India (Bharat) –  Pre-history

Summary:

Pre-historic human civilization all over the world reached a high level of nomadic or semi-settled way of life in a relatively very short time, but thereafter remained rather static for long ages until driven to change because of climate and other conditions. It was only when they got into the Indian sub-continent, in the North-Western Himalayan Region, that better climatic conditions, easier and consistent availability of even surplus food that allowed humans, to grow their population to the necessary size and density to allocate resources and time for thinking and developing Spirituality, Philosophy and an understanding of our place in the Universe, by observing the environment and the stars over long periods of time and drawing rational conclusions with an understanding of the underlying mathematical relationships and even develop Technology. The Ice covering much of the European and North American continents and the Jungles and Deserts over much of the other areas of the world would not have allowed for any such density of population and hence any civilization to develop there then.

Quotations for Consideration

“Man is only a sum total of his learnings and experiences, as memories in his mind. If he starts to lose those memories, then what does he become? So too for a Nation, it’s history, culture, belief systems and the willingness of its people to cooperatively work together for common good, makes it so. Losing these memories or traits leads to dissolving the Nation.”– Anon

Background

The following is an understanding of the history of our Homo Sapien ancients and their entry into the Indian sub-continent, as gained by a reasonably well-read person across multiple disciplines, seeking with an open mind to put together a coherent history of those times. Some of the evidence for such a history is proven, however, much is based on speculative evidence yet to be adequately proven, but which can be considered as having a reasonable basis, as today even many so-called experts continue to argue both for and against.

The reader is requested to kindly keep in mind that many so-called myths and legends must have had some kernels of truth in them, as otherwise why would they have lasted in our collective memory for such long ages.

Jared Diamond in his book- ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ and Sanjeev Sanyal in his books-’ The Incredible History of India’s Geography ‘and the ‘Ocean of Churn’, have both demonstrated how greatly geography affects history.

Highlights

Human inhabitation in the Indian Subcontinent is from over 75,000 years ago. Within the next 10,000 years they had moved down the coast and across the South-East Asian coast (Sundaland) into Australia and also, up the eastern Asian coastline into China and even Japan. By then they had also moved up into the upper reaches of the Rivers Indus and Saraswati and into the many closely connected and sheltered mountain valleys in the foothills of the western Himalayas.

Protected from the effects of the Ice-Age by the Himalayas and the Seas, and benefiting from the refreshing effects of the melting snows and the Monsoons, this region with its abundance of food, – fish, birds, small-game, fruits, roots and even wild grains, all within easy reach resulted in an relatively easy life that allowed for growth of an adequate density of population and for free time to be spent for the seeking of knowledge, development of skills and technology, for observing the skies, delving into philosophical questions and also cultivation of crops, all leading to the development of civilization.

North-East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), North-western Europe (Doggerland), Africa and Australia were also free of Ice due to the effects of the sea-breezes, but the climate and living conditions there were not conducive to settled life, only nomadic and hence developed no real civilization.

North America and almost all of Europe was under the Ice. The Ice-free region in Southern and partly Northern – Western Europe, and the North African region along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea was then very difficult to live in and was also occupied by the Neanderthals. The Western parts of Asia and parts of Northern Asia, along the edges of the Ice sheets also, allowed only small populations of Nomadic or Cave dwellers, Denisovans and other hominins.

Thus, proper civilization developed only in the North-Western Himalayan region and over the Millennia spread from there to the rest of the world.

Ancient History

The Ice ages, that dominated the landscapes of the Northern Hemisphere, most of it being an ice-covered land mass for much of human history, did not much affect the land area of the Indian sub- continent, protected as it was by the Himalayas and the Southern Ocean. Further south, Sundaland, the extension of South-East Asia, was also, protected by the Southern Ocean, but most of all these lands were covered by dense jungles that were not conducive for any settlements except for tiny and also non-permanent ones, along the coasts and perhaps, along some river valleys. The Northern and Eastern Asiatic region was cold but somewhat protected from the Ice because of the seas and had some archaic nomadic hominin populations there.

