The rich tradition of verbal account makes India the subcontinent
whose history is deep buried in the antiquities of 5000 years. Though,
nothing wasrecorded about the ancientperiod, yet historians traced
about the existence of several ancient civilisations through the
innumerable sources of history. In the year 1922 archaeological
exploration brought forth the survival of an ancient city of
Mohenjodaro and Harappan. In addition to that various other evidences
such as, the remains of Homo erectus and fossils of various ages prove
that India was inhabited between 200,000 to 500,000 years ago.
Stone Age
The saga of the Ancient History of India begins with Stone Age. Stone
Age is a broad prehistoric time period and in this period human beings
used stone for tool making. Though, atthat period of time there was no
geographical demarcation, yet the archaeological records depicts that
75,000 years ago, there was human presence in the Indian subcontinent.
The remains of the Homo erectus in Hathnora in the valleys of Narmada
in Central India indicate that India was inhabited since the Middle
Pleistocene era, The Mesolithic period also saw the permanent
settlementsin the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka in modern Madhya Pradesh
, India. Neolithic culture also emerged in South Asia, the Mehrgarh
findings in present day Balochistan, Pakistan and in the Gulf of
Khambat in India are foundand the late Neolithic cultures augmented in
the Indus Valley region between 6000 and 2000 BCE and in southern
India between 2800 and 1200 BCE.
Bronze Age
Bronze Age in India startedwith the Indus Valley Civilization . This
civilizationis known by the name of the two of its great cities -
Harappan and Mohenjodaro and points out the Indus Valley Civilization
as one of the oldest known civilizations of ancient India beside the
three earliest urban civilizations along with Mesopotamia and Ancient
Egypt. According to the Ancient History of India, Bronze Age is the
timeline when the human being started using bronze for the purpose of
tool making. This age began in India around 3300 BCE. Theremains of
the great civilisation are found in modern day India, in the cities of
Gujarat , Haryana and Rajasthan as well as in Pakistan, Sindh and
Punjab . This ancient Indian civilisation developed techniques of
metallurgy and introduced copper , bronze, lead and tin to the
country.
Aryans in India
History in India is a crossroads of cultures from China to Europe. The
first group to invade India was the Aryans , who came out of the north
in about 1500 BC. The Aryans brought with them strong cultural
traditions that, miraculously, still remain inforce today. It was the
Aryans who migrated from the Northwest into the Indian subcontinent
and settled in the Saptasindhu region whilst adapting the existing
Indian culture. It was the 2nd century BC and in the ancient history
of India the period is known as the Vedic civilisation. Aryans lived
in tribes and they spoke Sanskrit language , which was a part of
Indo-European group of languages. Aryans started to intermingle with
the locals.
Ancient Dynasties of India
History of ancient India during this time witnessed therise of major
kingdoms known as the Mahajanapadas. There are sixteen Mahajanapadas
spread across different parts of thecontinent. The births of Mahavira
and Gautama Buddha in the 6th century BC heralded a new religious
movement in India. Mahavira propagated Jainism whose message was
asceticism, austerity and non-violence; GautamaBuddha, preached that `
Nirvana ` was to be attained through the conquest of self. The
political map of ancient India was made up of myriad kingdoms with
fluctuating boundaries. Thethird century BC in the timeline of ancient
India heralded the reign of the Maurya Empire . Chandragupta, Bindusar
and Ashoka were the famous kings of the Maurya dynasty. It was Ashoka
who converted intoBuddhism, and it is in his reign that Buddhism
spread to other parts of Asia. During the Mauryas, Hinduism took the
shape that fundamentally informsthe religion down to the present day.
The 4th and the 5th centuries A.D., Gupta Empire flourished almost
inevitably. The ancient history of India witnessed the Gupta periodas
the Golden Age in Indiantimeline with an overall development of Hindu
culture and political administration.
With the downfall of GuptaEmpire in the 6th century North India almost
inevitably reverted back to small republics and small monarchical
states. It was the time of chaos.