Do you agree that archaeological
evidence often helps in the better
understanding of literary sources?
Comment. [UPSC, 2019] – SELF STUDY
HISTORY
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Author selfstudyhistory Posted on Posted on June 1,
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Do you agree that archaeological evidence often helps
in the better understanding of literary sources?
Comment. [UPSC, 2019] ©selfstudyhistory.com
Ans:
Archaeology usually provides an anonymous history, one
that sheds light on cultural processes rather than events.
An ancient text does not necessarily offer a simple or
direct reflection of the society of its time. Information has
to be teased out with care along with other archaeological
evidences like inscriptions and coins to make historical
inferences.
It is the only source for those parts of the past
covered by non-deciphered written records for
example- information of Harappan period.
Archaeology often tells us about aspects of everyday life
that are not revealed or emphasized in texts. For
example:
Information on the history of human settlements
Details bout modes of subsistence—the food
procured, crops grown, agricultural implements used,
animals hunted and tamed etc.
Information on history of technology—raw
materials, their sources, the methods used to make
artefacts etc.
Archaeology helps reconstruct routes and networks
of exchange, trade, and interaction between
communities.
An exclusively text-based view of religion will not tell
us everything about religious practice. The material
evidence of ancient religions make a major
contribution in this area.
Examples of how archaeological evidence helps in the
better understanding of literary sources:
Inscriptions
Advantages:
Compared with manuscript of texts, inscriptions have
the advantage of durability.
They are usually contemporaneous to the events
they speak of and their information can be connected
to a time and place.
Changes and additions made to them can usually be
detected without great difficulty.
Compared to literary sources, which tend to give a
theoretical perspective, inscriptions often reflect
what people were actually doing.
Inscription are a valuable source of information on
political history.
For e.g. Allahabad inscription helps in political history
of Samudragupta, Aihole inscription helps in
political history of Harshavardhana (Aihole
inscription also crosschecks accounts of Banbhatta
and Hieun Tsang)
The geographical spread of a king’s inscriptions is
often taken as indicating the area under his political
control.
Ashokan edict helps in understanding of Arthasastra
and Megasthenes’ Indica.
But discovery of inscriptions depends on chance
and not all the inscriptions inscribed during a king’s
reign need necessarily be found.
Furthermore, movable inscriptions are not always
found in situ, i.e., in their original place.
The royal inscriptions and prashastis give details about
the history of dynasties and the reigns of kings.
Though there are some problems:
Royal inscriptions naturally tend to exaggerate the
achievements of the ruling king.
Sometimes genealogies skip names, for instance, in
the case of Skandagupta and Ramagupta, who are
ignored in Gupta genealogies because they did not
come within the direct line of succession of the later
ruler.
There are cases where inscriptions of different
dynasties make conflicting claims.
For instance, a Gurjara-Pratihara inscription
Wherever possible, details of political events given in
inscriptions have to be cross-checked.
Inscriptions have also been used as a major source of
information on political structures and administrative
and revenue systems.
There are very few ancient records of secular land
transactions and records of land disputes, which some
inscriptions like inscriptions on Copper plate (for e.g.
Paharpur and Damodar inscription) provide us.
Inscriptions also show the social and economic issues.
Gupta literature sometimes glorifies status of women
while Eran inscription shows Sati Pratha.
Inscriptions shed light on the history of settlement
patterns, agrarian relations and class and caste
structures.
Inscriptions provide dateable information on the
history of religious sects, institutions, and practices.
Donative records help identify the sources of
patronage enjoyed by ancient religious
establishments.
They also give glimpses into sects and cults that were
once important but did not leave any literature of
their own e.g., the Ajivika sect and the yaksha and
naga cults.
Inscriptions can help identify and date sculptures
and structures, and thus throw light on the history of
iconography, art, and architecture.
They are also a rich source of information on historical
geography.
The location of several ancient Buddhist monastic
sites such as Kapilvastu (identified with Piprahwa in
Basti district, UP) has been fixed on the basis of
inscribed monastic seals.
Inscriptions reflect the history of languages and
literature and a few refer to the performing arts.
For example, the 7th century Kudumiyamalai
inscription gives the musical notes used in seven
classical ragas.
