods like LANDSAT imagery
that can help us to find archaeological sites.

One of the important features of Archaeology is Stratigraphy. It simply means

that if there are different layers or levels in a site then the lower levels are
said to be the older ones. This feature helps us to understand the time period
to which different artifacts belong to.

There are different scientific techniques which can be used to price out the
information contained in the artifacts like that of radiocarbon dating,
thermoluminiscense, electron spin resonance, fission track dating etc., which
gives us an idea about the chronology of the artifacts discovered. Chemical
analysis of the soil samples at the site can help us determine the degree of
human activity and presence at a site. Palaeonotological studies help us to
understand what people looked like and to plot patterns of migration. The
study of faunal remains gives information about the animals that the humans
hunted and domesticated, the age of the animals at death and the diseases
which afflicted them.

Sometimes bones can reveal the contact between communities. For instance
the identification of fish bones and shells at Inamgaon-at least 200 KM from
the sea-shows that its inhabitants had contacts with coastal communities.
Even the study of the dental structure of the humans can provide us with
information about the subsistence pattern of the people of the period.
Diseases such as arthritis, nutritional deficiencies and tuberculosis leave their
mark on the bone which helps us to understand the diseases that were
prevalent at that period of time. Human bones are also examined to make
inferences on the size of the population, density, mortality, fertility and life
expectancy. Palaeo-botanical studies like that of the study of the pollen
remains and other minute plant remains, seeds, charcoal, sediment etc.
provide us with a lot of information about the past.

Ethno archeology is an important branch within Archaeology which deals

with the study of present day communities and cultures to interpret
archaeological evidence related to communities of the past. For instance a
tradition of carnelian bead manufacturing exists in Khambhat in Gujarat,
today, which gives us clues about how the bead were manufactured in the
Harappan period and the possible social organization of the bead makers. But
however these evidences must be used cautiously as there are major
differences between the past and the present.

Epigraphy and Numismatics are also important branches within archaeology

but also independent subjects in their own right.

Epigraphy

There is no aspect of the history of ancient India which is not illuminated by

inscriptions. Hardly any definite dates and identifications can be established
except from them and they regulate almost everything that we learn from
tradition literature, coin, art, architecture or any other source. The study of
inscriptions is known as Epigraphy. An inscription is any writing which is
engraved on something-stone, wood, metal, ivory, bronze statues, bricks, clay,
shells, pottery etc.

The oldest inscriptions in India are in the undeciphered Harappan script. The
oldest deciphered inscriptions belong to the late 4th century BC and are in
Brahmi and Kharoshthi. These include also that of the emperor Ashoka, which
are in a number of different languages and scripts but mostly in Prakrit
language and Brahmi script. In South India inscriptions in Tamil-brahmi and
towards the later period inscriptions in various regional languages were also
found. Kharoshti however disappeared soon and brahmi had become
favoured script.

Inscriptions can be classified on the basis of many different aspects such as

that of the material on which they are engraved on, the language, age
geographical region etc. They can also be classified as official and private
records. Ashoka’s edicts and royal land grants are examples of official records.
Inscriptions recording the grants made by private individuals or guilds to
temples or to Buddhist or Jaina establishments are examples of private
records.

On the basis of their purpose inscriptions can be classified into donative,

dedicative and commemorative inscriptions. For example the Lumbini pillar
of Ashoka is a royal commemorative inscription, recording a specific event of
Ashoka visiting the birth place of Buddha. Dedicative memorial stones were
mainly set up in memory of dead heroes, women who committed sati. On the
Konkan coast many memorial stones were set up in memory of the sailors
who lost their lives in sea battles. Donative inscriptions in favour religious
establishments were inscribed on shrine walls, railings and gateways. Certain
inscriptions also tell us about the building of water works, wells, and
charitable feeding houses by individuals.

Inscriptions as a source of history have the advantage of durability. They are

contemporaneous with the events they speak and their information can be
connected to a time and place. Changes and additions made to them can be
usually detected without much difficulty. Inscriptions may contain only small
amount of data, but many inscriptions put together can provide us with
important historical information. Inscriptions often reflect what the people
were actually doing. One can assume that Ashokan inscriptions essentially a
set of moral preachings, were located only at those places which witnessed a
large number of people congregating or simply passing through. From this
point of view, the location of these edicts provides some insight into the
ancient human landscape of India during that period.