The modern Human species are said to have evolved about 3,00,000 to 2,50,000 years ago and were mostly living in South and South – East Africa in the caves in the cliffs along the tidal basins of the seacoast that also provided protection from predators, by the relative inaccessibility of the caves and by the sea itself. Such prolonged life of aquatic exposure led to many physiological and hormonal changes. The protein and other nutrient rich and easy to eat sea food, even when raw, led to better brain development.

Spending extensive time, standing, moving, swimming and diving and interactive playing and catching fish in the warm seas also led to specific brain development and, better arm and shoulder range of motion, leg and lower body strength and posture and loss of body hair, except on the head to protect from the sun, and arm-pits and groin area to protect from friction. Thus, enabling greater running ability and also an evolved and improved voice box and middle ear features that gave them better breath control, speech and hearing and thermal regulation and other capabilities of a Waterside/Aquatic Ape (Google for more info). Perhaps salt water and roiling of the water and sand due to the ocean waves could also be an additional factor for loss of body hair for humans.

Also, such marine diet seems to have led to the development of a smaller jaw and a flatter face and other hormonal changes such as lesser testosterone, the hormone leading to a very aggressive and dominating attitude seen in other hominins, which does not allow for larger social groups; and to increased oxytocin hormone that leads to better social relationships.

Evening story-telling or boasting of their exploits, would have led to a sense of togetherness and cohesion in family groups, and also across larger groups, say even upto 150 to 200 individuals spread across easily accessible distances. The other archaic hominins, not having evolved all such capabilities, lived as a small isolated family group of about 10 to 15 individuals, content hunting game in the swamp lands along the boundaries of the lakes in the Great Rift valley and across the savannah there and gathering food from there. Some of such Hominins are also thought to have hunted other Hominins and even Humans.

It should be noted that all land mammals even today have furry coats and hence, it would be reasonable to assume that all ancient hominins, other than homo sapiens (Aquatic Apes), were also furry, especially due to the cold. Whatever the fur colour, the underlying skin colour would have been brown/ dark brown or black (as that of Brown, Black, Polar bears, Gorillas and even Arctic foxes today). Also, the only mammals that exhibit the wrinkling of the finger tips after prolonged submergence in water, affording a better grip to catch the fish in water, are humans and the Japanese Macaque monkeys that live near the hot springs and in the nearby forest. Even though they bathe in the hot springs to stay warm, they spend most of their time out of water and retain their furry coats, due to the cold there, as do Beavers and Otters elsewhere.

1,25,000 years ago, before the last Ice age, the sea levels were five to ten meters higher than they are today, making walking out of Africa into Asia, a far more difficult, dangerous and an unlikely possibility. Those humans who could not find enough space near the tidal basins, moved inland and lived as nomadic hunters.

Neanderthals, Denisovans and other hominin species living huddled in caves struggling for survival, as nomadic hunter – gatherers; at the edges of the massive glaciers, as ice deposits covered most of Europe, except the narrow Mediterranean Coastal region and the Coastal region of Siberia and North-Western Europe, even up to as late as 25,000 BCE, did not allow any meaningful Homo Sapiens presence there in those times.

The early human species, in South and South-East Africa and along the Great Rift Valley area, that later moved into the Northern and Central Africa and North- East Asia, were also not able to develop beyond a nomadic and tribal lifestyle.

The few modern humans that may have later forayed into Southern Europe, even Northern Asia and even into the Middle East, as the Ice retreated, did not long survive the weather or the conflict with the Neanderthals and others there

Unlike the Neanderthals or even Denisovans or the many other hominins species, the humans did not establish home bases in caves, with the men hunting in groups while the women would be staying in or near the caves with their young and be involved in gathering and preparing food and processing hides etc. or moving as nomads, following the migrating animals they hunted.

The humans, may have also, sheltered in caves at times especially in the early days in the sea- side cliffs, or in innovatively designed shelters built of Mammoth tusks and hides, when they migrated into Europe and North-East Asia when the Ice Age began receding, but before that they mostly lived a nomadic life on the move following the migrating animals in the open savannah plains. They moved with what they could carry. Pregnant mothers and even new mothers, within a few hours of giving birth, and helped as necessary by the grandmothers, also followed the group, with the newborn babies being carried by the elderly.

