ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES | ANCIENT INDIA

Assess the importance of archaeological sources for the study of social and economic history of India.

Sources are divided into archaeological and literary.

Archaeological sources include inscriptions, monuments, coins and other antiquities.

Literary sources include contemporary works written by court historians, autobiographies, surveys and accounts of the empire, court bulletins and newspapers, religious, literary and foreign accounts.

Archaeological sources

Archaeology derives its name from the Greek words, ‘archaious’ meaning ‘ancient’ and ‘logos’ meaning ‘knowledge’. Archaeology means ‘the science of ancient things’ or ‘ a branch of knowledge dealing with the remains of ancient human activity’.

The late Rai Bahadur K. N. Dikshit aptly says that archaeology is a handmaid to history, and this handmaid is thoroughly faithful and can be relied upon to bear the torch correctly to the dim recesses of long forgotten passages of history.

As archaeology means the systematic study of antiquities and the weaving of the earliest history of nations and peoples from the remains of buildings, burial places, implements and monuments, belonging to periods of which we have few or no written records, its importance as a valuable source is great.

The archaeologists have brought to life a great number of inscriptions of antiquity which were recorded on rocks and pillars. However, these inscriptions could not be read due to the ignorance of the script in which these inscriptions were written. But the mystery was solved by James Princep in 1837, by his discovery of the Brahmi script. Princep’s discovery inaugurated a new age in the research of India’s great historical antiquity. A number of scholars like Ferguson, Cunningham, Dr. Bhau Daji and Dr. Rajendra Lal Mitra made great contributions to the understanding of different branches of Indology.

Extensive excavations were carried out laying bare the remains of two great cities of what is known as the Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan Culture, the first urban civilization of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. The find of a few seals of this civilization at some sites in Iraq helped in dating the civilization to the later centuries of the third millennium B.C. The discoveries evoked great interest and extensive explorations were undertaken in Sind and Baluchistan. Many other sites of the Harappa Culture, together with other proto-historic sites, variously contemporary with or earlier or later than the Harappa were discovered.

Archaeological material which can be used for the reconstruction of history may be broadly classified under the following heads: inscriptions, numismatics and monuments.

Inscriptions – Ancient people used to inscribe writings on tombs, temples, stupas, palaces, houses, walls, rocks, slabs, bricks, earthenware pots, plates, precious and semi precious stones, sculptures, metals, metallic objects, etc.

The historians of ancient India attach highest value to inscriptions as they are the most important to the studies auxiliary to literature. They are authentic as most of them are engraved on stone and metal and are thus free from the process of tampering to which books or other documents written on perishable materials are liable. Although not always dated, the character of the script enables us to determine their approximate age. Thus we can be sure while using the material from inscriptions that they contain what was originally written. While in the case of books, there is a possibility of interpolations by known and unknown authors, that is not the case with the inscriptions. Their genuineness cannot be doubted.  

By analysing the contents of the inscriptions, they can be grouped under the following heads: commercial, magical, religious and didactic, administrative, eulogistic, votive, or dedicative, donative, commemorative and literary.

Commercial inscriptions – As regards commercial inscriptions, their specimens are to be found on the seals of the Indus Valley. Some of these seals must have been used for the stamping of bales of merchandise, commodities like pottery, etc. These seals may have been used by sea-faring people engaged in foreign trade. It seems that Nigamas and Srenis, which were commercial organisations had the power of minting their coins and they must have possessed seals to be used for commercial purposes. Their record on perishable materials must have disappeared. However, there are references to the use of seals for commercial purposes in other inscriptions such as the Mandasore stone inscriptions of the time of Kumaragupta and Bandhuvarman.

Magical inscriptions – Examples of magical inscriptions are found in the Indus Valley Seals which were used as amulets. These seals contained magical formulae on them. The seals have not been deciphered as yet and it is difficult to know their contents. However, they are very likely to contain the names of deities which are represented by the animals. The animals represented on the amulets are the antelope, buffalo, Brahmi Bull, composite animal, elephant, goat, hare, human figure, monkey, rhinoceros, short horned bull and tiger. Some of the deities represented by them are the moon, Yama, Siva, Indra, Brahma and Durga.

