SOME GENERAL ISSUES
Archaeological History of India
Chapter – 8
Table of Contents
GEOGRAPHY
- Geography is a major theme in understanding the pattern of archaeological development and its long-term geo-political implications.
- The north-western frontier of the subcontinent extends beyond the arid stretches and uplands to the Oxus and the eastern rim of Iran, forming the subcontinent’s most important frontier.
- Historically, India and South-East Asia interacted more through the Bay of Bengal than through mountain ranges like the Arakan Yoma or the Patkoi.
- Tibet and Nepal had a primarily religious interaction with northeastern India, and political involvement was short-lived, such as the Tibetan role in Nepal in the 7th century AD and the Chinese incursion in 1962.
- The Indus-Oxus zone is significant as a cultural, economic, and historical frontier but its boundaries are difficult to define on the Indus side.
- The western bank of the Indus, between the Hindukush and the Indus, may have been the core of the Indus-Oxusinteraction zone.
- Iranian Seistan and Baluchistan, along with modern Pakistani Baluchistan, formed a distinct orbit in historical and prehistoric times, but their influence did not extend significantly into the Indus valley.
- The distribution of cairn burial sites in Baluchistan and the presence of bevelled-rim bowls are linked to early Mesopotamian expansion, but this influence did not affect the Indus valley.
- The Indus valley became part of the Indus-Oxus interaction zone only when there was a strong political push from regions like Fars, Khorasan, or the Oxus valley.
- Sub-areas within the Indus-Oxus interaction zone, such as Badakhshan, Chitral, and the neighboring heights, likely formed smaller interaction zones with specific historical, economic, and cultural impacts.
- Maritime connections should be considered in the context of frontiers, as the Sind–Gujarat coast links with the Gulf zone expanded the scope of the Indus-Oxus frontier zone.
- The discovery of Central Asian and Indus civilization traits at Tell Abraq in Oman highlights the network of both overland and maritime linkages between the north-western frontier and the Gulf.
- There has always been a significant subcontinental presence in the Gulf, with trade links extending to places like Baku and St. Petersburg.
- When studying developments beyond the Indus-Oxus interaction zone, it’s important to consider major agricultural units that form the nuclei of modern states, or use a different geographical framework.
- Modern state divisions often contain major geographical realities, but these are not always homogeneous, and state-wise data organization is useful for both presentation and understanding.
- Regional and local linkages need to be understood in terms of both their geography and historical dimensions, such as the Gangetic delta shared by Bangladesh and India.
- Historical links in the Gangetic delta, like those between the Karatoya valley and the Brahmaputra valley, need to be considered for understanding the geographical context of sites like Mahasthangarh and Wari Bateshwar in Bangladesh.
- The scale of geographical linkages is determined by historical forces, with some linkages being broader or narrower, and these pulses need further exploration.
- The archaeological flow of the subcontinent should focus on such linkages rather than arbitrary, static categories like perennial attraction, relative isolation, or isolation.