Margret Mead, the Anthropologist, said that the indication of civilization was when the skeletal remains of one of its members showed a healed femur (thigh bone). This indicated that the injured person was taken care of over long months, and not just left to die as he could no longer move with the tribe. Helping another through difficulty is when civilization starts. Humans, and even the Neanderthals, have been doing so for many millennia.

The Homo Sapiens (modern Humans) evolved not as a better walker or as having a bigger brain. In fact, the Neanderthals had a larger brain and were bigger, and brawnier than the humans. Their larger eyes also gave them better night- vision. In fact, such other hominins species then there, Neanderthals, Denisovans and perhaps others, were all likely furry, like Gorillas and all other, non-aquatic land mammals, and were not at all friendly to each other or to Humans. Even hunting them, killing and eating the males and mating with the females. The hybrids of such relationships may have mostly been sterile males and some fertile females. These other hominin species were very much stronger and were easily able to overcome the Humans. The stories of such black-haired, big-eyed, hunched and furry, terrible monsters coming out of the dark, may have been the source of the stories of the demons our children are warned against even today.

We don’t know enough about the Denisovans and other Hominins existing in the Northern- Asian region then. The Denisovans were evidently more technologically developed than the Neanderthals, as evidenced by the Jade bracelet and beads found in their caves. But soon they all too went extinct, perhaps also due to climate changes and conflicts among themselves. The traces of Denisovan DNA in the present populations of Tibet and all the way into the Pacific Islands, shows their spread. Neanderthal and perhaps even Homo-Erectus remains have been found in South-East Asia from even as late as 9500 BCE.

The gracile build, the lack of excessive body hair and the ability to sweat profusely from all over the body allowed humans to dissipate body heat far more effectively and so be able to steadily run down any other creature on land, enabling persistent hunting, as they hunted their prey animals and stalked and chased their prey into exhaustion and collapse. Much like the ‘Khoisan’ or San Bushmen of Southern Africa and the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, did till even a few decades ago.

The only other animals that had the ability to chase for longer times than the other predators even if only as packs, though not as well as the humans, were the wolves, which lived in family packs with a leader and seemed to have been first domesticated by the humans from the Indian wolf species into what we today call dogs, well over 35,000 years ago. However recent studies suggest that some wolves probably attached themselves to the humans, finding them better at sharing food, and thus soon began accepting them as Alpha leaders and themselves became domesticated. Such wolves/dogs undoubtedly helped the humans hunt and also offered early warning of, and protection from other predators and thus this relationship strengthened till today, – ‘A Dog is a Man’s best friend’.

The development of the ability to discern and read the signs and spoor left by the animals they hunted and of the ability to better recognize the individual animal by its skin pattern and its spoor, allowed them to keep chasing their target animal even as it tried to mingle into to the similarly patterned animals of the herd. Also, the development of the ability to project themselves into imagining how the animal would move and behave even before the hunt started, allowed the human brain to develop better thinking, forecasting and greater social and adaptive abilities. All this, and the better speech ability, advantaged them greatly over the other hominins and built into them the curiosity, the sense of enquiry and the social affinity, ability and awareness that has made us humans into what we are today.

The humans had a differently developed brain, more folded with a greater surface area and evolved as better runners/joggers, with the ability to throw stones and spears even with an overhead action and, better breath control leading to better speech and better social abilities, and soon developed, and used, Slings, Bows and Arrows and even Spear throwers, which the Neanderthals, and perhaps even the other Hominins could not.

Such capabilities, and the ability to cooperate and attack in bigger groups from a distance, gave the humans an unbeatable advantage that soon led to the extinction of the other Hominins.

Then came the ‘Game- Changer’ event!

The greatest volcanic eruption even going back into prehistoric times was the eruption of Mount Toba in Indonesia around 74,000 BCE. This was over 100 times larger than the largest eruption of historic times, that of Mount Tambora, again in Indonesia, in 1815. The Mount Toba eruption deposited an ash layer of about 15 cm to a few metres across most of the Southern Indian sub-continent and also across large parts of South-East Asia and South and East Africa.

