BHIC 101
HISTORY OF INDIA-1
BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment July 2021 & Jan 2022
Q. 1. What do you understand by Archaeology Explain the importance of archaeological sources for the reconstruction of history in ancient India.
Ans. Architecloex refers to a branch of knowledge that deals with the study of material culture in order to understand the past. It is closely related to history, Sculptures, pottery remains, bone fragments, the house remains.
temple remnants coins, seals, inscriptions, local remains like charred grains ancient pollen and spores etc. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
constitute material culture that fortes the subject matter of archaeology Archaeology is fundamentally the study of humanity and its past. Archaeologists study things that were created, used or changed by humans.
They do this by studying the material that remains the stuff we leave behind, such as lithic tools, a simple hut dwelling, and a skeleton covered with gold jewelry or a pyramid that majestically rises from a desert floor.
Sometimes, archaeologists study contemporary societies in order to shed light on those that flourished in the past.
Archaeology is practiced around the world by archaeologists who work with people from a wide variety of other disciplines to help answer questions about whom we are and where we came from.
In doing so, archaeologists find evidence that sheds light on what our future may bring.
Archaeological Sources
The archaeological sources are more reliable sources to construct the ancient Indian History. These include: BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Coins
Apart from inscriptions, coin is also a source of important information.
They provided unadulterated information, The purity of the coins shows the economic condition of that time while origin of coins helps in ascertaining the territorial limits of the kingdom.
The study of coins is known as numismaties, .
• There were various symbols engraved on earliest coins. They are known as ‘punch marked’ coins,
• Exact meanings of these symbols are not known. ..
• These coins may be issued by the kings, city corporations, trade guilds and merchants.
• These are not of any historical importance.
• The Indo-Greek rulers of Bacteria who conquered northwestern India issued a series of coins with the portraits of kings and heroes on them.
• The Indian rulers inspired by them also introduce coins with text and their portraits engraved on them. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
• These proved very beneficial in writing the history of Ancient India
• The Indo-Greek rulers, the Sakas, Kushanas and Parthians issued a number of coins on the same pattern.
• The Sakas started an innovation of great importance by dating their coins in the Saka era.
• The history of the important dynasties of the Malavas, Yaudheyas and Mitra rulers of Panchala is known mostly from their coins. .
• Along with epigraphic records, coins form an additional source of information for the history of the Guptas,who issued a large variety of fine coins. .
• After the downfall of Guptas, the study of history became less dependent on coins because coins of even great emperors like Harsha or ruling dynasties like the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pratibaras, and Palas are not insufficient amount
How do coins help in ascertaining information?
• When coins are found in mass number in a certain area then it is estimated that the area belongs to that king.The reign of kingis known when a date is found on the coins
• The portraits of deities help in knowing the religious nature of a specific king,
• When the proportions of the gold is low in the mixture then it is estimated that economic condition of that kingdom is not good. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Inscriptions
These are most important records which are most reliable evidence of what happened during various periods of Ancient Indian History.
Most of these inscriptions are carved on stone pillars, iron, silver, bronze, gold or copper plates, currencies, sculptures and walls of caves or temples.
• The earliest inscriptions are those on the seals from the Indus Valley Civilisation site, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC written in some form of pictographic script (in the form pictures) but could not be deciphered.
The seals represent various animals, trees and deities.
• The earliest deciphered inscriptions dated back to the 4th – 3rd century BC, most of these are during the period Ashoka as edicts inscription on pillars and rocks.
These inscriptions were in the Brahmi script, while inscriptions found in the north-western corners of his empire, were in the Karoshthi script.
• The inscriptions can be in various forms such as administrative inscriptions, eulogistic inscriptions, religious inscriptions, commemorative inscriptions, donative inscriptions.
• The Lumbini pillar inscription is a royal commemorative inscription recording Ashoka’s visit to Lumbini, the Buddha’s birth place. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
• Brahmi script is the mother script of all modern India scripts such as: Devanagari, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Mrathi, Telgu, Tamil, Kannada except Urdu. It was read from left to right.
• In all inscriptions of Ashoka, he was termed as the Beloved of the Gods’ except in the inscriptions found in Maski (Hyderabad) and Gujarra (Madhya Pradesh) where his name *Ashoka’ was used.
• The Edicts of Ashokn are a collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka as well as boulders and cave walls. The 13th rock ediet of Ashoka expresses his remorse after the Kalinga war.
Inscriptions after Ashoka
• The inscriptions after the Ashoka can be divided in two categories: (i) Official and (ii) Private.
