An anthropological observation about Indian asceticism came from Janice Stargardt at the 7th Gonda Lecture (1999) - Upanishadic ethos, early Buddhism and Jainism were all inherently driven by the superior yields of rice farming. Rice has been an extraordinary crop since the Bronze Age. On every yield metric, rice outperforms the other great staple in Eurasia - wheat. The Chinese have long noted that population expansions in the Eastern sphere have been accompanied by rice expansions.

Forensics of the Sinauli chariot (1900 BCE)

Fully restored by the SBU-PDUIA branch of the ASI at Greater Noida, the chariot's metallurgical and structural design reveals that it is uniquely placed in Bronze Age history. Use of nearly-pure copper

The axle frame, chassis pipes & dashboard survived completely (with minor damage) due to being made from unalloyed copper - which is exceptionally resistant to corrosion. Copper inlaid panels were hammered to the platform with 2 cm long copper nails.

The peritrochoid puzzle of Vijayanagara - ವಿಜಯನಗರ

Between 2001 and 2008, two groups of researchers, in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India, were involved in a historical and astronomical quest to determine the end to an esoteric debate. The Vijayanagara Empire spanned 300 years (14th-16th centuries CE). One of the last springboards for the flowering of native vim in the arts and sciences, its appeal has been enduring - both VS Naipaul & Salman Rushdie have written requiems for it. Each in their own fashion.

The fine print that no-one reads

The Yamnaya, quintessential Steppes culture, were formed by an admixture of CHG and EHG peoples 5300 years ago. CHG-like ancestries are maximized only in modern Indo-Iranians.

https://x.com/Ugra___/status/1780955659988824463

Ig Nobel territory

I track Indo-Aryan Immigrationist literature spanning several eras. Ever since it has been established that PGW was overrun by NBPW comprehensively, do any of you know what claim is Michael Witzel making nowadays? For more than 5 decades, IA immigrationists put all their eggs in the PGW basket - with absolutely no clue about archaeology or materiality. All they wanted was a suitable Culture in the Haryana + Western UP zone at 1200 BCE. And PGW was a fit.

Chasing a chariot

In this🧶, we look at an incident from the IVC archaeological corpus from 80 years ago. These events and artifacts have receded from public memory. So its worthwhile to jog them and view them in the light of new discoveries and research. Jonathan Kenoyer, the pre-eminent IVC archaeologist, led an expedition into the various mounds of Harappa between 1986 and 1990. It expanded the then existing knowledge of the Indus Valley and became a landmark modern project.

Did the Scythians (शक) bring Steppes ancestry to India?

Multiple Steppes groups crossed into India in the first millennium BCE. Their arrivals have been recorded in multiple texts (Purāṇas, Manusmṛti etc.), epigraphy (Mathura Lion Capital) and solar calendars (Samvat). Are they the archaeological and demic representation of the Steppes ancestry signature found in modern Indians (interquartile range of 14-18%)? To understand this, the formation of Scythians has to be known.

Radicalism in 400 BCE

I am reading an interesting undergraduate thesis which posits that Chanakya was a radical and a breaker of tradition as, ".....in a land awash with Dharmaśāstras, he chose to compose an Arthaśāstra." He famously delinked the King's agency from traditional varna strictures by proclaiming that, "...a matter of dispute has four feet – law, transaction, custom and royal edict; the latter always supersedes the earlier..".

Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam - शतपथब्राह्मणम्

On reading the SB as a practical guide, one can sense a host of realistic details that could have an archaeological dimension. A long pursuit might lead us into a greater historical realm. For today we have, but, a small opening. Such an insightful layer presents itself to us in the fifth kāṇḍa. This chapter provides a description of the Vâgapeya and the Râgasûya ceremonies - and the relative importance of both ceremonies in the installation of a king.

Indus Valley -> Scandinavia

In a new paper, Rune Iversen at the University of Copenhagen argues that elements of Indo-European iconography only start appearing in southern Scandinavia by 1700 BCE.

A sample icon below, but where have we seen such an aesthetic before? A similar polycephalic figure wearing a horned helmet was discovered more than 5500 kilometers to the east and preceding the Kallerup hoard in Denmark by almost 600 years - in the Indus Valley Civilization.

The famous Pasupati Seal.

Pax Gangetica (UP-Bihar) & wordcel histories

A little known archaeological paper from IIT Gandhinagar is shining light on an important period of Gangetic history and a vexed question - the sheet-anchoring of Indian history.

In this🧶, I discuss the context and implications. The central piece of this thread is Northern Black Polished Ware, a superior ceramic produced in the Middle Ganges Plain. This was, in BB Lal's words - "deluxe tableware" associated with elite consumption (royal goods).