It also caused ash dispersion into the upper atmosphere that is estimated to have caused a volcanic winter like effect, blocking much of the sunlight across the world for about six to ten years and also resulting in considerable acid rain. This caused about 3/4ths of the plant life and the bigger herbivores, dependent on this plant life, and even the many carnivores dependent on these herbivores, to mostly die out.

This compelled the Humans from South Africa to migrate along the seacoast northwards, as the sea would have continued to then be the best source of food. The Ice sheets and the Neanderthals in the North were perhaps the reason to also make them continue to migrate along the seacoast, from one tidal basin or shallow sea to the next.

The sea levels in this Ice age were then about 130 to 140 metres below the present levels, making it easier to cross into the Indian sub-continent and move up into the then lightly forested valleys of the tributaries of the River Indus into the North-Western Himalayas, as some did, and along its western coast down to the southern end and up again along its eastern coast into Myanmar and again down the coast of South-East Asia into Sundaland and further into Australia, as the rest of them did. However, some seemed to have remained or retreated into South Africa and continued to live a hunter – gatherer /nomadic life and are today known as the San Bushmen or Khoisan.

Genetic studies inform us that around this time, the human population had reached a bottleneck of about 1000, or at most 10,000 individuals, some say even as few as FIFTY breeding adults.

It is from this tiny number that the eight billion of us humans today trace our ancestry. In-fact, mitochondrial or maternal DNA, evidence that we all are descendants of only FIVE, or perhaps at most TWELVE, mothers from that bottleneck population. The children of the other mothers in that population have all died out over these millennia. For comparison, the genetic difference between humans and our nearest primate relatives the Bonobo Chimpanzees is only a little over one percent, while that between any of the humans today is just 0.1 percent, which is far – far less than the over 0.4 percent difference between the Bonobo and other Chimpanzees.

Having populated both the coasts of India and slowly moved inland along the various rivers across the country, the humans in about 10 to 20,000 years (i.e., by about 60,000 to 50,000 BCE) had also, moved into South-East Asia and again along the coast up into China and Japan and down into Sundaland and onwards into Australia.

The Toba eruption and perhaps the resultant earthquakes in the Himalayas gave rise, in about 74000 BCE, to one of the mightiest rivers of ancient times, the River Saraswati, which with the Rivers Yamuna and Sutlej as tributaries was over 10 to 15 kms, or more, in width across the plains of India down to the Rann of Kutch and to the sea. To the west of the Saraswati River flowed another great river, the River Indus and to the east was the great River Ganga, both though large rivers were then not as mighty as the River Saraswati.

These rivers acted as barriers to human migration and therefore the migration was up along the tributaries of the River Indus or down along the west coast of India into SouthEast Asia and beyond. Palaeontology tells us that the ‘Sapta Sindhu’ (the seven Indus- Saraswati rivers) region and the Gangetic River plains were, at that time, more savannah type, while the lands further to the east and down south were all densely forested, and with many predators and reptiles.

A civilization develops only where a population of at least about 20,000 to 30,000 people live in settlements having proximity, to allow for constant interaction and where the environment allows for easy sustenance and hence, allocation of scarce resources to some who can then spend their time for study, observation, seeking and tool making for the benefit of ALL.

It was only in the North-Western Himalayan Region of the Indian sub-continent that conditions allowed for growth of such settlements having adequate population density, that were relatively flourishing and with the capability to spare and allocate necessary Resources and Time for developing a civilization and expanding over the region from about as early as 55,000 to 60,000 BCE. It may be noted that even the people who had migrated to Australia even as early as 60,000 BCE could not develop any such density of population, and thus any civilization more than Tribal/ Nomadic.

