ABOUT THE BOOK
The present monograph embodies. detailed account of the archaeological excavations carried out during 1984-89 by the Banaras Hindu University under the direction of the author at the ancient settlement of Narhan situated on the left bank of the Ghaghara River in district Gorakhpur of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Five field-seasons' Investigations at this place have revealed the existence of continuous human settlement from about 13th centry B.C. to the end of the Gupta period. This long story of human civilization has been divided into five periods on the basis of various diagnostic traits of each period.
The highlights of Narhan excavations are the discovery of a culture loosely termed as 'Chalcolithic' by earlier scholars but more aptly termed 'Narhan Culture by the author. This culture is characterized by wattle-and-daub houses, white painted black-and-red ware, bone tools and extremely meagre quantity of copper but with no lithic component.
A coin-hoard comprising of fifty punch-marked coins assignable to Period III found from this site in surface exploration contained coins of the earliest series and the pottery vessels which contained this hoard help in secure dating of these coins. Spectro-graphic and chemical analysis of minute samples taken from 19 coins of this hoard reveals that the smiths of this area were more skilled in coin techonology than those from other parts of this subcontinent. They masterminded the techonology of extraction of metals from argentiferous galena ore which probably came from the Rajasthan mines.
A detailed study of archaeobotanical remains demonstrates that the earliest settlers were avid agriculturists and they cultivated two crops. The cereals comprise rice, three varieties of wheat, barley, several kinds of pulses and oilseeds. This agricultural practice was vigorously followed in the subsequent period and besides remains of the crops noted above, the inhabitants now cultivated safflower as well. The discovery of Jujube, anwla and sandlewood from deposits of Period III are other noteworthy discoveries. Remains of some herbal drug yielding plants suggest an advanced system of medicines practised during this period. A study of wood charcoals indicates that mixed deciduous forests were present in this region in ancient times and the climate was possibly more humid at that time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Purushottam Singh (b. 1940) passed his M. A. examination in Ancient Indian History. Culture and Archaeology from the Banaras Hindu University in 1960, securing First position in the First class and was awarded Dayaram Sahni gold medal. He obtained the Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1962. After serving for a brief period in the Excavations Branch of the Archaeological Survey, he joined the Banaras Hindu University as a Lecturer in July 1963. He obtained his Ph. D. degree from the same University in 1968 and did two years' post-doctoral research in Western Asiatic Archaeology in the University of London during 1970-72 as a Commonwealth scholar. He was appointed Reader in 1973 and joined the post of Professor of Archaeology in the Banaras Hindu University in 1983.
During the more than three decades of his active career, Dr. Singh has been a keen researcher and a successful teacher. His publications include Burial Practices in Ancient India, Varanasi, 1970); Neolithic Cultures of Western Asia; (Seminar Press, London-New York, 1974): The Neolithic Origins (Agam Kala Prakashan, New Delhi, 1991) and Excavations at Rajghat-Part III (with Prof. A.K. Narain). (Banaras Hindu University, 1977). Dr. Singh has widely travelled and is associated with several learned societies, like the World Archaeological Congress, Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Research and the Indian Archaeological Society. He lectured at the Concordia University, Montreal, Canada in 1988. Since 1984 Dr. Singh has been engaged in the archaeological investigations of the Sarayupar plain of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
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