Understanding the Past: What, Where, How And When?

Finding Out What Happened

History is the study of the past. We are constantly trying to understand how things were in earlier times, what people did, and how events unfolded. Finding out what happened in the past is like solving a huge mystery using clues left behind.

To find out what happened, historians look for and interpret various sources of information. These sources are like pieces of a puzzle that, when put together, give us an idea of the past. The information we gather helps us understand the lives of people who lived centuries or even millennia before us.

What Can We Know About The Past?

Studying the past allows us to learn about many aspects of human life and the world throughout different periods.

We can find out about:

• The kind of food people ate: What plants and animals were available? Did they farm or hunt?
• The clothes they wore: What materials did they use? How were clothes made?
• The houses they lived in: What were their homes made of? Where were they located?
• The lives of different groups of people: Not just kings and queens, but also ordinary people like hunters, herders, farmers, rulers, merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists, musicians, and scientists.
• The games children played: What toys did they have? What activities did they engage in?
• The stories they heard: What kind of narratives were popular?
• The plays they saw: Did they have theatre or performances?
• The songs they sang: What kind of music existed?

By exploring these questions, we gain insights into the daily lives, social structures, economic activities, beliefs, and cultural practices of past societies.

Where Did People Live?

Early humans did not necessarily live in the same places or in the same ways throughout history. Their habitats and lifestyles changed as they evolved and adapted to different environments and developed new skills.

Evidence suggests that people lived in various regions of the Indian subcontinent for hundreds of thousands of years.

• Some of the earliest people were hunter-gatherers. They lived by hunting animals, catching fish and birds, gathering fruits, roots, nuts, and seeds. They moved from place to place in search of food and water.
• They often lived near rivers and streams, as these were reliable sources of water and supported plant and animal life.
• Archaeological evidence has located sites where early hunter-gatherers lived, such as near the banks of the River Narmada in Central India.
• Later, people began to practise agriculture, settling in specific areas suitable for farming. Some of the earliest areas where people began to grow crops, such as wheat and barley, were near the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills in the northwest (modern-day Pakistan) and in the Garo hills in the northeast and the Vindhya range in central India (where rice was first grown).
• People also began rearing animals like sheep, goat, and cattle and living in villages.
• Civilisations later developed around major rivers, such as the Indus River and its tributaries (leading to the Indus Valley Civilization, around 4700 years ago) and later the Ganga River and its tributaries (leading to kingdoms like Magadha, around 2500 years ago).
• Over time, cities developed along rivers, trade routes, and coastlines.

Understanding where people lived helps us connect historical events to geographical locations and understand the influence of geography on history.

Names Of The Land

The land we now call India has been known by different names throughout history. These names often originated from interactions with people from other regions.

Two of the names often used for our country, 'India' and 'Bharat', have historical roots:

• India: This name comes from the River Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit. Ancient Iranians and Greeks who came through the northwest were familiar with the Indus. The Iranians called it the 'Hindos' and the Greeks the 'Indos', and the land to the east of the river was called 'India'.
• Bharat: The name 'Bharat' was used for a group of people who lived in the northwest and are mentioned in the Rigveda, the earliest composition in Sanskrit (composed about 3500 years ago). Later, this name was used for the country.

Learning about the origins of these names provides a glimpse into the historical interactions and perceptions of the region by different groups of people.

Finding Out About The Past

Historians use various sources to reconstruct the past. These sources are the raw materials of history, providing clues about what happened, when, where, and how people lived.

Sources of History:

Sources can be broadly classified into two main categories:

1. Archaeological Sources: Material remains of the past.
   • Archaeology: The study of objects made and used by people in the past.
   • Artifacts: Tools, weapons, pottery, ornaments, toys, etc., made by humans. Studying these helps understand technology, lifestyle, and culture.
   • Monuments and Buildings: Remains of houses, palaces, temples, forts. Provide information about architecture, social organisation, religious practices, and the scale of human activity.
   • Inscriptions: Writings on hard surfaces such as stone, metal, or baked clay. Often contain records of kings' orders, dedications, land grants, or information about battles and events. Studying inscriptions (epigraphy) is crucial.
   • Coins: Coins can provide information about the rulers (names, titles, portraits), the economy (materials used, purity, trade networks), and significant events (symbols, dates). Studying coins (numismatics) is important.
   • Bones, seeds, plant remains: Can provide information about diet, agriculture, and the environment.
2. Literary Sources: Written records.
   • Manuscripts: Handwritten books. Often written on materials like palm leaves, bark of birch trees, or paper. Covered subjects like religious beliefs, lives of kings, medicine, science, epics, poems, plays. Were often preserved in monasteries and temples.
   • Printed Books and Documents: Available for later historical periods (after the invention of printing). Include official records, letters, books, newspapers, journals.