Movement into, and settlement in the densely forested areas of the rest of the Indian Sub-continent and the South-East Asian region of Sundaland, would have only been possible at a much later time, perhaps around 40,000 BCE, or even later, for large migrant groups of humans from the North-Western India region and from the lndus-Saraswati river valleys, having by then, grown into a sizable population, and having developed the ability to work together in large groups and coordinate adequate efforts and resources, to extensively clear the dense forested areas, deal with the predators there, and cultivate plants (agriculture) and develop better marine travel capabilities, and settle there, rather than just migrating along the sea-coast, that settlements were established in the hinterland of the Sub-continent, especially along the river valleys and in Sundaland. (Google – ‘Sundaland’ for more information)

There is evidence of some earlier migration from the ‘Sapta Sindhu’ (Indus-Saraswati) region into the Middle East, Southern Europe and Central and North-Eastern Asia and return, as the earlier Ice age there began receding about 42,000 to 15,000 years ago. The Rig-Veda has mention of Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis, evidencing such travel.

For those who might question the ability of our ancestors to cover such distances in such a relatively short time, please see – Annexure-I below.

Now, about the population of other hominins in India, Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia, including in the Himalayas and Tibet. There exists enough archaeological evidence that at least Neanderthals and perhaps even other hominin species, perhaps Homo-erectus. (See- Narmada skull) had lived in India from well before the Toba eruption and that some of them had even survived the disastrous effects of that eruption, as evidenced by stone tools found both below and above the ash layer.

There is genetic evidence of some inter-breeding of these populations with humans up to about 30,000 years ago in Europe and even as late as 15,000 to 10,000 or so years ago in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is speculated that the Vanaras and other species mentioned in the Ramayana epic may have been such hominins. It is interesting to note that the male Vanaras in the Ramayana are described as having tails, while female and infant Vanaras were not. Hence it is likely that the so-called tail was not an integral body part, but a long whip like weapon coiled and hung down the back of the body of the males, with the handle jutting out up the back to over the shoulder for easy access.

Asians have about one percent and other non-African human populations have about two to three percent, not necessarily the same, hence allowing us to today recreate up to 40 percent of Neanderthal DNA. Even African humans have some slight traces of such DNA, indicating some back to Africa migration. It is some of this Denisovan DNA that gives the Himalayan peoples the ability to adapt to cold and higher altitudes, and the Oceanic peoples their better diving capabilities.

A nomadic or a semi-settled life on the Savannah and Steppes would have been a very difficult life, the demands for survival not leaving time to develop a higher level of philosophy or technology. It was only when our ancestors found more permanent shelters, better and consistent sources of food, in the North- Western Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, along the valleys of the tributaries, mainly of the river Indus, that adequate growth and density of population arose to allow the birth of civilization, and the development of technology/better tools, the pursuit of knowledge/ seeking to understand the world around them, the movement of the stars and even agriculture.

Modern Humans are said to have evolved over 3,00,000 to 2,50,000 years ago in South/South-East Africa and only moved into the Indian sub-continent region after the Toba eruption. If today’s historians claim that humans moved from the Stone Age into our present Space Age in a period of only about 10,000 years, it then raises the question; what other civilizations arose and disappeared in the other 2,90,000 to 2,40,000 years? (See – Annexure-II, below).

A proper civilization also developed much later in the South-East Asian Region (Sundaland) and in the indo- Gangetic plains, seeded by the people moving from the northwest Himalayan Region, due to the tectonic activity there, around 42,000 to 40,000 BCE, perhaps triggered by the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption in the Mediterranean. People then settled in the Indo- Gangetic plains and these other regions into ‘Janapadas’ (Small Republics), ‘Maha- Janapadas’ (Greater Republics) and later even into Kingdoms.

Mention of the Northern Lights in the Rig-Veda evidences some early migration into those regions from India, perhaps into Central and North-East Asia/ Siberia, which were then cold but ice free, and return to India from there even before the Ice Age began retreating elsewhere. Life in those areas, along the edges of the Ice-fields, was still nomadic and tribal and did not allow for settlements with a population density adequate to develop a civilization.

The Rig-Veda makes many references to the mighty River Saraswati, there is also evidence in the Rig-Veda that some of its hymns bear reference to events as old as 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, though the hymns were composed perhaps only as late as 23,700 years ago.