Official
• Most of the official records are in the form of eulogies (Prasastis) written by the court poets or land-grants. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
• The eulogy of Samudragupta present in the Prayag (Allahabad) carved on the inscription of Ashoka is the best example in which the victories of Samudragupta mentioned.
• The other examples of these types of inscriptions are Gwalior eulogy of Raja Bhoja.
the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, the Nasi cave inscriptions of Gautami balasri, the Rabatak inscription of Kushan emperor Kanishka, the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta.
• The land grant are mostly engraved in copper plates that record the sale or the gifts of land. These grants sometimes also records the achievements of the kings,
Private
• The private inscriptions are commonly engraved on religious buildings and state.
• The dates carved on these statues or buildings help in ascertaining the dates of their formation or establishment.
• These inscriptions also tell us about the development of art, language and religion in India at that time. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
For example, most of the inscriptions before the period of Guptas are in Prakrit language while the inscriptions of the Guptas period and after that are in Sanskrit language and mostly about the Brahman religion.
• The private inscriptions also inform about the political condition of that time as they issued by the persons who held dignified posts in administrative affairs.
• Some inscriptions also provide the proof of literary works. For example, The Mahabhdcya’ written by Patanjali tell us that Pushyamitra Shunga performed Ashvamedha Yagna.
The inscriptions of his descendant Dhandev provide proof of this happening.
• The inscriptions found in foreign countries put light on Indian History.
For example, the inscriptions found at Boghaz-Koi in Asia Minor mention the Vedic gods therefore, we can conclude that descendants of Aryans are present in that part also.
• Now, we understood how important the study of inscriptions in shaping Ancient Indian History. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Q. 2. What is Neolithic revolution. Describe the major sites of Neolithic culture in India.
Ans. V. Gordon Childe described the agro-pastoral cultural developments of the early Holocene as the “Neolithic Revolution. He opined that the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures are food-producing economies.
The idea of the Neolith Revolution describes the origin of agriculture, animal domestication and a settled way of life. It also refers to the transformation of society from a food gathering (hunting-gathering) economy to a food producing (agropastoral) economy.
The idea of revolution pertaining to the Neolithic way of life tells us about the major transformation in human cultural adaptation.
The Neolithic culture according to Miles Burkitt is described with the polished tools, animal and plant domestication. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Therefore, “Neolithic does not refer only to the use of new tools alone but also new modes of adaptation and ways of life.
The period is described as the revolution because of the introduction of domestication of plants and animals which led to the production of a large quantity of grains and animal food.
The pottery was introduced as the food that they produced had to be stored. The houses were built as they had to settle in open areas away from caves.
There was development of large villages and permanent residences. The settlements were fenced for the protection of the cattle and sheep.
All the activities led to food surplus and craft specialization. The people could settle in the villages in order to secure the food. The cultural developments of this period are termed as Neolithic Revolution. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
One of the main reasons behind the development of this period is the surplus food production which helped in the development of various crafts, urban formations and early states in the succeeding Bronze Age.
Agriculture was developed independently in several regions. Since its origin, the dominant pattern in these separate regions is the spread of agricultural economies and the reduction of hunting and gathering activities,
to the point that today hunting economies only persist in marginal areas where farming is not possible, such as frozen arctic regions, densely forested areas, or arid deserts.
Major changes were introduced by agriculture affecting the way human society was organized and how it used the earth, including forest clearance, root crops, and cereal cultivation that can be stored for long periods of time, along with the development of new technologies for farming and herding such as plows, irrigation systems, etc.
More intensive agriculture implies more food available for more people, more villages, and a movement towards a more complex social and political organization.
As the population density of the increase of the village, they gradually evolve into towns and finally into cities.
Neolithic India: The Neolithic Era is sometimes referred to as the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution marked by the knowledge and understanding of animal domestication for food and labor and the first instances of farming. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
This advancement for humans is what allowed the River Valley Civilizations to grow and cultivate the first governments, religions. calendars, and later empires.
The Neolithic Era in India didn’t happen in tandem across the subcontinent, and agriculture and animal domestication appeared at different times. The First Period of the Neolithic Era in India began around 7000 BC and ended in 5500 BC.
The Second Period of the Neolithic Era lasted roughly one thousand years from 5500 BC to 4500 BC. The Third Period of the Neolithic Era was also one thousand years from 4500 BC to 3500 BC,
The following information will break the subcontinent of India into regions, so as to discuss how the Neolithic Era was different in particular areas:
Northern India
The main agricultural crops grown in this part of the subcontinent during the Neolithic Era were wheat and barley which is different than other regions where the main grain was rice.
Sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, and cattle bones have been found in storage pits which denote the types of animals northern Indians used for food and labour during the era
In Gufkral, there have been found stone tools that were polished, bone tools like horns, and even terracotta pieces and handmade as well as wheel made pottery.
In Burzahom there have been large burial grounds excavated for both humans and dogs which show the importance dogs held to early Indians for hunting.
And in Kanishkapura excavations of Neolithic homes have been discovered that show Indians lived in rectangle shaped homes with roofs that were thatched with local vegetation.
Central India
The central Indian area is where the growing of rice is thought to have occurred in India in the Koldihawa region. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
More homes have been found in this area of India that are wattle and daub homes with thatched roofs and mud or dirt walls.
Handmade pottery has also been found of various reds and blacks where the remains of rice husks were found which illustrate the importance the grain had to the region.
In Mahagara, more bone tools have been found replete with a bone tool kit that had minerals like agate and quartz added to the bone as well.
Pottery in this area of central lodia haye been found that were made with straw and rice husks that vary from plain to ornamental and hand-painted there were also cattle pens in this part of the area which show how important beef was to the diet of these central Indians during the Neolithic Era.
Eastern India
Eastern India has not undergone the types of excavations that central and northern India have so Tess is known about this area during the Neolithic Era.
In the area of Kuchai stond tools that were polished and used as axes have been found, but not much else presently. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
In Baruth, there has been iron sla heaps found which may illustrate the beginnings of the Iron Age in India along with wheel made pottery which also illustrates that this area of India may have been more advanced than other areas, and entered the Iron Age earlier than the rest of the subcontinent.
Assignment-ii Q.3. What do you understand by Early Harappan cultures ? Discuss some of the characteristies of the transition phase from early to mature phase.
Ans. Early Harappan Cultures
There were many transformations that took place around 3200 BCE which are identified by their distinctive potteries and named after the type site.
(i) The Kot Dijian culture
(ii) Sothi-Siswal culture
(iii) The Amri-Nal culture
(iv) The Damb Sadaat phase
Kot Diji
F.A. Khan first identified the culture at Kot Diji in Sindh in 1955. The site was fortified with the settlement being divided to an upper citadel and a lower town.
There were many microlithic tools and objects like beads, terracotta toys, cattle figurines, beads, bangles and pottery discovered from the site.
In Baluchistan, sites like Mehrgarh and Nausharo have displayed some influence of Kot Diji but their material culture closely resembles Damb Sadaat.
Cholistan: Hakra phase came after the Kot Diji culture. There are many notable developments that were noticed from the various sites that were excavated at different places.BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The other important sites of Kot Diji culture are Tarakai Qila, Lewan. Islam Chowki and Lake Largai in the Bannu Basin of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Jhandi Babar, Maru I.
Maru II, Ghade Umar Khan, Rehman Dheri and Gumla in Gomal Valley: Rehman Dheri, an important site which has yielded two significant finds: ivory seal and the presence of graffiti on the pottery.
These indicate the beginning of a system of communication, and perhaps political control; Saraikhola in Potwar Plateau. The period Il is Kot Diji.
Punjab: The Kot Diji culture dates back to 2800-2600 BCE succeeding the Neolithic Ravi-Hakra phase.
The site is an important production center for beads as the presence of stone drills and flakes of raw material has shown. Some of the popular materials include carnelian, agate, jasper, lapis lazuli, amazonite with beads of agate being used for exchange.
Other goods discovered are stone and bone tools, spindle whorls and ornaments like necklaces and bangles made of shell and terracotta.
Sothi-Siswal Culture
The two sites-Sothi in Rajasthan and Siswal in Haryana revealed identical pottery.
A. Ghosh also witnessed the similarities with the Kot Diji pottery and in the motifs but certain important differences exists in shape and surface features.
These are mainly located in Rajasthan and Aaryana with some unexcavated sites like Rohira and Mahorana located in Indian Punjab.
Rajasthan: Katibangaur is the most important site in Rajasthan which has given two phases of occupation. Phase 1 has Sothi-Siswal phase. This entire phase is dated to 2900/2800 BCE. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Haryana: Haryana is rich in South-siswal culture this phase has been observed at Kimal Balu, Banawali, Rakhigarhi, and Bhirana.
One of the important discoveries of the phase was the collection of silver and gold ornaments in a red ware pot.
The terracotta crucible with molten metal was also discovered. Other discoveries from the site include fish-hooks, arrowheads and spearheads, and flat axes.