*(Image shows illustrations or photographs of an ancient inscription on stone or metal, an old coin, and a palm leaf or bark manuscript)*

Historians carefully analyse these sources, compare information from different sources, and use critical thinking to interpret them and build a narrative of the past. Understanding the source of information is crucial for determining its reliability and perspective.

One Past Or Many?

When we talk about "the past", it might seem like a single, unified story. However, the past was experienced differently by different groups of people. Therefore, we can think of the past not as one monolithic entity, but as having many layers and perspectives.

Consider the differences in the lives of different groups in the past:

• Kings and Queens: Often kept detailed records of their battles and policies. Their lives were likely well-documented in court records, inscriptions, and accounts by visitors.
• Farmers and Herders: Led very different lives. Their daily routines, challenges, and social structures were likely quite distinct from those of rulers. Their stories are harder to trace directly but can be inferred from archaeological evidence (tools, settlement patterns) and indirect references in other sources.
• Merchants: Travelled from place to place, trading goods. Their lives involved movement, interaction with different cultures, and economic activities that differed from stationary farmers or courtly rulers.
• Craftspersons: Focused on making specific objects. Their lives involved specialised skills, workshops, and possibly guild structures.

Also, different regions and periods had unique characteristics. The past of the Indus Valley Civilization was very different from the past of the Gupta Empire or the Mughal era.

Therefore, when we study the past, we should be mindful that there were different groups of people with varying experiences, perspectives, and ways of life. Historians try to understand these multiple 'pasts' by drawing information from diverse sources and considering the context of different groups and regions.

The title of some history books using the plural "Our Pasts" reflects this understanding that the past is not a single, simple narrative but a collection of diverse experiences across time and across different sections of society.

How Important Are Dates?

Dates are very important in history. They provide a framework for understanding the sequence of events and the chronology of the past. Without dates, history would be a jumbled collection of stories without a clear timeline.

Dates help us to:

• Place events in the correct order (what happened before what).
• Understand the duration of events or periods.
• Relate events happening in different places at the same time.
• Trace the changes and developments that occurred over time.
• Determine cause and effect relationships between events.

For example, knowing the dates of the Indus Valley Civilization (roughly 2600-1900 BCE) helps us understand that it was a very ancient urban civilisation that existed before the rise of the Vedic period in India. Knowing the date of a battle or a ruler's reign helps us understand that specific political events occurred within a particular timeframe.

While memorising exact dates for every single event might not be the most important thing, understanding the relative order of events and the timeframe of different historical periods is crucial for grasping historical processes and connections.

Which Dates?

Historical events are associated with specific dates. But which dates are considered important depends on what aspect of the past we are studying and the questions we are asking. There isn't a fixed set of "most important" dates that applies universally.

The importance of a date is often relative to the context:

• If we are studying the reign of a king, the dates of his birth, accession to the throne, major battles, and death would be important.
• If we are studying the development of a new technology, the date of its invention or first widespread use would be significant.
• If we are studying a social movement, the dates of its beginning, key events, and end would be important.
• If we are studying economic history, dates related to trade agreements, economic policies, or technological innovations affecting production might be important.

Moreover, the same event might be viewed as more or less significant depending on the historian's perspective or the broader narrative they are constructing. For example, a date marking a local event might be highly important for regional history but less so for national history.

Choosing which dates to focus on reflects the historian's interpretation of the past and what they consider to be the most significant turning points or periods of change.

How Do We Periodise?

To make the study of history manageable, historians divide the past into large segments or periods. This process is called periodisation. Periodisation helps in organising historical events and understanding the characteristics of different eras.

Periods are often defined by certain common features or significant changes that occurred during that time.

