{"id":4737,"date":"2021-02-11T17:33:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T12:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?page_id=4737"},"modified":"2024-05-29T17:36:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T12:06:39","password":"","slug":"construction-of-ancient-history","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/docs\/construction-of-ancient-history","title":{"rendered":"UPSC Notes for Ancient History of India | UPSC Exams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Ancient History of India: Archaeological, Numismatic, Epigraphic, Literary, and Foreign Accounts<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Sources for <\/b>Ancient History of India<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/th>\n

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Evidences<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/th>\n

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Information about <\/b>Ancient History of India<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

MATERIAL REMAINS:<\/span><\/th>\nRadio-Carbon Dating is a method for determining the age of an object. \u00a0 Grand Stone temples of Southern India; Brick Monasteries of the Eastern India; vertical & horizontal excavations of mounds, Megaliths (South India)<\/span><\/th>\n\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 COINS:<\/span><\/th>\nThe study of coins is called Numismatics. Coins excavated and collected from the surface and cataloged in various museums throughout the country and outside.<\/span><\/th>\n\n
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  • Not many symbols used in earliest coins; Names of the Kings or issuer (guilds\/merchants), Gods or dates are mentioned in the coins from later periods; help in construction of religious, cultural and economic history with chronology.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Local and cross-border transactions that used these coins tell us about various ruling dynasties and extent of their rule. Metal and number of the coins indicates the level of trade, commerce and wealth in a Kingdom.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Only a few coins belonging to post-Gupta times indicate the decline of trade & commerce in that period.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 INSCRIPTIONS<\/span><\/th>\nEpigraphy is the study of Inscriptions; Paleography: Study of old writings on inscriptions and other records. Inscriptions carved on seals, stone pillars, rocks, copper plates, temple walls and bricks or images. Earliest in Prakrit (300 BC), later in Sanskrit and further late in regional languages.<\/span><\/th>\n\n
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  • Pictographic Harappan Inscriptions are yet to be deciphered.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • South India \u2013 Inscriptions on temple walls.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Inscriptions conveyed various information like royal orders and decisions regarding social, religious and administrative matters (e.g., Ashokan Inscriptions) to officials and people in general.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Ashokan Inscriptions: Scripts used \u2013 Brahmi, Kharoshti Greek & Arabic.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Donations, land grants, and the achievements of Kings and Conquerors (Samudragupta and Pulkeshin 2nd etc.).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
LITERARY SOURCES:<\/span><\/th>\nThe four Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Smritis and Dharmasutras, Epics, Jain & Buddhist texts, poetry, Sangam Literature, plays etc.<\/span><\/th>\n\n
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  • Tells us about the social, cultural and political conditions of Ancient times.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • In India oldest manuscripts were written on birch bark & palm leaves.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Kautilya\u2019s \u2018ARTHASHASTRA\u2019 gives exhaustive coverage of affairs that concern a King and his, economy, polity, administration and society at large.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Purana provides dynastic history upto Gupta rule.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • These sources also indicate the usage of language, script and style of writing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
FOREIGNER ACCOUNTS<\/span><\/th>\nAccounts of Greeks, Romans or Chinese either as official historians, diplomats, pilgrims or even navigators\/explorers.<\/span><\/th>\n\n