The prashastis give details about the history of dynasties and the aggregate
achievement of the ruling king. However sometimes confusion is created
when there are inscriptions giving conflicting claims. Inscriptions have been a
major source of information on political structures and administrative and
revenue systems. They can also shed light on the history of settlement
patterns, agrarian relations, forms of labour and class and caste structures.

Numismatics

The study of coins is known as Numismatics. Despite some clear evidence of

foreign influence on the coinage of Ancient India, there is a distinct Indian
coinage culture. A coin has two sides which can provide us with vital
information from the past. The main message bearing side is known as the
Obverse side and the other side is the Reverse side.

There are early records in Ancient Indian history which actually could be
referring to coinage. The rig Veda mentions word such as Nishka (gold) and
Nishka griva (gold ornaments) and Hiranya Pinda (gold goblet). Later Vedic
texts use terms such as Nishka, suvarna, shatamana and pada. These many
have been metal pieces of definite weight, not necessarily full-fledged coins.
Buddhist texts and the Ashtadhyayi also refer such terms, which could be
indicative of coinage during the period.

The basic unit of Indian coin weight systems was the gunja berry also known
as the raktika or rati.

There are many different types of coins. Such punch marked, cast coins, die
cast coins etc. The oldest coins in the subcontinent were the punch-marked
coins, made mostly of silver, some of copper. They were usually rectangular
and sometimes square, they were mostly irregular, as their corners were
snipped off to adjust their weight.

The punch marked coins of northern India can be divided into four main
series on the basis of their weight, the number and nature of the punch marks,
they are namely-Taxila Gandhara type (heavy weight+single punch mark),
Kosala type (heavy weight+multiple punch marks), Avanti type (light
weight+single punch mark) and the Magadhan type (light weight+multiple
punch marks). They did not legends but symbols which were punched into
them and were mostly issued by states. Symbols included geometric designs,
plants animals, the sun, wheel, mountain, tree and sometimes man figures.

The uninscribed cast coins made of copper or alloys of copper appeared soon
after the punch marked coins. The have been found in most parts of the sub-
continent except far south. The coins were made by melting metal and
pouring it into clay or metal moulds.

Other early Indian coin types include the die-struck coins, mostly in copper
and rarely in silver. The symbols were similar to those in punch-marked coins
and were struck onto coins with metal dies that were carefully carved with
required designs.

The next stage in Indian history is marked by the die-struck Indo-Greek coins
of the 2nd and 1st century BC. They were usually round and in silver. They bear
the name and portrait of the issuing ruler on the obverse. The indo-Greeks
issued bilingual and bi-script coins, the names of the issuer appearing on the
obverse in Greek and on the reverse in the Prakrit language usually in the
Kharoshti script (rarely in brahmi).

The Kushanas were the first dynasty of the subcontinent to mint large
quantities of gold coins. They also issued many copper coins of lower
denominational value, which shows the spread of money economy.

In the far south, coins with lion and bull motifs, some inscribed with titles
have been ascribed to the Pallavas. The tiger crest is the emblem on Chola
coins, the bow of the Chera coins and the fish of the Pandyan coins.
Coins as sources of history provide us with information on the different
processes in the history. For instance the wide distributions of the Kushana
coins indicate the flourishing trade of the period. The ship on certain
Satvahana coins indicates the importance of maritime trade in the region.
Roman coins found in various parts of India provide information on Indo-
roman trade.

Coins are often taken as the indicative levels of economic prosperity of ancient
regions. Debasement of coins is often taken as a sign of financial crisis in the
state.

Dates appear very rarely on Indian coins, but still they are very useful in
understanding the chronology. Coins also form a vital source of political
history. The area of the circulation of dynastic is often used to estimate the
extent of the empire. Most of the Indo-Greek kings are known almost entirely
from coins. Coins are very suggestive of the possible autonomy of certain city
administrations.

There are many instances when coins can act as the only sources of history
available like in the case of Chandragupta 1 gets married to a Lichchhavi
princess and the only detail of this we get is from the coins commemorating
the event. The performances of sacrificial rituals are also often recorded on
coins. The coins of kings like Samudragupta also try to advertise the kings
personality by portraying him as a warrior, musician etc.

The depiction of deities on coins provides information about the personal

religious preferences of the kings, royal religious policy and the history of the
religious cults.

Thus we can conclude that Archaeological evidence especially that of

epigraphic and numismatic record play a huge role in the reconstruction of
Indian history.