This slim volume is an attempt to rouse the interest of students and non-specialists in the early civilization of the Indus valley and adjoining regions of Pakistan and India. The challenges of archaeological interpretation are discussed, together with maps, site plans and illustrations of artefacts, but the evidence is presented in social terms rather than in a technical way. In an attempt to cast an overall perspective, the Indus civilization is presented in the context of contemporary cultural development in South Asia as well as Western and Central Asia. The third edition of this volume included references to new ideas on the Indus civilization and to excavations at a small but significant site. This revised and updated fourth edition contains additional material on Dholavira and the harnessing of flash-floods.

On the commerce and trade materials between Middle East and Indus civilization in 3rd century B.C.; a study.

This book offers a critical synthesis of the archaeology of South Asia from the Neolithic period (c.6500 BCE), when domestication began, to the spread of Buddhism accompanying the Mauryan Emperor Asoka's reign (third century BCE). The authors examine the growth and character of the Indus civilisation, with its town planning, sophisticated drainage systems, vast cities and international trade. They also consider the strong cultural links between the Indus civilisation and the second, later period of South Asian urbanism which began in the first millennium BCE and developed through the early first millennium CE. In addition to examining the evidence for emerging urban complexity, this book gives equal weight to interactions between rural and urban communities across South Asia and considers the critical roles played by rural areas in social and economic development. The authors explore how narratives of continuity and transformation have been formulated in analyses of South Asia's Prehistoric and Early Historic archaeological record.

This Book Suggests Alternatives To The `Holocaust` Theories Of Civilizational Collapse In Harappa. The Civilization Is Placed In A Wider Geographic Setting To Explore Not Just The Internal Factors But Also Those Operating Within The Bronze Age At Large.

How did humankind deal with the extreme challenges of the last Ice Age? How have the relatively benign post-Ice Age conditions affected the evolution and spread of humanity across the globe? By setting our genetic history in the context of climate change during prehistory, the origin of many features of our modern world are identified and presented in this illuminating book. It reviews the aspects of our physiology and intellectual development that have been influenced by climatic factors, and how features of our lives - diet, language and the domestication of animals - are also the product of the climate in which we evolved. In short: climate change in prehistory has in many ways made us what we are today. Climate Change in Prehistory weaves together studies of the climate with anthropological, archaeological and historical studies, and will fascinate all those interested in the effects of climate on human development and history.

This book discusses climate and dating of the Indus Valley civilization and Sir Mortimer Wheeler summarizes other contributions to the study.

The book seeks to analyse the faultlines and subversion in the ancient history of India in the praxis of social domination and systematic marginalization and obliteration of traditional political elites or traditional Kshatriya that social elites (Priestly class or caste) of ancient India achieved, just to maintain their socio-political domination and hegemony. This rather myopic act led to the balkanization of socio-political scape of mediaeval Indiaresulting into subjugation, plunder and foreign invasions and rule for one thousand years. Through the case study of Krishna and Mahabharata period, the book tries to illuminate the so called Dark Age of the Indian history. Despite the numerous archaeological proves found in the form of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) associated with Mahabharata period and Black Red Ware (BRW) with different shades, associated with Krishna and Yadavas which tally with details of different scriptures and epic, nothing seems to be happening in this regard. This very fact seems to underline the continued saga of subversion and domination that seemed to have been ingrained in the post-Krishna-and-Mahabharata period. Once the deification and mystification of great historical personality and period such as Krishna and Mahabharata was started just to negate the socio-political revolutions ushered into, it seems to have continued and institutionalized.

In this classic work George Hourani deals with the history of the sea trade of the Arabs in the Indian Ocean from its obscure origins many centuries before Christ to the time of its full extension to China and East Africa in the ninth and tenth centuries. The book comprises a brief but masterly historical account that has never been superseded. The author gives attention not only to geography, meteorology, and the details of travel, but also to the ships themselves, including a discussion of the origin of stitched planking and of the lateen fore-and-aft sails. Piracy in the Indian Ocean, day-to-day life at sea, the establishment of ancient lighthouses and the production of early maritime guides, handbooks, and port directories are all described in fascinating detail. Arab Seafaring will appeal to anyone interested in Arab life or the history of navigation. For this expanded edition, John Carswell has added a new introduction, a bibliography, and notes that add material from recent archaeological research.

This book presents the city beneath the surface of Abu Salabikh, southern Iraq. The archaeology and the textual data combine to reveal its architecture, agricultural and industrial enterprises, and social structure. Integrated with our wider knowledge of south Mesopotamia at this time it creates a vivid image of city life in 2600 BC.