Religious and didactic inscriptions – Religious and didactic inscriptions deal with religious and moral matters. Possibly, some of the Indus Valley seals and tablets were objects of worship and were not used as amulets. The inscriptions of Ashoka are the best examples of the religious and didactic inscriptions. The edicts of Ashoka are appropriately called Dhamma-Lipi.

Administrative inscriptions – The inscriptions of Ashoka, engraved on rocks and pillars were found throughout his vast empire, from beyond the Indus int eh West to the Mysore Plateau in the South. These are royal proclamations and commandments mostly in his own words, and convey across 22 centuries the life and personality fo a great man and a great ruler with a striking vividness to which there is hardly any parallel  in the history of the world. The inscriptions of Ashoka form a class by themselves and contribute largely to our knowledge of the history of the period.

Eulogistic inscriptions – From the political point of view the eulogistic inscriptions (prasatis) are very important. Generally, they contain the name and genealogy of the ruler concerned. They also include the earlier career of the King, his military, political and administrative achievements, the existence of contemporary states coming into conflict with him and the inter state relations, the administrative system, the political ideals, the personal accomplishments of the king, his patronage, munificence and charity and mythological or puranic allusions by way of comparison and similes. One of the difficulties in these inscriptions is that there is a tendency on the part of the authors to exaggerate the achievements of their patrons.

Eulogistic inscriptions can be subdivided into two part – pure eulogy and eulogy mixed with other types. The edicts of Ashoka form a category by themselves. The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga belongs to the category of pure eulogy. It describes in detail the achievements of King Kharavela in a chronological order. The Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta describes in great detail the personal qualities and military achievements of the great Gupta emperor and forms the chief document of his memorable reign. The Gwalior Prasasti of King Bhoja similarly throws light on the imperial Pratiharas, another forgotten dynasty of ancient India.

The number of inscriptions which contain eulogy mixed with other matter is very large. In practically every document of a permanent nature, reference is made to the glories of the ruling sovereign and his ancestors.

Votive or dedicative inscriptions – There are a large number of votive or dedicative inscriptions. It is possible that some of the tablets found in the Indus Valley contain votive inscriptions. Many of the dedicative inscriptions deal with the installation of images and the construction of temples.

Donative inscriptions – There are many donative inscriptions. Some such inscriptions refer to the donations of caves or other buildings for the residence of monks and ascetics. Some refer to the donation of money in the form of a permanent endowment. Out of these funds, the Brahamanas and the needy were fed, lamps were lighted in the temples, etc. In some inscriptions, there is a reference to the donation of lands and villages to the monasteries, educational institutions and the Brahmanas.

Commemorative inscriptions – Inscriptions of commemorative nature record such events as birth, death or other important events.

Literary inscriptions – A number of inscriptions have proved to be of great value for the reconstruction of the literary history of India. They help to determine the date of the poets and to trace the development of literature.

Inscriptions are found engraved on all sorts of material, but more commonly on metals and stones. Among the metals, copper was the material which was commonly used for the writing of inscriptions. An inscription copper plated was called Tamrapata, Tamrapatta, Tamrassana, Sasanapattra or Danapattra according to its contents. It is remarkable to note that land grants were invariably inscribed on copper plates and were handed over to the donee so that they may serve as title deeds. Fa-Hein tells us that he found in many Buddhist monasteries copper plates which referred to the grants of land. Some of them were as old as the time of Buddha.  

Copper plates were of different sizes and thickness. Some of them were so thin that they could be bent easily and there were others which were very thick and heavy. The size of a copper plate depended upon the contents of the document and the size of the commonly used writing material in the area where the copper plate was used.

Besides copper, instances of inscriptions on gold leaf or silver scrolls are known. Bronze and brass are more in evidence in the shape of plates, images and utensils. Iron was also used as material for inscriptions but on a modest scale. An important example is the famous iron pillar at Meharauli near Delhi.

The stone inscription include rock – surface, walls of artificial or natural caves, pavements, pillars, slabs, statutes and reliquaries. Besides, bricks, earthenware, clay tablets, terracotta plaques, wood, shells, crystal and even ivory were used as materials for inscriptions.

