History Notes

Coimbatore gap
Earth is 4.5 billion years old and humans appeared about 200,000 years ago
4 eras or ages, Primary(Paleozoic), Secondary(Mesozoic), Tertiary and Quaternary
Tertiary and Quaternary together are called Cenozoic (age of mammals)(100 millio
n years ago) era which is further divided into 7 epochs of which last two are Pl
eistocene (1.6 mya) and Halocene ( 10,000 years ago)
Earliest - Australopithecus - 4.4 mya to 1.8 mya

Continental drift and ice ages and inter-glacial periods

Epochs and Evolution ( till homo sapiens)
Technology - Tool culture to Civilization
(stone culture, fire, language, wheel, agriculture, metallurgy,weaving, pottery,
coinage, writing, government and law, nation, religion)
Toba eruption
Ice ages and Epochs
Evolution of Man
Continental drift
Evidence - Flints and Stones,
Paleolithic - Technological or Cultural stage - Use of rudimentary chipped stone
tools
Lower paleolithic (600,000 to 150,000 bc), middle (150.000 to 35000 bc) and Uppe
r paleolithic (35000 TILL 10,000 BC)
Tool cultures
Trinil in Java, Heidelberg in Germany and in Central Africa
Chellean tools - Chelles-sur-Marne
Acheulean industry
Mousterian industry
HOMO HABILIS - 2 mya
Microliths??
Megaliths
In India,
Soan culture - Pithecanthropus of Java and China
Madras industry

- Homo sapiens

Caves of Bhimbetka
HOMO ERECTUS - 1.7 mya
Heidelbergenesis

HOMO SAPIENS - 500,000 years ago

Upper
Aurignacian
Solutrean
Magdalenien
Mesolithic (microliths)
Neanderthal- near Dusseldorf - 50,000 years ago- Knew use of fire till 25000 yea
rs ago
Paleolithic - learnt language
Cro Magnon and Grimaldi - Domestication of horse - Cave paintings - Carvings lasted for 15,000 years
Neolithic (Celts)- New stone age (9000 BC)- beginnings of agriculture and potter
y - Stonehenge- barter- religion
Neolithic-CHalcolithic, Chalcolithic
Bronze age - No bronze age in south India - 2nd millenium BC
Iron age - (Iron replaced bronze in implements and weapons) - Writing?? 1000 BC
Civilization - beginnings of religion?? - associated with cities and writing??
Egypt
Babylonia and Assyria
Medes and Persians
China
India
Indus valley civilization
Early (proto urban)(3200 - 2600 BC), Mature(urban)(2600 - 1900 BC) and late hara
ppan (1900 - 1300 BC) civilization - Bronze age civilization??
Discovery - John Marshall - 1924
3rd millenium BC
Saraswati - Ghaggar - Hakra river??
Sites
Harappa
Mohenjadaro
Kalibanga
Rupar
Lothal
Kot Diji
Rana Ghundai
Spinning and weaving of cotton
Wheeled transport
Fall of Indus valley civilization - Aryan invasion?? Ecological degradation?? 19
00 BC
Pre-history - before writing, history - after invention of writing
Cultural transition from 2000 BC to 600 BC

IRON AGE
PROTO HISTORY - Orally transmitted literature
Histeriography - literary and archeological sources
Epigraphy - Study of inscriptions
Numismatics - Study of coins
Ethnography - Study of living cultures and communities
Second urbanization??
Rig vedic period
Vedas, Brahmanas and Upanisads
Vedas - recensions, Rg veda - Shakala
Cheiftains of tribes
sabha and samitis
Battle of ten kings
Sudas, king of Bharatas
Purukutsa, king of Purus
Kurus - Parikshit and Janmejaya
Drinks - Soma and Sura
Later vedic age
Epic age?? - Mahabharata War - 3012 BC??
Kurus (Parikshit) and Panchalas, Kosala - Rama, Videha- Janaka , capital - Mithi
la
Magadha - Bimbisara, capital - Rajagrha near Patna, Anga - Bengal, capital - Cha
mpa
Tribe of Yadavas - Mathura, Vatsa - capital - Kausambi
Ganas - tribal republics
Avanti - capital Ujjain
Royal sacrifices - Ashwamedha, Rajasuya, Vajapeya
Brahmi script of Mauryan times
Kharosti script
Coinage??
Class system
Max mueller divides vedic period into 4, Sutra literature(600-200BC), the Brahma
nas(800-600 BC), the Mantra period(including later portions of Rigveda 1000-800B
C) and the Chhandas(1200-1000BC)
Aranyakas and Upanishads - 108 upanishads out of which 13 are considered princip
al
Puranas - texts dating from Gupta times - by Vyasa??-18 in number
Panini - 300 BC - Ashtadhyayi
Patanjali - Mahabhashya
Enemies of Aryans - Dasas, Panis
Philosophers - Kanada and Kapila

