By 5500 BCE a number of sites similar to Mehrgarh (modern-day Pakistan) had appeared, forming the basis of later chalcolithic cultures.[2] The inhabitants of these sites maintained trading relations with Central Asia and the Near East.[2]
Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization by around 4500 BCE.[3] The size and prosperity of the Indus civilization grew as a result of this innovation, which eventually led to more planned settlements making use of drainage and sewerage.[3] Sophisticated irrigation and water storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization, including artificial reservoirs at Girnar dated to 3000 BCE, and an early canal irrigation system from c. 2600 BCE.[4]Cotton was cultivated in the region by the 5th–4th millennia BCE.[5]Sugarcane was originally from tropical South and Southeast Asia.[6] Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India, and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea.[6]
The inhabitants of the Indus valley developed a system of
Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.[8]
Excavations at Balakot (Kot Bala) (c. 2500–1900 BCE), modern day Pakistan, have yielded evidence of an early furnace.[9] The furnace was most likely used for the manufacturing of ceramic objects.[9]Ovens, dating back to the civilization's mature phase (c. 2500–1900 BCE), were also excavated at Balakot.[9] The Kalibangan archeological site further yields evidence of potshaped hearths, which at one site have been found both on ground and underground.[10]Kilns with fire and kiln chambers have also been found at the Kalibangan site.[10]
View of the Ashokan Pillar at Vaishali. One of the edicts of Ashoka (272–231 BCE) reads: "Everywhere King Piyadasi (Ashoka) erected two kinds of hospitals, hospitals for people and hospitals for animals. Where there were no healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted."[11]
Based on archaeological and textual evidence,
Indian cartography to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500–1900 BCE).[12] The use of large scale constructional plans, cosmological drawings, and cartographic material was known in South Asia with some regularity since the Vedic period (2nd – 1st millennium BCE).[12] Climatic conditions were responsible for the destruction of most of the evidence, however, a number of excavated surveying instruments and measuring rods have yielded convincing evidence of early cartographic activity.[13] Schwartzberg (2008)—on the subject of surviving maps—further holds that: 'Though not numerous, a number of map-like graffiti appear among the thousands of Stone Age Indian cave paintings; and at least one complex Mesolithic diagram is believed to be a representation of the cosmos.'[14]
Archeological evidence of an animal-drawn plough dates back to 2500 BCE in the Indus Valley Civilization.[15] The earliest available swords of copper discovered from the Harappan sites date back to 2300 BCE.[16] Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges–JamunaDoab region of India, consisting of bronze but more commonly copper.[16]
The Hindu-Arabic numeral system. The inscriptions on the edicts of Ashoka (1st millennium BCE) display this number system being used by the Imperial Mauryas.
The religious texts of the Vedic period provide evidence for the use of large numbers.[20] By the time of the last Veda, the Yajurvedasaṃhitā (1200–900 BCE), numbers as high as were being included in the texts.[20] For example, the mantra (sacrificial formula) at the end of the annahoma ("food-oblation rite") performed during the aśvamedha ("an allegory for a horse sacrifice"), and uttered just before-, during-, and just after sunrise, invokes powers of ten from a hundred to a trillion.[20] The Shatapatha Brahmana (9th century BCE) contains rules for ritual geometric constructions that are similar to the Sulba Sutras.[21]
Baudhayana (c. 8th century BCE) composed the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, which contains examples of simple Pythagorean triples,[22]
such as: , , , , and
square root of two.[24] Mesopotamian influence at this stage is considered likely.[25]
The earliest
Ritus and Yugas are also described.[28] Tripathi (2008) holds that "Twenty-seven constellations, eclipses, seven planets, and twelve signs of the zodiac were also known at that time."[28]
The
Ayurvedic text contains 184 chapters and description of 1120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, a detailed study on Anatomy, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources.[30][31] However, The Oxford Illustrated Companion to Medicine holds that the mention of leprosy, as well as ritualistic cures for it, were described in the Hindu religious book Atharvaveda, written in 1500–1200 BCE.[32]
Cataract surgery was known to the physician Sushruta (6th century BCE).[33] Traditional cataract surgery was performed with a special tool called the Jabamukhi Salaka, a curved needle used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision.[33] The eye would later be soaked with warm butter and then bandaged.[33] Though this method was successful, Susruta cautioned that it should only be used when necessary.[33] The removal of cataract by surgery was also introduced into China from India.[34] Sushruta's treatise provides the first written record of a cheek flap rhinoplasty, a technique still used today to reconstruct a nose.[citation needed] The text mentions more than 15 methods to repair it. These include using a flap of skin from the cheek, which is akin to the most modern technique today.[35][36]Otoplasty' (surgery of the ear) was developed in ancient India and is described in the medical compendium, the Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's Compendium, c. 500 AD).the first description of a surgical procedure to treat stones was described in the Sushruta Samhita by Sushruta around 600 BC.[37]
Two types of diabetes were identified as separate conditions for the first time by the Indian physicians
Angina Pectoris
During the 5th century BCE, the scholar Pāṇini had made several discoveries in the fields of phonetics, phonology, and morphology.[39]Pāṇini's morphological analysis remained more advanced than any equivalent Western theory until the mid-20th century.[40]Metalcurrency was minted in India before the 5th century BCE,[41][42] with coinage (400 BCE–100 CE) being made of silver and copper, bearing animal and plant symbols on them.[43]
Southern India (present day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 11th to 12th centuries BCE.[50] These developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.[50]
Middle Kingdoms (230 BCE – 1206 CE)
The iron pillar of Delhi (375–413 CE). The first iron pillar was the Iron pillar of Delhi, erected at the times of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.
