India's ancient past
R. S. Sharma
- New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2005
- xi, 387 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
The significance of ancient Indian history Modern historians of ancient India Nature of sources and historical construction Geographical setting Ecology and environment The linguistic background Human evolution: the Old Stone Age The Neolithic Age: first food producers and animal keepers Chalcolithic cultures Harappan culture: Bronze Age, urbanization in the Indus Valley Identity of Aryan Culture The age of the Rig Veda The later Vedic Phase: transition to state and social orders Jainism and Buddhism Territorial states and the rise of Magadha Iranian and Macedonian invasions State structure and the Varna System in the Age of the Buddha The Maurya Age The significance of Maurya rule Central Asian contact and mutual impact The Satavahana Phase The dawn of history in the deep south Crafts, commerce, and urban growth (200 BC-AD 250) Rise and growth of the Gupta Empire Life in the Gupta Age Spread of civilization in Eastern India Harsha and his times Brahmanization, rural expansion, and peasant protest in the peninsula Developments in philosophy Cultural interaction with Asian countries From Ancient to Medieval Sequence of social changes Legacy in science and civilization