Ancient India
The earliest human remains were found in Jwalapuram, Andhra
Pradesh, South India which shows hominid habitation before and after the Toba
event, which has occurred about 77,000 years ago. These archaeological sites
provide evidence of humans (Homo sapiens) in India 80,000 years ago. It is
unclear what species of humans settled Jwalapuram as no fossil remains have yet
been found, and these evidences present here show oldest humans remain in India
which is dated back around 80,000 years.
Anatomically modern human remains found in South Asia date
from approximately 30,000 years ago. Nearly contemporaneous Mesolithic rock art
sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at
the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh. Around 7000 BCE, the first known
Neolithic settlements appeared on the subcontinent in Mehrgarh and other sites
in western Pakistan. These gradually developed into the Indus Valley
Civilisation, the first urban culture in South Asia; it flourished during
2500–1900 BCE in Pakistan and western India. Centred around cities such as
Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied forms
of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and
wide-ranging trade.
During the period 2000–500 BCE, in terms of culture, many
regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.
The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed during this period,
and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab
region and the upper Gangetic Plain. Most historians also consider this period
to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent
from the north-west. The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests,
warriors, and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labelling
their occupations impure, arose during this period. On the Deccan Plateau,
archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom
stage of political organisation. In southern India, a progression to sedentary
life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this
period, as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft
traditions.
In the late Vedic period, around the 5th century BCE, the
small chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had
consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the
mahajanapadas. The emerging urbanisation and the orthodoxies of this age also
created the religious reform movements of Buddhism and Jainism, both of which
became independent religions. Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama
Buddha attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class;
chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded
history in India. Jainism came into
prominence around the same time during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira. In
an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an
ideal, and both established long-lasting monasteries. Politically, by the 3rd
century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge
as the Mauryan Empire. The empire was once thought to have controlled most of
the subcontinent excepting the far south, but its core regions are now thought
to have been separated by large autonomous areas. The Mauryan kings are known
as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as
for Ashoka's renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist
dhamma.
During the period 230 BCE to 220 CE, Satavahana dynasty
covered much of India. The Satavahanas are credited for establishing peace in
the country, resisting the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of Mauryan
Empire. Satavahanas are also credited with furthering Budhism in India including
Ajanta caves.
The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that,
between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was being ruled by the
Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the
Roman Empire and with West and South-East Asia. In North India, Hinduism
asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased
subordination of women. By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had
created in the greater Ganges Plain a complex system of administration and
taxation that became a model for later Indian kingdoms. Under the Guptas, a
renewed Hinduism based on devotion rather than the management of ritual began
to assert itself. The renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and
architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite. Classical Sanskrit
literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and
mathematics made significant advances.
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