Credit: GG Majumdar Collection

In 2004-05, the ASI excavated Adichchanallur, an Iron Age site on the Thamirabarani riverbank near Tirunelveli. The team recovered 178 urn burials (exclusively BRW) within a 600 sq. metre area. This was an unusually lucky find as the site is almost 114 acres. The urns and other organic materials were subjected to AMS and OSL dating. 95% of the samples were dated to a period 850-650 BCE.

This is the object X location at the IVC city of Dholavira - its North Gate.

There are two large & elevated chambers flanked by sunken passageways on both sides. It is connected with L-shaped stairs. The front terrace is 6m high & 12m deep.

What is X?

Credit: Sagar Bhanderi First the North Gate.

In the infographic below (credit:ASI), the North Gate is shown by G, which leads into the enclosed area A (castle).

It is heavily fortified within the already fortified city (largest square). The city is approx. 108 acres and the castle is 2.59 acres.

A Lubotsky 2020 (Leiden University) - theorizing delinked from archaeology.

Anuradhapura's Iron Age Citadel is firmly dated to 900 BCE. The IAs differentiate linguistically, cross 2000 kms overland, build ships, cross 2000 kms of sea & build a city - all in less than 300 years. I forgot to mention it but it is obvious. The IAs also transitioned from Bronze Age to the Iron Age on the way to Sri Lanka.

Innovation on the road.

In an interesting foray into speculation, AJ Karandikar wonders if Urvaśī (उर्वशी) was from the ancient Mesopotamian city of 3300 BCE. The position of goats/rams in the story of Pururavas and Urvaśī (Rgveda Mandala 10) is key.

Goats were central to Mesopotamian cultures. We can notice another interesting concordance - Urvaśī (उर्वशी) is one of the Apsaras (अप्सरस्) closely linked with the Gandharvas - musicians who are proficient at stringed instruments.

The "Lyres of Ur" are a famous group of instruments excavated at Ur from 2550 BCE.

A story about how the Telugu Nayakas came to power at Madurai in the 16th century. And how the dynasties of the Late Cholas & Imperial Pandyas were finally extinguished.

From the journal of Horace Hayman Wilson (HH Wilson) the first Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford in 1832. Krishnadevaraya had ascended the throne at the turn of the 15th century and formed a strong nucleus of power on the Tungabhadra-Krishna Doab.

He had subdued or quelled the Deccan Sultans, the Kalinga chieftains and the Portuguese colonies to the centre, east and west.

In 2014, a naturalist and two historians posited a theory about a major zoological motif of the Indian subcontinent.

....that the Lion was a exotic alien brought to India around the time of Alexander's invasion over the Iranian Plateau.

They published a book about it. The major historian among the trio was Romila Thapar, well known for her reductionist approach towards ancient Indian history.

In interviews, she stated the modalities of her working approach towards the subject at hand.

When the Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992, an inscription was discovered in its ruins.

It was taken into the Lucknow vaults of ASI, where it remains now.

It was analysed & deciphered by Dr. K.V. Ramesh and Mr. M.N. Katti, both of whom were directors at ASI.

(1/n) Engraved on a rectangular stone slab, about 115 cm x 56 cm, it contained 20 lines in the Nagari script.

This slab has been the subject of intense scrutiny within academic and political circles. In popular discourse, it is known as the "Vishnu-Hari Inscription"

(2/n)

Kālidāsa, the famed poet & the emperor Vikramāditya have never been settled in historical tradition. Their dates (even historicity) remain a matter of conjecture and speculation

But CV Vaidya, the Marathi historian dated them - using the Tamil Pandyas!

Read on...

(1/n) Indian textual sources firmly state that Kālidāsa lived and composed at the court of the Emperor Vikramāditya.

The Emperor himself is a sheet anchor for much of India's history with the Vikram Samvat calendar (57 BCE). But references to an actual personage are scarce.

(2/n)

There has been considerable speculation by serious researchers into the Bronze/Iron Age cultures who could have produced the itihaasas. While not being a pursuit into the exact provenance.

Krishna Kumar published a detailed analysis in BORI 1992.....(1/n)

https://twitter.com/SunKnight___/status/1576151294368428033

The earliest culture marked by a very specific profusion of weapons is the Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) culture in the Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab.

Flat, bar & shouldered celts, double edged axe, hatchet, rings, antennae swords, hooked swords and spearheads, barbed harpoons...(2/n)

The story of 4MSR

4MSR is the most important Indus Valley Civilization site you have never heard of...it is in the Ghaggar Hakra (Saraswati) basin, west of Anupgarh Fort in Rajasthan. It has both Early and Mature Harappan layers.

A rather small site - but high impact! In 2017, it was excavated by an ASI team led by none other than Sanjay Kumar Manjul. They found several artifacts that have spurred other researchers to posit theories in disparate fields.