Ancient Indian History

[dhu]

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Recent studies have shown that the <b>onset of an arid climate occurred in two pulses – at 4700–3700 and at 2000–1700 BC26,</b> both of which had fairly wide impact not only in India in the desertification of western Rajasthan but in other countries also, like Africa in the development of Saharan and Nubian deserts. <b>The desertification is thought to have occurred 5400 y ago (3400 BC) </b>and its onset greatly affected the monsoon rains and consequently the river systems too. The change from wetter to arid condition destroyed steadily the vegetation, which in turn affected soil moisture, its evaporation, atmospheric circulation and precipitation, all important links in the monsoon evolution chain and, ultimately the climate over the region. However, a recent study48 of water-table fluctuations and radiocarbon estimates from the Lunkansar Lake deposit do not support the views about aridity around 3500 BC, the period when Saraswati and Indus Valley culture were thought to have collapsed. Th<b>e chronology emerging from these studies show that the once perennial lakes had ceased to be so and they had dried and desiccated more than 1500 y before the dated collapse of the civilization.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The RV is pre-Harappan. It knows no urban structures or ruins thereof; no rice vrÉhi, no cotton karpÄsa, no brick iêçakÄ, no fixed fire-hearths/altars – all elements present in the late Indus-SarasvatÉ culture and post-Rigvedic texts. The river SarasvatÉ dried definitely c 1900 BC, according to geological and palaeoenvironmental studies (Rao 1991: 77-9; Allchins 1997: 117). <b>However, G. Possehl concludes that it could have reached the ocean only before 3200 and more probably c 3800 </b>(1998; so also Francfort 1992). So those hymns that praise the SarasvatÉ as “best river naditamÄ ”(II, 41, 16), having the ∞rya tribes settled along its bank (VI, 61, 8-10, 12) or flowing to the ocean (VII, 95, 2) must belong to a period before 3200 and perhaps 3800!    Kazanas VMCI link<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->