History of archaeology in india?

Question

how it has been practicing since ages

Answer 1

Archaeological and historical pursuits in India started with the efforts of Sir William Jones, who put together a group of antiquarians to form the Asiatic Society on 15th January 1784 in Calcutta. The efforts put by Jones had a long backing, of enthusiasts and dilettantes like Tavernier, Finch and Bernier, Thevenot, Careri, Fryer, Ovington, Hamilton, Anquetil du Perron, Joseph Tieffenthaler, William Chamber, to name a few, who carried out survey of monuments in various parts of India, earlier.

This endeavor put forward by Jones culminated in the publication of a periodical journal named, Asiatic Researches started in 1788. The journal brought to light the researches, surveys carried out by the society to make the public aware of the antiquarian wealth of India . The continuing fieldwork soon brought to light many antiquities and other remains which were later housed in a museum in 1814. Later, similar societies were started at Bombay (Mumbai) in 1804 and at Madras (Chennai) in 1818.

The identification of Chandragupta Maurya with Sandrokottos of Greek historians by Jones enabled to fix a chronological horizon of Indian history. This was followed by the identification of Pataliputra (Palibothra of classical writings) at the confluence of the Ganga and Son. The deciphering of Gupta and Kutila script by Charles Wilkinson was a landmark in this aspect. Many individuals like H.T. Colebrooke, H.H. Wilson, Sir Charles Warren Malet, Lt. Manby, William Erskine, Collin Mackenzie contributed enormously in furthering the research and documentation.



The appointment of Francis Buchanan in 1800 by Marquis of Wellesley to survey Mysore was a positive step by the then government. In 1807 he was engaged to survey monuments and antiquities in parts of present day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The repair to the monuments were not thought of during this period and very sparsely certain monuments like Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandara were repaired.

In 1833 James Prinsep became the secretary of the Asiatic Society. His most eventful achievement is the deciphering of the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts between 1834 and 1837. The identification of Piyadasi with Asoka and the contemporary kings mentioned in his Rock Edict XIII enabled to fix a clear chronological bench mark for Indian history. The excavations at Manikyala stupa (now in Bangladesh) in 1830 and in sites in the Indus – Jhelum region in 1833 and 1834 revealed Buddhist relics and through coins a new ruling family, the Kushanas was identified..............  

read further in -

http://asi.nic.in/asi_aboutus_history.as...

Answer 2

It began with the Harappan & Mohenjo-Dara civilizations in the Indus River Valley, dated as early as 3300 BCE...