The quest for the origins of Vedic culture : the Indo-Aryan migration debate / Edwin Bryant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bryant, Edwin F. (Edwin Francis), 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indo-Aryans--Origin.

Indo-Aryans.

Indus civilization.

India--History--To 324 B.C.

India.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (400 p. ) 11 maps, 1 halftone & 4 line illus

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 2000.

Summary:

A study of how various Indian scholars, over the course of a century or more, have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo Aryans by questioning the very logic, assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based. In the process, Bryant presents a complete exposition and analysis of views addressing the issue of Indo-Aryan origins.

Western scholars have argued that Indian civilization was the joint product of an invading Indo-European people--the "Indo-Aryans"--and indigenous non-Indo European peoples. Although Indian scholars reject this European reconstruction of their country's history, Western scholarship gives little heed to their argument. In this book, Edwin Bryant explores the nature and origins of this fascinating debate.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Introduction

1. Myths of Origin: Europe and the Aryan Homeland Quest

Biblical Origins

India, the Cradle of Civilization

The Aryans and Colonial and Missionary Discourse

German Aryanism

Two Centuries of Homeland Theories

Present-Day Homeland Hypotheses

Conclusion

2. Early Indian Responses

Hindu Nationalist Responses

The First Reactions: Hindu Religious Leaders

3. Vedic Philology

The Racial Evidence

The West-to-East Geographic Shift in Sanskrit Texts

4. Indo-European Comparative Linguistics: The Dethronement of Sanskrit

The Law of Palatals and the Discovery of Hittite

Objections from India

5. Linguistic Substrata in Sanskrit Texts

Linguistic Innovations in Sanskrit

Evidence of the Loanwords

Terms for Flora in Indic Languages

Place-Names and River Names

Indo-Aryan, or Dravidian and Munda Migrations?

6. Linguistic Paleontology

Flora and Fauna

The Horse

Criticisms of the Method

7. Linguistic Evidence from outside of India

Semitic Loans in Indo-European: Nichols's Model

Finno-Ugric Loans

Other Traces of Indo-Aryan

The Avestan Evidence

The Mitanni Treaties

8. The Viability of a South Asian Homeland

Center of Origin Method

Dialectical Subgroupings: Gamkrelidze and Ivanov's Model

Nichols's Sogdiana Model

9. The Indus Valley Civilization

Indra Stands Accused

The Religion of the Indus Valley

The Sarasvat&amp

#299

The Chariot

The Indus Script

Urbanity and the Rgveda

10. Aryans in the Archaeological Record: The Evidence outside the Subcontinent

Identifying Aryans

The Northern Route

The Southern Route

Two Wave Theories

Conclusion.

11. Aryans in the Archaeological Record: The Evidence inside the Subcontinent

Gandhara Grave Culture

Jhukar Culture

Cemetery H Culture

Painted Gray Ware Culture

Aryans in the Skeletal Record

Continuity and Innovation

12. The Date of the Veda

Dating Proto-Indo-European

Dating the Veda

Astronomy and Vedic Chronology

The Mathematics of the &amp

#346

ulvasautras

13. Aryan Origins and Modern Nationalist Discourse

Nationalism and Historiography: General Comments

The Aryans in Hindutva Ideology

Stereotypes and Counterstereotypes

Discourses of Suspicion

Notes

Works Cited

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Z.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 349-379) and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-19-988133-2

1-280-48088-2

0-19-803151-3

1-4237-3874-8

OCLC:

70735976