The
step wells in the region date from 200 to 400 CE.[55] Subsequently, the construction of wells at Dhank (550–625 CE) and stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850–950 CE) took place.[55]
During the 1st millennium BCE, the
Kanada, an Indian philosopher.[56] The school proposed that atoms are indivisible and eternal, can neither be created nor destroyed,[57] and that each one possesses its own distinct viśeṣa (individuality).[58] It was further elaborated on by the Buddhist school of atomism, of which the philosophers Dharmakirti and Dignāga in the 7th century CE were the most important proponents. They considered atoms to be point-sized, durationless, and made of energy.[59]
By the beginning of the
Wootz originated in the region before the beginning of the common era.[62] Wootz was exported and traded throughout Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it became known as Damascus steel. Archaeological evidence suggests that manufacturing process for Wootz was also in existence in South India before the Christian era.[63][64]
Evidence for using bow-instruments for carding comes from India (2nd century CE).[65] The mining of diamonds and its early use as gemstones originated in India.[66]Golconda served as an important early center for diamond mining and processing.[66] Diamonds were then exported to other parts of the world.[66] Early reference to diamonds comes from Sanskrit texts.[67] The Arthashastra also mentions diamond trade in the region.[68] The Iron pillar of Delhi was erected at the times of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–413), which stood without rusting for around 2 millennium.[69] The Rasaratna Samuchaya (800) explains the existence of two types of ores for zinc metal, one of which is ideal for metal extraction while the other is used for medicinal purpose.[70]
In the 2nd century, the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna refined the Catuskoti form of logic. The Catuskoti is also often glossed Tetralemma (Greek) which is the name for a largely comparable, but not equatable, 'four corner argument' within the tradition of Classical logic.
The origins of the spinning wheel are unclear but South Asia is one of the probable places of its origin.[71][72] The device certainly reached Europe from India by the 14th century.[73] The cotton gin was invented in South Asia as a mechanical device known as charkhi, the "wooden-worm-worked roller".[65] This mechanical device was, in some parts of the region, driven by water power.[65] The Ajanta Caves yield evidence of a single roller cotton gin in use by the 5th century.[74] This cotton gin was used until further innovations were made in form of foot powered gins.[74] Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647, for obtaining technology for sugar-refining.[75] Each mission returned with different results on refining sugar.[75]
South Asian mathematicians were aware of negative numbers by the 7th century CE,[79] and their role in mathematical problems of debt was understood.[80] Although the Indians were not the first to use the subtrahend, they were the first to establish the "law of signs" with regards to the multiplication of positive and negative numbers, which did not appear in East Asian texts until 1299.[81] Mostly consistent and correct rules for working with negative numbers were formulated,[82] and the diffusion of these rules led the Arab intermediaries to pass it on to Europe.[80]
A
perpetual motion machine by Bhaskara II dates to 1150. He described a wheel that he claimed would run forever.[90]
The
sine and versine, from which it was trivial to derive the cosine, were used by the mathematician, Aryabhata, in the late 5th century.[91][92] The calculus theorem now known as "Rolle's theorem" was stated by mathematician, Bhāskara II, in the 12th century.[93]
Akbarnama—written by August 12, 1602—depicts the defeat of Baz Bahadur of Malwa by the Mughal troops, 1561. The Mughals extensively improved metal weapons and armor used by the armies of India.