Some of the important artefacts include uninscribed seals, pottery with graffiti, terracotta wheels, carts, rattles, bull figurines, chert blades, weights, a bone point and a muller.
Amri-Nal Culture
The sites of the Amri-Nal culture have given a mixed assemblage of two potteries – one discovered at Amri and another at Nal.
The Amri pottery may be illustrated as pottery fired to light red or buff colour and then covered with red or buff slip and painted black.
There were geometric and curvilinear designs in the motifs filled with red colour. The Nal pottery was fired to buffor pink colour and the designs on the pottery were filled with different colours. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The people of this culture were mainly pastoralists migrating to the highlands in summer and to Indus valley in winter (Possehl, 2003).
There were many important developments in the transitional phase. The first one is in the field of agriculture.
There as much evidence of cart ruts that can be studied along with the cartwheels, cart frames and bulls in terracotta found at Jalilpur (western Punjab) in the Kot Diji period.
The archaeologists have discovered a field at Kalibangan, with straight furrow marks which lie below the Mature Harappan debris, leading excavators to assign it to the Early Indus period.
There are evidence of the cultivation of wheat and barley. Sorghum millet (jowar), a kharif or summer crop has been reported from the Sothi-Siswal site of Rohira (Indian Punjab).
The transitional phase included the introduction of the wheel made pottery. The use of burnt brick was rare, mud brick structures are plenty
There was no urban revolution but some settlements have attained the status of small townships. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
There are many seals discovered from the site though some seals have been found from Early Indus levels at Kunal and Nausharo, seal findings are limited.
The palaces or monumental buildings are rare and defensive walls, a work of rulers have been found at Kot Dijl, Kalibangan, Kohtras Buthi (Western Sindh) and Rehman Dheri.
The above discussion brought us to the following conclusion about the period:
1 Fortified settlement and planned arrangement of houses made of standardized bricks.
2 Evidence of grid planning and the division of the settlement in two fortified sectors.
3 Partly standardized repertoire of pottery shapes and designs some of which were carried into the Mature Harappan phase. These occur in varying proportion at all the relevant archaeological sites.
4 Miscellaneous artifacts like terracotta cakes and painted motifs like fish scale, pipal leaf, which continued in the Mature Harappan phase.
5 Several signs of the Mature Harappan script at a fey places.
6 Presence of button seals with geometric motisat some sites
7 Wide transport and exchange of raw materials.
8 Ritual beliefs embodied in a wide range of terracotta cattle and female tuines.
9 Presence of Indus weights in this level.
10 Finally the unvarying stratigraphical precedence of this level over the Mature Harappan one. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Q. 4. Explain the changes that occurred in the religion society and economy fram the Rigvedic to the later Vedie phase.
Ans. Two prominent Early Vedic Gods, Indra and Agni lost their importance. Prajapati the creator became important.
The traditional divinities line Varuna, Agni, Indra, Usha, Maruta and Saraswati made to lose their Charmin public worship New Gods made their debut among the worship.
Prominent were Brahma, the creator. Vishnu, the sustainer made Maheshvara, the destroyer.
The worship of Vasudeva also was started during this period. He was regarded as Krishna Basudev, the incarnation of Vishnu.
His worship became very popular. Lesser divinities like Gandharba, Apsara, Naga, Vidyadhara, etc. also came to be worshipped.
The worship of Durga and Ganesh also started during the period.
Mode of worship also underwent changes. The simplistic mode of early Vedic age was expanded extensively and cake to include many novelties.
Now, Yajna was no more performed privately in every household. It because a monopoly of the Brahmins. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Large number of animals came to be sacrificed, in the Yajna, along with ‘Somarasa (wine). People were made to believe that Yajna was primary and gods were secondary.
The Gods can be controlled and regulated through Yajna. The Vedic hymns came to be regarded as means of hypnosis and enslavement, even of the divinities.
The alter Vedic ages saw the gradual ascendancy of the Brahmins in the social hierarchy. They alone could perform the Yajna.
They advised people to get many types of Yajnas performed for their welfare. Such Yajnas were normally expensive affairs and led to the economic exploitation of the people by the Brahmins in the name of religion.
They also spread the belief that any insult to, or defiance of a Brahmin was a sin. The Brahmin was said to be the bridge between the non-Brahmins and Gods.
In these ways the Brahmins came to establish their strong-hold over the society at large.
The Later Vedic age witnessed the emergence of a new intellectual thought.
The people thought deeply about the problems of creation, life and death and arrived at the conclusion that there is one “Brahma’ (one Unchanging Principle) beyond the universe – the creator and controller of the whole order.
