River Valley Cultures of India

by Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty

River Valley has been the sites of the oldest human settlements and consequently the cradles of civilization as well as the repositories of the cultural milestones of the mankind. In India, rivers have played a predominant role in the temporal, cultural and spiritual life of the people through the ages. Several civilizations and associated multi-cultures have evolved around them. Many of them have disappeared leaving trails behind them; others continue in fully and partly transformed forms.

The present anthology of articles on the River Valley Cultures of India is a result of the seminar organized by Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal. It encompasses such diverse fields as hard rock geology, palaeoenvironment, palaeobiological sciences and traditional archaeology. Also studies are settlement patterns, site formation processes, tribal research, dating methods, ecological history of rivers, diverse riparian systems and their role in history and the bio-cultural diversity of India.

The volume also addresses social problems facing man in the river valleys like disaster management and rehabilitation of communities settled along the banks of the rivers, and various other aspects, scientific or social, of the riparian system. In view of its multidisciplinary nature, this book will be useful to every student and researcher interested in these areas.