European scholar Francesco Lorenzo Pullè reproduced a number of Indian maps in his magnum opus La Cartografia Antica dell India.[102] Out of these maps, two have been reproduced using a manuscript of Lokaprakasa, originally compiled by the polymath Ksemendra (Kashmir, 11th century CE), as a source.[102] The other manuscript, used as a source by Francesco I, is titled Samgraha.[102]
automata), including mechanical bees and birds, fountains shaped like humans and animals, and male and female dolls that refilled oil lamps, danced, played instruments, and re-enacted scenes from Hindu mythology.[103][104][105]
Late Medieval (1206–1527)
Madhava of Sangamagrama (c. 1340 – 1425) and his Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics developed and founded mathematical analysis.[106] The infinite series for π was stated by him, and he made use of the series expansion of to obtain an infinite series expression, now known as the Madhava-Gregory series, for . Their rational approximation of the error for the finite sum of their series are of particular interest. They manipulated the error term to derive a faster converging series for . They used the improved series to derive a rational expression,[107] for correct up to nine decimal places, i.e. (of 3.1415926535897...).[107]
The development of the
arc tangent) was carried out by mathematicians of the Kerala School in the 15th century CE.[108] Their work, completed two centuries before the invention of calculus in Europe, provided what is now considered the first example of a power series (apart from geometric series).[108]
Mathmatation Narayana Pandit wrote two works, an arithmetical treatise called Ganita Kaumudi and an algebraic treatise called Bijaganita Vatamsa. Narayana is also made contributions to algebra and magic squares.Narayana's other major works contain a variety of investigations into the second order indeterminate equationnq2 + 1 = p2 (Pell's equation), solutions of indeterminate higher-order equations Narayana has also made contributions to the topic of cyclic quadrilaterals.
The
Navya Nyaya school began around eastern India and Bengal, and developed theories resembling modern logic, such as Gottlob Frege's "distinction between sense and reference of proper names" and his "definition of number," as well as the Navya-Nyaya theory of "restrictive conditions for universals" anticipating some of the developments in modern set theory.[109] Udayana in particular developed theories on "restrictive conditions for universals" and "infinite regress" that anticipated aspects of modern set theory. According to Kisor Kumar Chakrabarti:[110]
The
upamāna
), and testimony (sound or word; śabda).
Cochin and weighed a total of one fen and one li according to the Chinese standards.[111] They were of fine quality and could be exchanged in China for 15 silver coins of four-li weight each.[111]
Jahangir holding a seamless celestial globe. This was one of the first examples of Seamless hollow Metallurgy.
In 1500,
Tantrasangraha, revised Aryabhata's elliptical model for the planets Mercury and Venus. His equation of the centre for these planets remained the most accurate until the time of Johannes Kepler in the 17th century.[112]
Gunpowder and gunpowder weapons were transmitted to India through the
gunpowder warfare in the region was prevalent, with events such as the siege of Belgaum in 1473 CE by the Sultan Muhammad Shah Bahmani.[117]
Early Modern period (1527–1857 CE)
Gujarāt supplied Europe saltpeter for use in gunpowder warfare during the 17th century.[120]Bengal and Mālwa participated in saltpeter production.[120] The Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English used Chhapra as a center of saltpeter refining.[121]
In A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder,
James Riddick Partington describes the gunpowder warfare of 16th and 17th century Mughal India, and writes that "Indian war rockets were good weapons before such rockets were used in Europe. They had bamboo rods, a rocket-body lashed to the rod, and iron points. They were directed at the target and fired by lighting the fuse, but the trajectory was rather erratic... The use of mines and counter-mines with explosive charges of gunpowder is mentioned for the times of Akbar and Jahāngir."[119]
The construction of water works and aspects of water technology in
South Asian and Persian irrigation technologies gave rise to an advanced irrigation system which bought about growth and also helped in the growth of material culture.[122] The founder of the cashmere wool industry is believed traditionally held to be the 15th-century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who introduced weavers from Central Asia.[96]
The scholar Sadiq Isfahani of Jaunpur compiled an atlas of the parts of the world which he held to be 'suitable for human life'.[123] The 32 sheet atlas—with maps oriented towards the south as was the case with Islamic works of the era—is part of a larger scholarly work compiled by Isfahani during 1647 CE.[123] According to Joseph E. Schwartzberg (2008): 'The largest known Indian map, depicting the former Rajput capital at Amber in remarkable house-by-house detail, measures 661 × 645 cm.[124] (260 × 254 in., or approximately 22 × 21 ft).'[124]
The seamless celestial globe was invented in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in 998 AH (1589–90 CE), and twenty other such globes were later produced in Lahore and Kashmir during the Mughal Empire.[125] These Indian metallurgists pioneered the method of lost-wax casting in order to produce these globes.[125][126]
railway network in the region for both strategic and commercial reasons.[131]
The British education system, aimed at producing able civil and administrative services candidates, exposed a number of Indians to foreign institutions.