It is the universal soul or the Absolute that dwelleth in everything that guideth all beings within the Inward guide, Immortal.” BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
After the death of a person his soul passes into another body and again into another and this process continues till it can be liberated from all its imperfections and merged in the Universal Soul. This is the doctrine of transmigration of souls.
The later Vedic Aryans developed the concept of the ascetic ideal of life as the rites and ceremonies were not the only means of attaining success in this world or bliss in heaven.
So there developed the ideas of Tapas and Brahmacharya (celibacy) leading to the same or even more important results. Tapa means meditation, accompanied by physical tortures.
An ascetic person renounced the worldly life and retired to solitude and exercised all the ascetic practices with the belief that they would not only obtain heaven, but also develop, “mystic, extra-ordinary and superhuman faculties.”
This asceticism was widely practiced in the Epic age.
The Aryans of Vedic age had reached the highest stage of civilization. This age had excelled in every walks of life.
All the valuable things in man’s life-philosophy, religion, science and code of conduct were all developed in the Vedic age. In fact Aryans served as the torch-bearers of Indian civilization throughout the ages.
Q. 5. Briefly describe the Mauryan administration.
Ans. Administration: Mauryan empire was so vast that various levels of administration were required to govern it well. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The administrative structure consists of a division of the empire into provinces each under the direct governance of a prince (kumara) or a member of the royal family.
The four provinces were a southern one and a northern province, a western one and an eastern one.
There were senior officers called pradeshikas who performed the task of touring the empire every five years and perform an audit as well as keep a check on the provincial administration.
The job of the judicial officers, rajukas, was combined with assessment of revenue.
The administration was needed for a variety of tasks such as surplus production, extraction of surplus, its distribution or expenditure, strong army to conquer areas, tax collection from traders and agriculturalists, etc.
Central Administration
The central administration can be classified as:
(a) The King: The king was the central focus of administration that could appoint or remove the ministers (amatvas): defend the treasury and the people; look after the welfare of the people: punish criminals: influence the people (praja) through his morality.
The qualities that king should have included birth in a high family, capability to control kings and officials, sharp intellect, truthfulness, and upholder of Dharma.
The king should be a skillful warrior and should perfect all domains of economic life, and writing (lipi). Ashoka was an ideal king who was exercising his authority in religious matters as well. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
(b) Council of Ministers: The ediets suggest that the role of the ministers included discussing the king’s policy during his absence, suggest amendments, and decide upon any important matter which the king had left to them.
The Council was supposed to report its opinion to the king immediately.
The qualifications of the ministers included: they should not be tured by wealth: should not kuucumbio pressure.
He should boa sarvopadashudha (purest of all). The role of the inner council of ministers (mantrins) was consulting on issues which needed immediate attention.
(c) City Administration : the city council was divided into sub council or committee and each committee had five members. These were:
First Committee looked after industry and crafts and after fisting of wages of
Second Committee took care of the foreigners and Arranging for their food stay comfort and security BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Third committee: Responsible for the registration of births and deaths.
Fourth Committee. Took care of the trade and commerce.
Fifth Committee: Made inspections in the manufactured goods and provisions for their sale and steps taken to distinguish between new and second-hand goods
Sixth Committee: was responsible for collecting taxes on the goods sold, the rate being 1/10th.
(d) The Army: The Mauryas had a large army which included infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots, transport and admiral of fleet.
The Chandragupta’s army that was raised against the Nanda kings also included mercenary soldiers and consisted of 9000 elephants, 3000 cavalry and 6000 infantry.
Kautilyatoo refers to a standing army with four main divisions-infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants. The officials looked after the production and maintenance of a variety of armaments,
(e) Espionage: There was a well-knit system of espionage and the spies were supposed to keep an eye on the ministers, government officials, collect impressions regarding the feelings of the citizens and know the secrets of foreign kings.
The head of the secret service was the samaharta who was responsible for the collection of revenue and the protection of the king. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
(f) justice and Punishment: The legal system was orderly placed to ensure social order, smooth functioning of the administrative system and flow of revenue to the State.
The punishments for the violaters were settled in various kinds of courts to settle disputes and read out punishments to the offenders, Punishments for offences and crimes ranged from fines to mutilation of limbs, or even capital punishment.
The king was the supreme arbiter of justice and upholder of dharma
(g) Public Welfare: There were many public welfare works that were undertaken during the reign of the Mauryas.
For instance, irrigation and lying down and repairing roads. Medical treatment and medicines were made available to the needy.
District and Village Level Administration
The Arthashastra says that the smallest unit of administration was the village which were grouped as one district and a collection of districts formed a province.
