The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan

by Allchin, Raymond; Allchin, Bridget

• ISBN13: 9780521285506
• ISBN10: 052128550X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1982-07-01
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

Many spectacular discoveries of archeaological significance have been made in the Indian subcontinent since the first appearance of Raymond and Bridget Allchin's book The Birth of Indian Civilization, for long the most authoritative and widely read text on its subject. Advances in related fields, particularly in geomorphology, palaeobotany and palaeoclimatology, have also radically altered our picture of the emergence of Indian civilisation. In The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan the authors have completely revised and rewritten their earlier work to present an integrated and dynamic account of human culture in South Asia. Drawing primarily upon the archaeological record, and supported by ethnographic, linguistic and historical evidence, the authors trace the origins and development of culture in India and Pakistan from its earliest roots in Palaeolithic times, through the rise and disintegration of the great Indus Civilization to the emergence of regional cultures, and the arrival and spread of Indo-Aryan speaking peoples. They conclude with the early Buddhist period and the appearance of city states right across Pakistan and North India, establishing the pattern of subcontinental unity and regional diversity that was to characterize the country henceforward. The authors have made every attempt to incorporate the results of the most recent research and their book is illustrated throughout with photographs, maps and line diagrams. Offering an original and stimulating perspective on the archaeology of the subcontinent, The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan will be invaluable to students of South Asian culture and early history. It will also appeal to anyone interested in historical geography, world prehistory and archaeology in general.

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures

Preface

1. Archaeology in South Asia

Part I. Constituent Elements: 2. Prehistoric environments

3. The earliest South Asians

4. Hunter-gatherers and nomadic pastoralists

5. The first agricultural communities

Part II. Indus Urbanism: 6. The early Indus period

7. The mature Indus civilization - I

8. The mature Indus civilization - II

Part III. The Legacy of the Indus Civilization: 9. The aftermath of the Indus civilization in the Indus and Ganges systems

10. The aftermath of the Indus civilization in Peninsular India

11. The arrival of Indo-Aryan speaking people and the spread of the Indo-Aryan languages

12. The Iron Age and the emergence of classical Indian civilization

13. Subcontinental unity and regional diversity

Select general bibliography

Index.