Major tectonic activity in this region, around 42, 000 to 40,000 BCE, greatly and adversely affected the developing civilization there and led to considerable ‘Out of India Migration,’ westwards into North-Western Europe, Northern-Asia (Siberia), even back into Africa, and majorly, eastwards into Gangetic plains and also down along the coast of Peninsular India and that of Myanmar and Malaysia, into Sundaland.

Some earlier migration in small numbers, would have taken place only out of curiosity or for seeking adventure, this would generally be of young males, though of course some families or groups may have also, migrated, moving away from what by then was a more settled, crowded and sedentary life in the Indian region, though relatively more prosperous, some may have returned, and some may have stayed on. Those that stayed on there would soon have forgotten their Civilization and descended into nomadic tribal clan culture, perhaps in even as little as three generations, as the living conditions then would have been very harsh.

As there really was no Homo Sapien civilization in Europe in those times, due to the ice caps, it is evident that all migration could have only been outwards from the Indian region, into those regions, and perhaps even beyond into Doggerland (present day England and Ireland).

The finding of a 31 cm tall ivory statue of the Lion-man (Lord Narasimha) dated to about 40,000 BCE in Germany, the calendar and other inscriptions engraved on bones in Africa, around the same period, and the dating of the Kalpa Vigraha idol of Lord Vishnu (from Musthang valley in Tibet), to around 26,450 BCE, made of a yet unidentified metal with a composition somewhat like brass, along with an accompanying manuscript written in pre-Rig-Vedic Sanskrit, indicates an advanced civilization in the Himalayan and Southern Himalayan region/ Sindhu Saraswati and Indo-Gangetic plains before then.

The last Ice Age had begun receding around 42,000 to 15,000 BCE. However, it is speculated that around 15,000 to 14,500 BCE, a very large Icy comet broke up in the Earth’s atmosphere and its pieces struck the remaining North American Ice cap and caused massive flooding, volcanic activity, earthquakes, and tsunamis and caused the Earth to move sharply into another, even colder Ice age -The Younger Dryas Ice Age.

During the last Ice Age Sea levels were about 130 to 140 metres below the present levels. Such lower sea levels exposed a great portion of the land joining the Southeast Asian region to Indonesia and Borneo, a huge land mass, twice the size of India, called Sundaland. The speculation about Lemuria and a Kumari Kandam land masses as being located in the Indian Ocean and that of MU in the Pacific Ocean, has been proven wrong by geological and oceanographic studies. The Oceans in the proposed location are too deep for any land to have been above the sea level, before the rise of the sea levels by about 130 to 140 meters. These so-called lost continents could perhaps have been memories of Antarctica as it possibly then existed upto temperate latitudes, or of Sundaland in South – East Asia. Antarctica could have then even been the other Lanka that King Sugriva mentioned in the Ramayana.

Kumari Kandam could have been Sundaland. It is hypothesized that a major civilization was developed on Sundaland, and perhaps even in Antarctica and even in Mauritania in West Africa from around 40,000 BCE. The mythical Atlantis may have existed in one of these locations. Sundaland seems the best option. (Google – Sundaland for more).

The spread of Vedic and later civilization from India into Sundaland and its bloom there, and its subsequent migration into all of South-East Asia and across the world, is a probability that needs consideration. It may also be noted that all maps of ancient times show the South at the top, evidence of the North being under Ice and hence, being relatively insignificant.

It may also be noted that the Iron artifacts found in Telangana in South­ Central India and dated to around 2000 BCE, and the even earlier evidence of extraction of Iron from ore, from Sivagalai and other sites in Tamil Nadu dated to as far back as 3345 BCE, prove that the Iron Age in the world first started in India. Zinc extraction was also, first started in India, though at a later time.

It is also speculated that it was not another comet strike but, a major solar coronal mass ejection event around 13,500 to 13,000 BCE, in the Pacific Ocean region that caused the Younger Dryas Ice Age to end in just over a night and a day, as seen from an Indian perspective being on the opposite or night hemisphere, causing almost instantaneous evaporation of millions of cubic miles of water, and its cooling in the upper atmosphere and then falling back to the earth as ice, rain and snow. The sea levels thereafter rose to about the present levels. Such rapid climatic change requires levels of energy dispersion that can only be caused by the Sun.

