History
History comes from Greek ‘historia’, meaning ‘a learning or knowing by inquiry or investigation’.
In simple words “History is the study of the past.”
Herodotus has been called the “father of history.”
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it.
Historians are specialized in
A particular aspect of history
A specific time period
A certain approach to history
A specific geographic region
Histography
The study of the sources and methods used to study and write history is called historiography.
Radiocarbon dating
carbon dating or carbon-14 dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
Indian History Timeline
Indian History can be classified into three periods – Ancient, Medieval, and Modern.
| Ancient | Medieval (700 AD – 1857 AD) | Modern (1857 AD +) |
| Paleolithic Period Mesolithic Period Neolithic Period Chalcolithic Period Indus Valley Civilization (2350-1750 B.C.) Vedic Period (Arrival of Aryans) Jainism and Buddhism 16 Mahajanapadas Mauryan Empire Gupta Kingdom (319 AD – 550 AD) Important ruler of Gupta Period: Samudra Gupta (Indian Napoleon) Post Guptas or Contemporary Guptas Harshvardana, Vakatakas, Pallavas, Chalukyas. Also, Rajputs, Senas and Chauhans. | Delhi Sultanate Slave Dynasty Kilji Dynasty Tuglaq Dynasty Sayyid Dynasty Lodi Dynasty Mughals Great Mughals Later Mughals Mughals from Babar Aurangazeb Arrival of Europeans Other Kingdoms of North India – Marathas, Sikhs | First War of Indian Independence (1857) Formation of Indian National Congress (1885) Formation of Muslim League (1906) Non-Co-operation Movement (1920) Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) Quit India Movement (1942) Partition of India (1947) Constitutional Development of India (1946 – 1950) Economic Development of India Wars – India-Pak Formation of Bangladesh; New Economic Policy of 1991 |
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD (Stone-age)
The Prehistoric Period—or when there was human life before records documented human activity roughly dates from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 B.C.
Paleolithic Period (2.5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.)
- Homo sapiens first appeared towards the end of this phase.
- In this period, the man barely managed to gather his food and subsisted on hunting.
- Distinguished by the development of the first stone tools made up of Quartzite.
- Palaeolithic period is divided into three phases.
- Lower Palaeolithic
- Middle Palaeolithic
- Upper Palaeolithic
Mesolithic Period (10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE.)
- Domestication of animals (particularly, dogs) began and characteristic tools were used, called as microliths.
- Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh is known for ancient caves depicting pictures of birds, animals, and humans.
Neolithic Period (8,000 BCE to 2,300 BCE.)
- Neolithic people knew about fire and wheel.
- Use of Copper
- Nomad man started settling in Neolithic Age
- A megalith is a large pre-historic stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument,
- An important site of this age is Burzahom, which means ‘the place of birch’.
Chalcolithic Period (2000 BC to 700 BC.)
- Use of Copper and Stone-made tools.
- They practiced agriculture, venerated Mother Goddess, and worshipped the bull.