Question

Write a short note on the sources of ancient Indian history?

Answer 1

Instructions:
Divide the sources into:
Archeological remains
Scripts
List various scripts
List various archeological remains

Solution:
The ancient period of Indian history extends from the stone age to the 8th century CE.
The sources of ancient Indian history can be divided into two:
Archeological remains
Scripts
During the stone age there was no written literature developed. Therefore, there is no written record of the stone age.
Thus we can learn about the Indian stone age only through archeological remains.
Archeological remains like historical buildings, coins, seals and ancient monuments can also be used to understand ancient Indian history.
The information after 1500 BCE can be obtained from Vedic literature and post Vedic literature.
The vedic literature was not present in written form to begin with. People used to memorize and pass this literature orally.
Later on, this literature took the form of written scripts.
Post vedic literature includes the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the Jain and the Buddhist literature, plays, poems, and pillar inscriptions.