This event may have also, resulted in the crustal displacement of parts of the Earth’s crust, that is speculated to have shifted Siberia from its till then temperate location, well into the Arctic Circle and simultaneously shifted the Antarctic about 2000 Kms, from its northern areas being at around 30 degrees South Latitude, into it all moving to above the South Pole. Such a major solar event would have evaporated immensely large quantities of sea water, drastically lowering the sea levels, causing great gravitational variations and also causing heavy rains, floods, volcanic activity, tsunamis, and the dumping of immense quantities of snow and ice in the higher latitudes and resurgence of seas immediately thereafter. This could be the event that ancient tales from all around the world recollect as the Great Global Flood.

This sudden, almost instantaneous shift and the sudden extreme cold there, is evidenced by the finding of the bodies of mammoths in Siberia which still had mouthfuls of fresh grasses and flowers in their mouths and had been almost flash frozen and killed even before they could swallow them. The finding of fossils of trees and animals in the Antarctic are also, evidence of such a sudden shift, as it is obvious that plant life could not develop under the Polar conditions of six months of darkness, even if in those days, the present layers of Ice deposits were not existing due to warmer climatic conditions.

The Indian sub-continent seems to have been protected by its location. However, the intense tectonic activity and rains would have caused damage to the settlements there and even caused the Sutlej River at around this time, 13,000 BCE, to shift its course, leaving the River Saraswati and becoming a tributary of the River Indus, and the River Yamuna also shifting its course leaving River Saraswati, to become a tributary of the River Ganga. This nomenclature of calling the River Yamuna a tributary of the River Ganga even though it was a bigger River, was perhaps because the River Ganga was an older independent river and also seen as a Holy River. Such tectonic activity and the slow drying out of the River Saraswati, caused considerable migration from the Indian Plains outward, both westward and North-East westward.

The many megalithic structures, perhaps built by our ancients thereafter, all over the World, were then built by them to properly realign the new cardinal directions and equinoxes and solstices for the benefit of the few surviving human population then there. Also, the stories of the Gods who came and gave them wisdom and knowledge of many subjects, including astronomy and agriculture, were perhaps the same ancients from Sundaland.

Nilesh Nilakant Oak has done all of us a great service by his systematic and irrefutable dating of some key events from our Epics, using the astronomical and other references therein and relating them to the Sidereal Calendar and to evidence from other Sciences.

The Rama-Ravana war, as determined by him, occurred in12,209 BCE. Obviously as the Ramayana speaks to us of the Vedic civilization and a level of urbanization that existed from even earlier times, Astronomy, Philosophy, Mathematics, Science, Logic, Geography, Medicine, and Metallurgy etc., all then existed, and all originated from this region and was then spread from here to all over South-east Asia and elsewhere.

Graham Hancock, Robert Schock and many other writers have dated the construction of the Sphinx and of its orientation and the construction of the Giza pyramids to about 10,500 BCE when the Sphinx would have mirrored the constellation Leo, and the Milky Way would have been seen as the continuation of the River Nile into the sky. Of course, the date could have been even older as some say, but only by about another precession cycle of the Earth’s axis, when the constellations would again have been in the same locations, about another 25,920 years earlier, i.e. 36,540 BCE. However, this is unlikely as the Sea levels then would not have been comparable.

As Lord Rama had to build a causeway/bridge across the Palk straits to reach Lanka, the sea levels would have had to be about the same as the present levels. This evidence shows that this was after the Younger Dryas Ice Age i.e., after about 13,000 BCE and supports the dating of the Rama – Ravana war of having occurred at 12,209 BCE as determined by Nilesh Oak.

