The history of science and technology on the Indian subcontinent begins with the prehistoric human activity of the Indus Valley Civilisation to the early Indian states and empires.
Prehistory
By 5500 BCE a number of sites similar to Mehrgarh (modern-day Pakistan) had appeared, forming the basis of later chalcolithic cultures. The inhabitants of these sites maintained trading relations with Central Asia and the Near East.Kenoyer, 230
Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization by around 4500 BCE. 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.Rodda & Ubertini, 279 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.Rodda & Ubertini, 161 Cotton was cultivated in the region by the 5th–4th millennia BCE.Stein, 47 Sugarcane was originally from tropical South and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India, and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea.Sharpe (1998)
The inhabitants of the Indus valley developed a system of standardization, using weights and measures, evident by the excavations made at the Indus valley sites.Baber, 23 This technical standardization enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction. Calibration was also found in measuring devices along with multiple subdivisions in case of some devices. One of the earliest known docks is at Lothal (2400 BCE), located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt. Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.Rao, 27–28
Excavations at Balakot (Kot Bala) (c. 2500–1900 BCE), modern day Pakistan, have yielded evidence of an early furnace. The furnace was most likely used for the manufacturing of ceramic objects.Dales, 3–22 Ovens, dating back to the civilization's mature phase (c. 2500–1900 BCE), were also excavated at Balakot. The Kalibangan archeological site further yields evidence of potshaped hearths, which at one site have been found both on ground and underground.Baber, 20 Kilns with fire and kiln chambers have also been found at the Kalibangan site.
Based on archaeological and textual evidence, Joseph E. Schwartzberg (2008)—a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of geography—traces the origins of Indian cartography to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500–1900 BCE). 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)."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. 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.Schwartzberg, 1301–1302 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."Schwartzberg, 1301
Archeological evidence of an animal-drawn plough dates back to 2500 BCE in the Indus Valley Civilization.Lal (2001) The earliest available swords of copper discovered from the Harappan sites date back to 2300 BCE. Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges–Jamuna Doab region of India, consisting of bronze but more commonly copper.Allchin, 111–112
Early kingdoms
The religious texts of the Vedic period provide evidence for the use of large numbers. By the time of the last Veda, the (1200–900 BCE), numbers as high as were being included in the texts.Hayashi, 360–361 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. The Shatapatha Brahmana (9th century BCE) contains rules for ritual geometric constructions that are similar to the Sulba Sutras.Seidenberg, 301–342
Baudhayana (c. 8th century BCE) composed the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, which contains examples of simple Pythagorean triples, such as: , , , , and Joseph, 229 as well as a statement of the Pythagorean theorem for the sides of a square: "The rope which is stretched across the diagonal of a square produces an area double the size of the original square." It also contains the general statement of the Pythagorean theorem (for the sides of a rectangle): "The rope stretched along the length of the diagonal of a rectangle makes an area which the vertical and horizontal sides make together." Baudhayana gives a formula for the square root of two.Cooke, 200
The earliest Indian astronomical text—named and attributed to Lagadha—is considered one of the oldest astronomical texts, dating from the fifth century BCE. It details several astronomical attributes generally applied for timing social and religious events. It also details astronomical calculations, calendrical studies, and establishes rules for empirical observation.Subbaarayappa, 25–41 The details several important aspects of the time and seasons, including lunar months, solar months, and their adjustment by a lunar leap month (Sanskrit adhikamāsa).Tripathi, 264–267 Seasons (Sanskrit ṛtus) and eons (Sanskrit yugas) are also described. Tripathi (2008) holds that "Twenty-seven constellations, eclipses, seven planets, and twelve signs of the zodiac were also known at that time."
The Egyptian Papyrus of Kahun (1900 BCE) and literature of the Vedic period in India offer early records of veterinary medicine.Thrusfield, 2 Kearns & Nash (2008) state that mention of leprosy is described in the medical treatise Sushruta Samhita (6th century BCE). The Sushruta Samhita an 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.Kearns & Nash (2008) 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.Lock etc., 420
Cataract surgery was known to the physician Sushruta (ca. 2nd-4th century CE). Traditional cataract surgery was performed with a sharp probe used to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision. The eye would later be soaked with warm butter and then bandaged. The removal of cataract by surgery was also introduced into China from India. Sushruta's treatise provides the first written record of a cheek flap rhinoplasty, a technique still used today to reconstruct a nose. Otoplasty (surgery of the ear) was developed in ancient India and is described in the same medical compendium, the ). Two types of diabetes were identified as separate conditions for the first time by the Indian physicians Sushruta and Charaka in the early centuries CE, with one type being associated with youth and another type with being overweight. Effective modern treatment was not developed until the early part of the 20th century when Canadians Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated and purified insulin in 1921 and 1922. The condition was named "heart pain" (Sanskrit हृत्शूल) in ancient India and was again described by Sushruta.
During the 4th century BCE, the scholar Pāṇini had made several discoveries in the fields of phonetics, phonology, and morphology.Encyclopædia Britannica (2008), Linguistics. Pāṇini's morphological analysis remained more advanced than any equivalent Western theory until the mid-20th century. Metal currency was minted in India before the 5th century BCE,Dhavalikar, 330–338Sellwood (2008) with coinage (400 BCE – 100 CE) being made of silver and copper, bearing animal and plant symbols on them.Allan & Stern (2008)
Zinc mines of Zawar, near Udaipur, Rajasthan, were active during 400 BCE.Craddock (1983)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 Diverse specimens of swords have been discovered in Fatehgarh, where there are several varieties of hilt.F.R. Allchin, 111–112 These swords have been variously dated to periods between 1700 and 1400 BCE, but were probably used more extensively during the opening centuries of the 1st millennium BCE.Allchin, 114 Archaeological sites in such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present-day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements from the period between 1800 BCE and 1200 BCE.Tewari (2003) Early iron objects found in India can be dated to 1400 BCE by employing the method of radio carbon dating.Ceccarelli, 218 Some scholars believe that by the early 13th century BCE iron smelting was practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date of the technology's inception may be placed earlier. In Southern India (present day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 11th to 12th centuries BCE. These developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.Drakonoff, 372
Middle Kingdoms (230 BCE – 1206 CE)
The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions the construction of dams and bridges.Dikshitar, pg. 332 The use of suspension bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible by about the 4th century.Encyclopædia Britannica (2008), suspension bridge. The stupa, the precursor of the pagoda and torii, was constructed by the 3rd century BCE.Encyclopædia Britannica (2008), Pagoda.Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (2001), torii. Rock-cut step wells in the region date from 200 to 400 CE. Subsequently, the construction of wells at Dhank (550–625 CE) and stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850–950 CE) took place.Livingston & Beach, xxiii
During the 1st millennium BCE, the Vaisheshika school of atomism was founded. The most important proponent of this school was Kanada, an Indian philosopher.Oliver Leaman, Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. Routledge, 1999, page 269. The school proposed that atoms are indivisible and eternal, can neither be created nor destroyed, and that each one possesses its own distinct (individuality). 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.(Stcherbatsky 1962 (1930). Vol. 1. P. 19)