• Early historians in India, often British, tended to periodise Indian history into three periods: Hindu, Muslim, and British. This periodisation was based on the religion of the rulers and presented a rather simplistic and biased view, suggesting that the religion of rulers determined the entire social and economic life of the people. It also ignored the significant historical developments that occurred before the arrival of Muslims.
• More recent historical periodisation is often based on broader socio-economic changes and technological developments, independent of rulers' religion. Common periodisation used for Indian history includes:
  • Prehistory: Period before written records (e.g., Stone Age). Divided into Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic.
  • Protohistory: Period with written records, but they have not been deciphered yet, or archaeological evidence is the primary source (e.g., Indus Valley Civilization).
  • Ancient History: From the emergence of early states and written records up to roughly the 7th or 8th century CE.
  • Medieval History: From roughly the 8th century CE to the 18th century CE.
  • Modern History: From roughly the 18th century CE onwards (often starting with the decline of the Mughal Empire and the rise of British power).

This modern periodisation, while still having its limitations and debates, attempts to capture broader historical transformations rather than solely focusing on religious identity of rulers.

It is important to remember that periodisation is a tool for understanding and interpreting history, and different historians may use different periodisations depending on their focus and approach.

Thinking About Time And Historical Periods

Understanding history requires a sense of time. Historians think about time in different ways than just a linear sequence of individual dates. They also consider broader periods and the transitions between them.

How Historians View Time

• Historians often view time not just as a mechanical clock running forward, but as a reflection of changes in social and economic organisation, in the persistence and transformation of ideas and beliefs.
• Time can be seen as a series of periods with distinct characteristics. For example, the "Vedic Period" or the "Gupta Period" are not just blocks of years but represent periods with specific social, economic, political, and cultural features.
• Changes between periods are often gradual, and there can be continuity as well as change. The end of one period and the beginning of the next are often defined by major shifts or turning points, but these shifts may occur over decades or even centuries.

Periodisation Of History

As discussed under Section I9, periodisation is the process of dividing history into distinct periods. The criteria used for periodisation have evolved over time.

• The British periodisation (Hindu, Muslim, British) was problematic as it was based on religious differences and failed to capture the complex socio-economic diversity and changes within these periods. It also suggested a narrative of progress leading up to British rule.
• Modern periodisation based on socio-economic and technological factors attempts to provide a more nuanced understanding. However, defining the exact boundaries between periods like 'Ancient' and 'Medieval', or 'Medieval' and 'Modern', can still be subjective and debated by historians, as changes don't happen overnight and different regions may transition at different times.

Ultimately, thinking about time in history involves understanding chronology, sequence, duration, and the broader characteristics and changes that define different historical periods, while also acknowledging the debates and subjectivity involved in periodisation.

What Do Dates Mean?

Dates in history are not just random numbers; they refer to specific points or periods in time relative to a fixed reference point. Understanding these reference points and the conventions used in dating is essential for studying history.

The Christian Era (Common Era):

• The most widely used system for dating events in history is based on the Christian Era.
• Years are counted from the traditionally accepted date of the birth of Jesus Christ.
• Years after the birth of Christ are referred to as AD (Anno Domini), meaning 'In the year of the Lord'.
• Years before the birth of Christ are referred to as BC (Before Christ).
• BC years are counted backwards from year 1 AD. For example, 200 BC is 200 years before 1 AD.
• Recently, the terms CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era) are increasingly used instead of AD and BC, respectively. This is done to be inclusive of people of all religious backgrounds. CE is the same as AD, and BCE is the same as BC.

Example: The Indus Valley Civilization flourished around 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. This means it existed from roughly 2600 years before the start of the Common Era to 1900 years before the start of the Common Era.

Letters With Dates

Sometimes, letters like BP are used with dates, particularly in archaeology.

• BP (Before Present): Refers to years before the present. The convention is to use 1950 CE as the reference point for 'Present'. So, 10,000 BP means 10,000 years before 1950.
• This is often used for dating very old archaeological or geological events, especially those determined by radiometric dating methods like Carbon-14 dating.

Understanding these dating conventions allows historians and archaeologists to place events on a universal timeline and compare events across different regions and periods. Dates provide the chronological backbone of historical study.