The districts were supposed to maintain records of boundaries, registered land and deeds as well as kept a census of population and a record of the livestock. The tax collector was responsible for various types of revenue. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The village headman was accountable to the district accountant and tax collector. The district level administration included Pradeshika, Rujuka and Yukta.
Pradeshika was the overall incharge of the district and the Yukta was a junior officer giving secretarial kind of assistance to the other two. The local people recruited as officials in the village were called as gramika.
The Gopa and Sthanika were two types of officers acting as intermediaries between the district ariisillage love administrative units who performed the duty of demarcating village boundaries and maintaining records of land, recording income and expenditure of people, recording taxes, revenues and fines.
The collection of taxes was the main function of the administrative system.
The main source of revenue was land tax (bhagay. Some other taxes included pindakara and hiruma. Then there were voluntary taxes.
The Janapada territories under the Mauryan Empire ure believed to be under the private cultivators the state played an importatile in providing the irrigation facilities for a strong agricultural set up.
There was the water cess which amounted to a fifth, a fourth or a third of the produce. Samaharta was the highest officer in charge and sannidhata was the chief custodian of the State treasury. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Assignment-iii Q. 6. Palaeolithic rock art.
Ans. Palaeolithic Rock Art and Cults: Prehistoric art was carried out either on stones or bones.
The materials like mud, charcoal, shell, teeth and horn have also been used. There are evidences of modeling done with simple mud or bone ash mixed with it.
Also evidences are found about the portable art in the form of ostrich egg shell beads and engraved fragments.
The eggshells of ostrich were used to make beads and ornaments and some of them had a hole through which they could be strung.
The observations made by Upinder Singh reveals about the discovery of Ostrich eggshell beads in an Upper Palaeolithic burial context at Bhimbetka rock shelter, found on the neck of the skull of a buried man. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The caves and rock shelters of Bhimbetka are the best examples of mural art.
The rock paintings here belong to Upper Palaeolithic which includes linear representations in green and dark red colours of herds of huge animals like the rhinoceroses, bison, wild buffaloes, mammoths and boars.
The other discoveries includes carved bone object found at Lohanda Nala in the Belan valley in Uttar Pradesh which had been identified as a mother Goddess figurine by some and as a spoon by others and animal teeth have been found in one of the Kurnool caves which had grooves which suggests that they may have been attached to a string and worn as ornaments.
Another discovery is that of a large rock in the middle of the cave which is flat and vertical surface of the rock that faces the tunnel has seven cupules (cup like depressions) up to 16.8 mm deep.
There is another rock which has one large cup mark along with a meandering line carved on its surface.
A circular platform made of sandstone rubble is found at the site of Baghor-l in Madhya Pradesh have given evidence of an Upper Palaeolithic shrine dated to 9000-8000 BCE.
When the ten pieces were joined together, it formed a triangle 15 cms. high, 6.5 cms. wide and 6.5 cms. thick. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The study reveals that such a platform is made even today and worship similar triangular stones as a symbol of the Female Principle.
Q. 7. Two famous Iron age cultures of North India.
Ans. The Black and Red Ware Culture (BRW) is a late Bronze Age Indian and early Iron Age Indian archaeological culture, associated with the Indus Valley Civilisation and South India.
In the Western Ganges plain (western Uttar Pradesh) it is dated to c. 1450-1200 BCE, and is succeeded by the Painted Grey Ware culture;
whereas in the Central and Eastern Ganges plain (castern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal) and Central India (Madhya Pradesh) the BRW appears during the same period but continues for longer, until c. 700-500 BCE,
when it is succeeded by the Northern Black Polished Ware culture.
In the Western Ganges plain, the BRW was preceded by the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture.
The BRW sites were characterized by subsistence agriculture cultivation of rice, barley, and legumes), and yielded some ornaments made of shell, copper, carnelian and terracotta,
In some site,particulary easternPunjab and Gujarat, bRW Pottery Is associated With late Harappan pottery, and according to some scholars like Tribhuan N. Roy, the BRW may have directly influenced the Painted Grey Ware and Northem Blael Polislied Ware cultures.
BRW portery is unknown west of the indus Valley
Use of iron, although sparse at first, is relatively cady, postdating the Beginning of the tron Age in Anatolia (Hittites) by only two or three centuries, and predating the European (Celts) Iron Age by another two to three hundred years. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Recent findings in Northern India show Iron working in the 1800-1000 BCE period.
According to Shaffer, the nature and context of the iron objects involved of the BRW culture are very different from early iron objects found in Southwest Asia.”
