Ancient India"Exploring the Rich History of Ancient India"

The name of the South Asian country, India, derives from the Indus River. The name of the country is taken from the Indian epic Mahabharata, which partly tells the story of the mythical Emperor Bharata. According to the Puranas, religious/historical writings from the fifth century AD, Bharata subjugated the entire Indian subcontinent and ruled over it in peace and harmony. As a result, the region was given the name Bharatavarsha (the Bharata subcontinent). With a history of over 250,000 years of human activity, the Indian subcontinent is one of the oldest inhabited regions on earth. We take many other modern conveniences for granted these days. Stone tools and other ancient human artifacts have been discovered during archaeological excavations, and these indicate a very early date for human settlement and technology in the area. It was one of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world (c. 600 BC), ruling over a larger area than Mesopotamia or Egypt and producing an equally vibrant and progressive culture.

Prehistory of India:

The regions that are now part of Pakistan, India and Nepal have provided archaeologists and scientists with the most common sites of the first family tree. The first evidence for the existence of Homo heidelbergensis was found in Germany in 1907, and later discoveries shed light on quite different patterns of migration of this species from abroad.

Africa:

Since Western excavations in India, unlike work in Mesopotamia and Egypt, did not begin in earnest until the 1920s, the discovery of their presence in India by antiquity is largely attributable to the relatively late archaeological interest in the region. Even though the existence of the ancient city of Harappa was known as early as 1829, its importance for archaeology was disregarded. Instead, subsequent excavations were motivated by a desire to find the potential locations of the sites mentioned in the great Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana (both from the 5th or 4th century BC or centuries BC). ignoring the possibility of a much earlier past for the area (possibly before 3000 BC).

Mohenjo-Daro & Harappan Civilization:

Beginning around 1000 BC, the Indus Valley Civilization expanded steadily from the lower Ganges valley in the south and north to Malwa. Cities during this time were larger than modern towns in other nations, faced the cardinal directions, and were constructed of mudbrick, frequently baked. The homes were constructed with a kitchen/working room for food preparation, a large yard that opened from the front door, and smaller bedrooms.

According to inferences from sites in Rome, Egypt, Greece, and Mesopotamia, family activities appear to have centred around the front of the house, particularly the courtyard. The inhabitants of the Indus Valley had much more modern structures and homes, though. Many had air conditioning provided by "windcatchers" on the roofs, which may have first been invented in ancient Persia. Cities that have been previously excavated have sewage and drainage systems that are more sophisticated than those of ancient Rome.