Extensive interaction between colonial and native sciences was seen during most of the colonial era.[133] Western science came to be associated with the requirements of nation building rather than being viewed entirely as a colonial entity,[134] especially as it continued to fuel necessities from agriculture to commerce.[133] Scientists from India also appeared throughout Europe.[134] By the time of India's independence colonial science had assumed importance within the westernized intelligentsia and establishment.
French astronomer, Pierre Janssen observed the Solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 and discovered helium, from Guntur in Madras State, British India.[134]
^ ab"We now believe that some form of mapping was practiced in what is now India as early as the Mesolithic period, that surveying dates as far back as the Indus Civilization (ca. 2500–1900 BCE), and that the construction of large-scale plans, cosmographic maps, and other cartographic works has occurred continuously at least since the late Vedic age (first millennium BCE)" — Joseph E. Schwartzberg, 1301.
^Arun Kumar Biswas, "The primacy of India in ancient brass and zinc metallurgy", Indian J History of Science, 28(4) (1993) page 309–330; and "Brass and zinc metallurgy in the ancient and medieval world: India's primacy and the technology transfer to the west", Indian J History of Science, 41(2) (2006) 159–174
^"Geometry, and its branch trigonometry, was the mathematics Indian astronomers used most frequently. In fact, the Indian astronomers in the third or fourth century, using a pre-Ptolemaic Greek table of chords, produced tables of sines and versines, from which it was trivial to derive cosines. This new system of trigonometry, produced in India, was transmitted to the Arabs in the late eighth century and by them, in an expanded form, to the Latin West and the Byzantine East in the twelfth century" – Pingree (2003).
^J J O'Connor; E F Robertson. "Mādhava of Sangamagrāma". Biography of Madhava. School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St Andrews, Scotland. Archived from the original on 2006-05-14. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
, This paper consists of three parts. The first part deals with Frege's distinction between sense and reference of proper names and a similar distinction in Navya-Nyaya logic. In the second part we have compared Frege's definition of number to the Navya-Nyaya definition of number. In the third part we have shown how the study of the so-called 'restrictive conditions for universals' in Navya-Nyaya logic anticipated some of the developments of modern set theory.
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Further reading
Alvares, Claude A. (1991) Decolonizing history: Technology and culture in India, China and the West 1492 to the Present Day, New York, USA: Apex Press. (review)
Dharampal (1971) Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts (with a foreword by Dr. D.S..Kothari and Introduction by Dr. William A.Blanpeid), Impex India, Delhi, 1971; reprinted by Academy of Gandhian Studies, Hyderabad 1983.
Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, Monograph series, Volume 3. Mathematics, Astronomy and Biology in Indian Tradition edited by D. P. Chattopadhyaya and Ravinder Kumar
Shinde, V., Deshpande, S. S., Sarkar, A. (2016) Chalcolithic South Asia: Aspects of crafts and technologies, Indus-Infinity Foundation
In Hāṇḍā, O. (2015) Reflections on the history of Indian science and technology, New Delhi: Pentagon Press in association with Indus-Infinity Foundation.
Presenting Indian S&T Heritage in Science Museums, Propagation : a Journal of science communication Vol 1, NO.1, January 2010, National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata, India, by S.M Khened, [1].
Presenting Indian S&T Heritage in Science Museums, Propagation : a Journal of science communication Vol 1, NO.2, July, 2010, pages 124–132, National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata, India, by S.M Khened,[2].
History of Science in South Asia (hssa-journal.org). HSSA is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online journal for the history of science in India.
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![Jagadish Chandra Bose laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent.[129] He is considered one of the fathers of radio science.[130]](/File:J.C.Bose.JPG)