Samaveda and Yajurveda - Black and White

Atharvaveda
Special portions of Brahmanas are given the term 'aranyakas'
Sutras and sastras together are known as 'smriti', remembered whereas earlier ve
dic literature is sruti( heard). Epics and Puranas also part of smriti.
Yaska in Nirukta part of Vedanga
Mahabharata has 18 parvas
Ramayana has 7 kandas by Valmiki??
Northern black polished ware (NBPW) (700 to 200 BC)
Painted grey ware (PGW) (1200 to 600 BC)
Ochre colored pottery (OCP)
Black and red ware (BRW)
6th Century BC - Concrete history-Age of Buddha and Mahajanapadas
Sisunaga set up a dynasty
Kosala, Magadha, Vatsa and Avanti
Pre-dominance of Magadha
prakrit, pali
jatakas
Buddhist literature - Tipitaka
Buddhist council of monks - first at Rajgrha, second at Vaishali
Jaina literature Sangam literature - Three sangams held, Madurai, Kapatapuram and Madurai (300 BC
- 600AD)
Bimbisara
Ajatashatru
middle of 4th century BC - Mahapadma Nanda - emperor of Magadha
Alexande crossed Indus in 326 BC
Death - 323 BC
Chandragupta Maurya overthew Nandas and occupied Patliputra
built great dam at Girnar
aided by Chanakya
Smriti literature, Dharmasastras, Shrautasutras, Grihyasutras
Manu smriti
Vikrama era(58 BC), Shaka era(AD 78) and Gupta era
Seleucus sent Magesthenes as ambassador to Mauryans
Succeeded by Bindusara
Succeeded by Asoka 269 BC
39 Ashoka inscriptions
Coverted to Buddhism
Exit of Ashoka - 232 BC
Dynasty overthrown by Pusyamitra Sunga capital - Vidisa

Not closely-knit and centralized but feudal

son Agnimitra of Kalidasa's fame
Sungas and Kanvas
Indo - greeks in north west, king Menander (yavanas)
Scythians or Shakas, king - Rudradaman
Parthians or Pahlavas king- Gondophernes
Kushans(Yueh Chi), Kadphises and Kanishka
Indo-sassanians
Glassmaking
Satavahanas or Andhras in the deccan , capital - Pratishtana (Paithan)
King - Gautamiputra Satakarni
official language - Prakrit
tilll AD 220
Succeeded by Ikshvakus
Kharavela in Kalinga
Pallavas(Kanchipuram)??
In Tamil country, Cholas, capital - Kaveripattinam
Ceras(Keralaputras) and
Pandyas capital- Madurai ruled
320 AD Chandragupta
Samudragupta - capital Patliputra - Indian napolean
Chandragupta 2 aka Vikramaditya, kalidasa
Fa Hien chinese monk visited India
Ajanta and Ellora
Vakatakas in maharashtra
Hunas- Mihirakula
Vardhanas and Maukharis
harshavardhana ascended throne in 606 - 647AD in Kannauj
Banabhatta - Harshacharita
visited by Huen Tsang
Tantric cults had set in
Bhakti movement
Maitrakas,Chalukyas ( western and eastern), Kadambas, Gangas (western and easter
n)
Malavas and Gurjaras
Dravida style of temple
Nagara style of temple
I tsing
Rashtrakutas - founded by Dantidurga
Palas
(gurjara)-Pratiharas - Bhoja
Chandelas, Paramaras,Tomaras, Chahamanas - Prithviraj iii ( Ajmer), Solankis

Mahmud of Ghazni
1206 Qutub uddin became first sultan of Delhi
Iltumush
Sultan Raziya
Ghiasudding Balban
Genghiz Khan
Sufi movement
Khaljis - Ala uddin- fixing of prices
Tughlaqs - Mohammed bin Tughlaq
Hoysalas
Kakatiyas
Seunas - Deogir
Zia uddin Barani - writer
Ibn Batuta
Marco Polo
Timur, the lame
Saiyyids
Lodis
Vijaynagar
Bahmanis