The pillars of the eastern and western gateways of the
Nataraja temple at Chidambaram have label
inscriptions describing the dance poses of 108
sculpted figures carved on them, quoting verses from
the Natyashastra of Bharata.
Coins
Language and script:
Legends on coins give information on the history of
languages and scripts.
Economic history:
Monetary history:
Coins are linked to monetary history, which
includes:
an analysis of the production and circulation of
coinage,
the monetary values attached to coins, and
the frequency and volume of issues.
Monetary history is in turn an important aspect of
the history of exchange and trade.
Trade:
The wide distribution of Kushana coins indicates
the flourishing trade of the period.
The ship on certain Satavahana coins reflects the
importance of maritime trade in the Deccan during
this period.
Roman coins found in various parts of India provide
information on Indo-Roman trade.
Importance of guild:
The few coin series issued by guilds indicate the
importance of these institutions.
Economic prosperity:
Coins are often taken to indicate levels of economic
prosperity (or the lack of it) or the financial
condition of ancient states.
Historians frequently interpret the debasement of
coins as an indication of a financial crisis in the
state or more general economic decline, for
instance, in the time of the later Guptas.
However, in a situation where the supply of
precious metals is restricted or reduced, alloying
or debasement can be a response to an increase in
the demand for coins created by an increase in
the volume of economic transactions.
Helps in date the layers:
Dates appear rarely on early Indian coins. Exceptions
are western Kshatrapa coins which give dates in the
Shaka era and some Gupta silver coins which give the
regnal years of kings.
Whether dated or undated, coins discovered in
archaeological excavations often help date the layers.
Political history:
As important royal message-bearing media, coins
form a vital source of political history.
The area of circulation of dynastic issues is often
used to estimate the extent and frontiers of
empires. However, caution has to be exercised,
because coins made of precious metals had an
intrinsic value and often circulated beyond the
borders of the state issuing them.
They also sometimes continued to circulate for
some time after a dynasty faded from power.
Several different currency systems could prevail in
an area, and it is necessary to visualize multiple
overlapping and intersecting spheres of coin
circulation.
Numismatic evidence is an especially important
source for the political history of India between c.
200 BCE and 300 CE.
Most of the Indo-Greek kings are known almost
entirely from their coins.
Coins also offer information on the Parthians,
Shakas, Kshatrapas, Kushanas, and Satavahanas.
Ancient political systems:
Coins also offer information on ancient political
systems. The term gana on coins of the Yaudheyas
and Malavas points to their non-monarchical polity.
City coins are suggestive of the importance and
possible autonomy of certain city administrations.
Biographies:
Sometimes, numismatic evidence offers more than
just the names of kings and provides biographical
details.
For instance, the only specific detail we know about
the life of the Gupta king Chandragupta I is that
he married a Lichchhavi princess, and this detail
comes from coins commemorating the marriage.
The performance of the ashvamedha sacrifice by
Samudragupta and Kumaragupta I is recorded on
coins. The archer and battleaxe coin types of
Samudragupta predictably advertise his physical
prowess, while the lyrist type, which shows him
playing the vina, represents a completely different
aspect of his personality.
Religion:
The depiction of deities on coins provides information
about the personal religious preferences of kings,
royal religious policy, and the history of religious
cults.
The depiction of a great variety of figures from
Indian, Iranian, and Graeco-Roman religious
traditions on the coins of the Kushana kings is
generally interpreted as a reflection of their eclectic
religious views.
Others
PGW culture helps in the better understanding of Vedic
literature.
Archaeological remains of Sunga art and architecture
belies the belief of Buddhist literary sources that they
were anti-Buddhist.
Megalithic culture helps in the better understanding of
Sangam literature.
NBPW culture helps in the better understanding of
Buddhist and Jain literature of Mahajanapada period
(like second urbanisation, state formation, religious
revolution)
CONCLUSIONS
The various literary and archaeological sources have
their own specific potential as well as limitations, which
have to be taken into account by the historian.
Interpretation is integral to analysing the evidence from
ancient texts, archaeological sites, inscriptions, and
coins. Wherever several sources are available, their
evidence has to be co-related. The co-relation of
evidence from texts and archaeology is especially
important for a more comprehensive and inclusive
history of ancient and early medieval India. However
given the inherent differences in the nature of literary
and archaeological data, it is not always easy to
integrate them into a smooth and seamless narrative.
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