Q. 8. The six systems of philosophy (The Shaddarshan)
Ans. The Saddarshana or Six Systems of Philosophy: There are two classes of the Hindu system of philosophy in which philosophical thoughts are divided: Nastika and Astika.
• Nastika means naasti (it is not). They are three in number: Buddhists, Jainas and Charvakas. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
• Astika-mata or the orthodox schools are six in number. These are Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta, Mimamsa, Nyaya and Vaisheshika.
They were further divided into three groups – Nyaya and Vaisheshika; Sankhya and Yoga, and Mimamsa and Vedanta.
Nyaya
Nyanya means ‘analysis’. Aksapada Gautam was the teacher. It is believed that clear thinking and logical argument are important for gaining highest bliss. This is a system of reasoning which was given a religious basis.
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika was the school of individual characteristics. It deals with physics and metaphysics.
Sankhya
Sankhya refers to count’. Kapila was its founder. There are some matters in which the philosophy similar to Jainism.
The theory states that: there are twenty-five basic principles (fattva) of which the first is prakriti and the last is purusha. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
An important characteristic of the metaphysics of Sankhya is the doctrine of the three constituent qualities (guna), causing virtue (sara). passion (rajas) and dullness (tamas).
Yoga
Yoga refers to the spiritual discipline’ or ‘application and consists of all kinds of religious exercises and acts of self-mortification present in Indian religions. Yogi is the one who follows yoga.
Yoga represents a distinct system in which psychic training is the chief means of salvation. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is its basic text. There are eight stages in the training of yoga:
(i) Self-control yama)
(ii) Observance (niyama)
(iii) Posture (asana)
(iv) Control of breath (pranayama)
(v) Restraint (pratyahara)
(vi) Steadying the mind
(vii) Meditation (Dhyana)
(viii) Deep Meditation (Samadhi).
The yogic practices aim to awaken Armaturi is the method of attaning spiritual strength and salvation. In this practice, susunina is the chief vein of the body which runs through the spinal column.
Then there are six wheels and at the top of the vein, inside the skull is akosreng also called as the lotus which is a very powerful psychic center.
The lowest wheel behind the genitals in a chakra is kundalini, the serpent power.”
Mimamsa
Mimamsa is a school of exposition which explains the vedas external self-existent and wholly authoritative. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
This led to some development of logic, semantics and dialectics in this school and also the development of full philosophy of salvation. The school was merged with the Vedanta.
Vedanta
This means “the end of the Vedas and is also called Ullara Mimamsa tradition. The doctrines of the Vedanta are based on the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras of Badarayana.
The classical Vedanta is that of the great philosopher Shankara (788-820 CE) who had produced extensive commentaries on the Brahma Sutras and the chief Upanishads.
The philosophy says that on the everyday level of truth, the world is produced by Brahma and there is an evolutionary process which similar to the one present in the Sankina school. Brahman is the ultimate reality
Q. 9. Hydrology in ancient India.
Ans. Hydrology in Ancient India: The hydraulic techniques were introduced in India to meet the needs of agriculture. The techniques include the highly advanced methods of water harvesting. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The water bodies were scarce in many areas and the efforts were made with the help of science and technology to harness the meagre resources available to humankind.
The period witnessed many advances in the field of hydraulic engineering.
The features of Indus Valley indicate the high level of technology that was implemented by the Harappan people. The Great Bath is an example which has been found from Mohenjodaro.
It is a tank which was accessed by steps on both sides. The tank has an excellent drainage system.
The way the tank had been constructed and the techniques used for waterproofing indicate high level of hydraulic engineering skills. A Dockyard has been unearthed at Lothal which is a testimony to the engineering skill of the Harappans.
The entire structure was constructed in such a way that during high tide, water would swell the channel’s natural flow and push the extra water upstream.
Extra water was discharged through a water spill channel which was built in the southern wall of the dockyard. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Another example is that of the various rock cut reservoirs that were constructed to harvest rain water at Dholavira, in the Rann of Kutch.
The scientific techniques can be proved from the other examples like water management at other Harappan sites of Kalibangan, Surkotada, Chanhudaro. Wells both public and private have been found.
All the examples tell us that the drainage and sewerage system at Harappan sites was of a most developed kind and became a defining feature of this urban, highly advanced civilization.
Historical Period
There are many dynasties which are known for having constructed irrigation channels, reservoirs, embankments and wells for the purposes of water harvesting.
The Mauryan rulers dug wells for public use alongside roads and also document the construction of irrigation devices for newly settled villages.
