Book Description

Excerpt from Catalogue Raisonne of the Prehistoric Antiquities in the Indian Museum at Calcutta Most of the prehistoric antiquities of the Indian Museum, which are described in this catalogue, were collected by officers of the Geological Survey of India between 30 and 40 years ago; some specimens have since been added by members of the Archaeological Survey of India; and a few have been obtained through the generosity of private individuals. The compilation of this catalogue was undertaken at the wish of Sir John Marshall, Director-General of Archaeology in India, in whose charge the collections now rest, and pari passu with its preparation the implements themselves have been systematically arranged and labelled in the museum, after having lain for many years in disorder and neglect. The arrangement I have adopted is primarily chronological and secondarily geographical. Chronologically, I have divided the collections into the following four groups, which are now universally recognised as important stages or eras of culture in the early development of the human race. 1. - The Palaeolithic or Rude Stone Age. In the present state of prehistoric archaeological science in India it is impossible to subdivide the Pleistocene period into shorter stages, as has been accomplished with such success in Europe and, until detailed investigations are carried out in caves or in the river deposits of this country, it is unlikely that any further advance will be made. The industrial remains left by the racers which inhabited India in the earlier days of human history are strictly comparable with similar types found in most other countries of the world, but whether the periods to which they are supposed to belong really synchronise with the stages recognised in Europe, is a matter which cannot be decided at the juncture. Indian palaeoliths are massive rock fragments, in the vast majority of cases composed of quartzite, chipped into cleaving, smiting and perhaps digging implements, exactly resembling the early stone age implements found in Northern and Southern Africa, Central America, and in Europe. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."