HISTORY-ANCIENT INDIA

Broadly, the sources for ancient India’s history can be classified under two main categories. The first is the
literary and the second archaeological. The literary sources include Vedic, Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and other literature besides foreign accounts. Under the broad head of archaeology we may consider numismatic, epigraphic and architectural remains besides archaeological explorations and excavations which have opened great vistas of new information.

Mound is an elevated portion of land covering remains of old habitations. These mounds are of different
types: single-culture, major-culture and multi-culture. When these mound sites are dug vertically they provide a chronological sequence of material culture. Excavations at these mounds showed various material features like brick structures, stone structures, layout of settlements, coins, tools, weapons, pottery etc.

TECHNIQUES OF DATING IN ARCHEOLOGY
Archeologists’ use techniques like Stratigraphy (study of different horizons of soils), Typology (comparison of reference objects with objects found at the site), Radiocarbon dating (analysis of C14 in fossils), Dendrochronology (study of rings of tree trunks) and Thermoluminescence (uses the physiochemical property of certain minerals present in the objects). Also study of plant residues, pollen analysis, components of metal artifacts help in understanding the history of climate, vegetation and cultures of a site.