Bronze Age India
Encyclopedia
The Bronze Age
in South Asia
begins around 3000 BC, and in the end gives rise to the Indus Valley Civilization
, which had its mature period between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It continues into the Rigvedic period
, the early part of the Vedic period
. It is succeeded by the Indian Iron Age, beginning around 1000 BC.
South India
, by contrast, remains in the Mesolithic
stage until about 2500 BC.
In the 2nd millennium BC, there may have been cultural contact between North and South India, even though South India skips a Bronze Age proper and enters the Iron Age from the Chalcolithic stage directly. In February, 2006, a school teacher in the village of Sembian-Kandiyur in Tamil Nadu
discovered a stone celt with an inscription estimated to be up to 3,500 years old.
Indian epigrahist Iravatham Mahadevan
postulated that the writing was in Indus script and called the find "the greatest archaeological discovery of a century in Tamil Nadu".
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
begins around 3000 BC, and in the end gives rise to the Indus Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
, which had its mature period between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It continues into the Rigvedic period
Rigvedic tribes
The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists; when not on the move, they were subdivided into temporary settlements . They were headed by a tribal chief assisted by a priestly caste...
, the early part of the Vedic period
Vedic period
The Vedic period was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE, also...
. It is succeeded by the Indian Iron Age, beginning around 1000 BC.
South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, by contrast, remains in the Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
stage until about 2500 BC.
In the 2nd millennium BC, there may have been cultural contact between North and South India, even though South India skips a Bronze Age proper and enters the Iron Age from the Chalcolithic stage directly. In February, 2006, a school teacher in the village of Sembian-Kandiyur in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
discovered a stone celt with an inscription estimated to be up to 3,500 years old.
Indian epigrahist Iravatham Mahadevan
Iravatham Mahadevan
Iravatham Mahadevan is an Indian epigraphist, specializing on the Indus script and Early Tamil epigraphy.-Biography:Iravatham Mahadevan was born in 1930 in a Smartha Tamil Brahmin family of Thanjavur district. He was born in British Burma where his father Iravatham was practising as a...
postulated that the writing was in Indus script and called the find "the greatest archaeological discovery of a century in Tamil Nadu".
| Date range | Phase | Era |
| 3300-2600 | Early Harappan (Early Bronze Age) | |
|---|---|---|
| 3300-2800 | Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase) | |
| 2800-2600 | Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII) | |
| 2600-1900 | Mature Harappan (Indus Valley Civilization Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India... ) |
Integration Era |
| 2600-2450 | Harappan 3A (Nausharo II) | |
| 2450-2200 | Harappan 3B | |
| 2200-1900 | Harappan 3C | |
| 1900-1300 | Late Harappan (Cemetery H); Ochre Coloured Pottery Ochre Coloured Pottery culture The Ochre Coloured Pottery culture , is a 2nd millennium BC Bronze Age culture of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . It is a contemporary to, and a successor of the Indus Valley Civilization. The OCP marks the last stage of the North Indian Bronze Age and is succeeded by the Iron Age black-and-red ware and... |
Localisation Era |
| 1900-1700 | Harappan 4 | |
| 1700-1300 | Harappan 5 | |
See also
- Periodization of the Indus Valley CivilizationPeriodization of the Indus Valley CivilizationThe Indus Valley Tradition is a term used to refer to the cultures of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers, stretching from the Neolithic Mehrgarh period down to the Iron Age or Indo-Gangetic Tradition....
- Iron Age IndiaIron Age IndiaIron Age India, the Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent, succeeds the Late Harappan culture, also known as the last phase of the Indus Valley Tradition...
- Indus Valley civilizationIndus Valley CivilizationThe Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
- Indus scriptIndus scriptThe term Indus script refers to short strings of symbols associated with the Indus Valley Civilization, in use during the Early Harappan and Mature Harappan period, between the 35th and 20th centuries BC. In spite of many attempts at decipherments and claims, it is as yet undeciphered...