The various inscriptions are found in the languages current at different periods and localities – Sanskrit, Pali, mixed dialects, or the languages of Southern India such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayam and Kannada. Some of them are of considerable literary merit, being either in prose or verse or a combination of the two. The majority of the inscriptions are in the Bramhi script, written from left to right. But a good number are also inscribed in the Kharosti script running like Arabic and Persian, from right to left.

Numismatics

The importance of numismatics for the study of political, religious and economic history of India is very great. Coins help us to build up the history of the country in many ways. They give us the names of the kings who ruled at various times in different parts of the country. In many cases, the coins are the only information we have regarding the existence of certain kings. Without those coins, the very existence of those kings would have remained unknown. Many a times, the information from the coins can be used to corroborate the evidence from other sources such as the Puranas, etc. The coins also help us to fix up the chronology. The location of coins helps us to determine the extent of the territory of the king. The discovery of a large number of roman coins in India confirms the fact that there was a brisk trade between India and the Roman Empire. That also refers to the economic prosperity of India.

Gold was probably used as money during and before the time of Buddha but no gold coins have been found. The earliest coinage of India so far known are in silver and copper. They are called punch marked and cast coins because of the techniques employed in making them. They are uninscribed and therefore it is difficult to identify the names of their issuers. Punch marked coins are metallic pieces, more or less rectangular in shape, with symbols punched thereon. The cast coins, usually of copper and used along with the punch marked currency, were made from moulds.

After the Greek invasion of India, the practice of writing the names of the Kings on the coins was started.

The coins have also been a chief source of our information regarding the various Indian states, both monarchial and republics that flourished during the same period. Coins are good materials for our knowledge of constitutional and administrative history of ancient India. Coinage is also an important source of art history and iconography. Early Indian coins that contain either a combination of symbols or human or animal figures and symbols, often present the earliest form of a particular deity.

The issue of coins is naturally associated with the country’s economy. Accordingly, the role of coins in the reconstruction of economic history is obvious. The earliest of the punch marked coins are usually dated around fifth century B.C. These types of punch marked coins which were found in abundance over the whole of the Indo – Pakistan subcontinent are believed to have been issued by the Mauryas. They must have controlled trade routes converging in Afghanistan and commanded a favorable foreign trade. The import of big quantities of Roman gold into India and favorable trade balance led to the issue of gold coins by the Kushanas and later by the Guptas. Pliny’s lament on the drainage of Roman gold to India was well founded.

The legend the effigy on the coins aid the historian to reconstruct the religious history of the period. They serve as additional testimony to the evidence we get from the inscriptions.

Monuments

In addition to inscripitons and numismatics, monuments such as buildings or parts there of, statues of stone or metal, terracotta, ornamental and decorative fragments, pottery and various other objects of a miscellaneous character are of great importance in tracing the history and evolution of Indian art. In addition to individual monuments, sometimes we have the vast remains of an ancient city laid before us. Some of them, like Mohenjodaro and Harappa, have opened before us an altogether new type of civilization, reaching back to an age of which no memorial in India were known before.

Expert examination of buildings, monuments and works of art has greatly enriched our knowledge of Indo-Aryan culture. Stupas, temples and other religious buildings help us to trace the development of religious thought.

In India, numerous buildings, buddhist, Jain, brahamanical and secular offer a fascinating study. They are rich store houses of information for the story of Indina religion, art and society. The digging of the old sites of Pataliputra gives us some information regarding the old capital of the Mauryas. The excavation of Taxila throw light on the History of the Kushanas. A study of the sculptures found they give us an idea of the Gandhara School of Art. The excavations at Sarnath have added to our knowledge regarding Buddhism and Ashok. The excavations in Chinese, Turkestan and Baluchistan by Stein prove the close contacts of India with those countries.

It is a commonplace knowledge that the art of a country reflects to a fair extent its culture and thus provides a key to the proper understanding of some higher aspects of its civilization. The sculptural panels sometimes enable us to know something of the social life of the community.