| Period | Approx. Dates | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) | c. 2.5 million – 10,000 BCE | Hunting-gathering; chopper/chopping tools; Robert Bruce Foote discovered first Palaeolithic tool (Pallavaram, 1863); divided into Early, Middle, Late phases based on tool typology |
| Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) | c. 10,000 – 6,000 BCE | Microliths (small stone tools); early domestication; Bagor (Rajasthan), Adamgarh sites; rock art at Bhimbetka |
| Neolithic (New Stone Age) | c. 7,000 – 1,000 BCE (regionally variable) | Settled agriculture, animal domestication, pottery; Mehrgarh (earliest farming site, Balochistan, c. 7000 BCE); polished stone tools |
| Chalcolithic | c. 3,000 – 1,000 BCE | Copper-stone age; Ahar, Malwa, Jorwe cultures; use of copper alongside stone tools |
The Harappan Civilization (c. 2600–1900 BCE, mature phase) was discovered through the excavations of Harappa (Daya Ram Sahni, 1921) and Mohenjo-daro (R.D. Banerji, 1922) under the Archaeological Survey of India, then led by John Marshall.
| Site | Location | Distinctive Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Mohenjo-daro | Sindh (Pakistan) | Great Bath, granary, largest city |
| Harappa | Punjab (Pakistan) | Type site; granaries, workmen's quarters |
| Dholavira | Gujarat, India | Unique water conservation system; signboard inscription; three-part city division |
| Lothal | Gujarat, India | Dockyard; bead-making industry; evidence of maritime trade |
| Kalibangan | Rajasthan, India | Evidence of ploughed field; fire altars |
| Rakhigarhi | Haryana, India | Largest Harappan site by area (recent excavations); ancient DNA studies |
| Period | Approx. Dates | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Early/Rig Vedic | c. 1500–1000 BCE | Pastoral-semi-nomadic; Rigveda composed; tribal chieftains (rajan); assemblies (sabha, samiti) |
| Later Vedic | c. 1000–600 BCE | Settled agriculture; iron use (Painted Grey Ware); emergence of varna system; Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda; Brahmanas, Upanishads composed |
The four Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva) form the earliest layer of Vedic literature, followed by Brahmanas (ritual texts), Aranyakas (forest texts), and Upanishads (philosophical texts, c. 800–500 BCE) which mark the shift toward speculative philosophy (Atman, Brahman, karma, moksha).
By c. 600 BCE, sixteen major territorial states (Mahajanapadas) existed across northern India, mentioned in Buddhist and Jain texts (Anguttara Nikaya). Magadha, under rulers like Bimbisara and Ajatashatru of the Haryanka dynasty, emerged dominant due to fertile land, iron resources, and control of trade routes, later ruled by the Shishunaga and Nanda dynasties before the Mauryan takeover.
| Ruler | Key Achievements |
|---|---|
| Chandragupta Maurya | Founded the empire with Chanakya's (Kautilya's) guidance; defeated Seleucus Nikator; Arthashastra attributed to Kautilya as a treatise on statecraft |
| Bindusara | Expanded southward; maintained diplomatic ties with the Hellenistic world (Megasthenes as Greek ambassador at his father's court, author of Indica) |
| Ashoka | Kalinga War (c. 261 BCE) led to conversion to Buddhism; Dhamma policy of moral governance; edicts inscribed on rocks and pillars across the empire; sent missions to Sri Lanka and beyond |
Mauryan administration featured a centralised bureaucracy, spy networks, and a sophisticated revenue system, as described in the Arthashastra. Ashokan inscriptions (in Brahmi, Kharoshthi, Greek, and Aramaic scripts) are a key primary source for the period, deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837.
After Mauryan decline, regional powers emerged: the Shunga dynasty (Pushyamitra Shunga) in the north; Indo-Greek kingdoms in the northwest (Menander/Milinda, subject of the Buddhist text Milindapanha); the Kushan Empire (Kanishka, patron of Buddhism, convener of the Fourth Buddhist Council, Gandhara and Mathura art schools); and the Satavahanas in the Deccan, notable for trade with Rome and patronage of Buddhist cave architecture.
Often termed a "Golden Age," the Gupta period saw achievements in science (Aryabhata's astronomical and mathematical work, including early concepts of zero and place value), literature (Kalidasa's Sanskrit classics), art (Ajanta cave paintings), and administration (decentralised, with local governance through village assemblies).
| Ruler | Key Achievements |
|---|---|
| Chandragupta I | Founded the dynasty; strategic marriage alliance with the Lichchhavis |
| Samudragupta | Extensive military conquests; Allahabad Prashasti (composed by Harishena) records his achievements; sometimes called the "Indian Napoleon" |
| Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) | Height of Gupta power; defeated the Shakas; patron of Kalidasa and the "Navaratnas"; Chinese pilgrim Faxian visited during his reign |
Harshavardhana (606–647 CE) briefly unified much of northern India from Kannauj; his reign is documented by the court poet Banabhatta (Harshacharita) and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), who studied at Nalanda University. Harsha's death without an heir led to fragmentation, marking the transition toward the regional, land-grant-based polities characteristic of early medieval India (the "Indian feudalism" debate associated with R.S. Sharma).