Arthashastra gives us the details about irrigation techniques, rainfall regimes and water harvesting methods. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
Another remarkable example of hydraulic engineering is the tank constructed at the site of Sringaverapura near Allahabad of Ist century BCE. It is a huge tank more than 250m long,
Q.10. Position or Women in early ancient India.
Ans Position of Women in Early India: The Vedic corpus is the first literary tradition in the Indian subcontinent and is the oldest in the world.
Some of the women are still remembered in various ritual and social contexts and their names, stories, some highly revered hymns and other interesting facets are mentioned in the Vedic corpus.
The importance of women is not limited to the social roles but also as originators of many important hymns, Not only feminine and masculine but also various neuter characters and categories can be identified in the Vedic corpus.
The Rigvedic society and polity seems to be teeming with life and agro-pastoral economy was enmeshed in close kinship ties. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
There was an equal participation of men with women in society, economy and polity. The hymns including the gayatri mantra are ascribed to women.
Also there are many natural phenomena which are depicted as Goddesses and they are offered prayers. The power and stature of the goddesses is equally well established.
There was an equal participation of women in all three Vedic socio-political assemblies viz. Sabha, Samiti and Vidhata and had access to education and were even engaged in knowledge creation.
There is no reason to believe that they were only confined to home and hearth.
The various texts of the period tell us about the social organization construction through these texts to show how control over women by men was mediated through the creation of caste and class hierarchies and differences.
The women were dominated by men and their behaviour, reproduction and sexuality were controlled and guarded by men. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The women were seen as a private property of men not having any existence of their own. The Brahmanical texts tell us that women had no access to economic resources.
The main job of women was seen only in the reproduction alone.
The texts like Manusmriti give us a picture of women who enjoyed no rights and were insubordinated. Vedic society was the one which valued marriage to a large extent.
In that case if a woman chose not to marry then it would point to her exercising choice in her decision to go against the grain and remain unmarried.
The Later Vedic literature depicts the progression towards a State society with a change in the organization of the society and polity. The chief comes to be known as bhupati instead of gopari.
The importance of the chief queen continued as gleaned from several references to them in the Epies, Arthashastra and even in coins and epigraphs from early historical times.
The other Samhitas also refer to women sages such as Rishikas. The wife is referred to as sahadharmini. There was a deterioration seen in the condition of the women from the post Vedic period.
The Epics also talk about the women whose opinions were sought in major events. The Shastras comprises of sutras (aphorisms) and the smriti texts (that which is remembered”) become important in the post-Vedic period,
These texts cover many subjects relating to the four kinds of pursuits of life referred to as purusharthus (namely dharma, karma, kama and moksha).
In all these texts we find very liberal values and freedom for both women and men.
The post-Vedic phase is also rich in literary traditions with many depictions of women. Classical Sanskrit, Pali, Ardha-Magadhi, and other Prakrit languages have a rich textual tradition from this phase onwards.
The oral traditions as well as various archaeological remains have been recovered from various sites. There is a huge collection of literature that is ascribed totally to women who became Buddhist nuns. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The Arthashastra tell about women who were engaged in economic activities of various types and formed a part of both the skilled and the unskilled workforce.
They were into professional as well as non-professional employment.
Many women were engaged in activities which though not dependent on their biological constitution are nonetheless categorized as women’s domain, e.g.domestic services etc. and many were actual state employees, while many were in contractual relations with the State.
The Buddhist and Jaina traditions also tell us about the ideas and institutions of the times.
The Jatakas are particularly biased against the passionate or affectionate relationships between man and woman.
The Suvannahamsa Jataka gives us an account of a gold-feathered bird that comes to visit his wife of previous birth so as to help their destitute situation.
In many stories we have a brahmana wife committing adultery and her sin being reported by pets or being discovered by the husband himself.
Hence, it becomes important to contextualize these stories in the newly organized social order and demands it made on the men and women.
The scholars have their interpretations about the texts and the archaeological remains. They said that on one side Sita (from Ramayana) and Draupadi (from Mahabharata) have been seen as victims of the patriarchal order; on the other hand, they are also represented as self willed women. BHIC 101 Free Solved Assignment
The study of women was taken as a good development but there is a need to expand the horizons to include other varieties of human existence.
The need is to understand the notions of the feminine, masculine, neuter, and other forms of gender and sexual identities.
This is neither an exhaustive list nor relevant to all regions. There are multiple layers in these texts and are relevant even for a few centuries later.
We can therefore say that all sources can be utilized for understanding gender history. We also understand that understanding the history of women has implications for understanding overall history.
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