We then also, have Nilesh Oak’s dating of the Mahabharata War as having happened in 5561 BCE, again from irrefutable astronomic and other contextual data. He also, tentatively dated the earliest version of the ‘Surya Siddhanta’ as having been written in around 14,500 BCE or even earlier. The knowledge of the binary Stars Arundhati and Vashist in the Sirius Constellation and the orientation of the Giza Pyramids with the three stars in the belt of the Orion constellation and of the orientation of so many other megalithic monuments across the globe, all seem to indicate a major effort from a destroyed civilization striving to transfer knowledge to the by then, isolated populations across the globe and to leave monuments as lasting proof of their abilities and of having existed.

All civilizations need not necessarily have been based on electro-mechanical power. It is today speculated that the Ancient Civilization was based on light and sound frequency, resonance, and magnetic power. In the Mahabharata War, the many Kings mentioned include Kings from all over India, from present day Afghanistan and eastern Iran in the West to Manipur and Nagaland in the East and from Kashmir in the North to Kings from all over the Deep South, evidencing that by this time India was easily culturally a Nation that was well civilized and developed and prosperous enough for each of the many Kings to maintain an army and move it across the Country to fight with their allies.

The Sindhu-Saraswati Civilization has left many archaeological ruins of spectacular cities along the banks of these rivers. It is estimated that the River Saraswati slowly dried out and became an underground flow sometime between 3000 to 4000 BCE. The 100 to 200-year long drought / monsoon failure around the same time is thought to be the cause of the abandonment of these urban centres leading to extensive migration into the Gangetic plains into smaller settlements and also, into the rest of India and towards the West (Eastern Iran and Central Asia). Research shows that even the Vedic Civilization went through many catastrophes in which much of its knowledge was lost and had to be re-discovered over the Ages.

Raj Vedam and many other researchers have quoted genetic and archaeological evidence to finally disprove the Aryan Invasion Theory, which had been formulated and spread by the European Christian colonizers who saw it as a necessary hypothesis to protect the story of Genesis in their Biblical belief system that the world was created in 4004 BCE, and to project themselves as being of a more advanced civilization than that of India.

Genetics has proven that all Indians have originated from the same ancestral family and there are no Aryans or Dravidians and that in fact, it is from this region that migrations had taken place to the rest of the world from even as early as 42,000 to 40,000 BCE and more effectively from 13,000 BCE and later.

The discovery, that the Gene that makes some South-Asians fair is the same gene that makes Europeans fairer than most of the world, and that this mutation originated in the western Himalayan region and was carried by migrants from there into Europe around 42,000 to 25,000 BCE, or even later around 13,000 BCE, clearly evidences the ‘Out of India migration’. A mutation would spread extensively in smaller populations and not so extensively in larger populations, though even in South India today many people having fair complexion can be found. Of course, climatic and other conditions would have also added to the effect through epigenetic expression. The fair skin colour of the East Asians is due to a different Gene. It may be noted that the original colour of the skin (Brown), hair (Black), and eye (Black/Brown) of all the Homo Sapiens, is what is seen in the San Bushmen of the South African/ Kalahari region, who are the most ancient of the Homo sapiens and show the oldest genetic strains of all humans. The red hair and lighter coloured eye may have come from hybrids of other hominins in Central- Asia then. (See Annexure- II)

It is an established historic fact that any isolated population of less than about 20.000 to 30,000 people in any region, especially where living is a struggle, would continue reducing and will within a few generations forget all its civilizational roots and descend into feral tribalism, even as they may later join up with other such tribal groups and strive to build another civilization. Such population collapse can be seen in Tasmania, Easter Island, and even in the Andamans.

It should also be noted that the Genetics of field mice from all over the old world show them as having originated from the Indian field mouse and spread worldwide with migration and the spread of agriculture and trade from the Indian region some 42,000 to 20,000 years ago. The Middle Eastern history of Mesopotamia and Sumeria could also have been more ancient than 4000 BCE, perhaps even as old as 10,500 BCE. The recent discovery of ancient structures at Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe in Turkey, estimated to be from around 12,500 years ago, proves the case.

Conclusion

A proper understanding of pre-historic climatic conditions shows that human civilization developed only in the North- Western Himalayan Region of the Indian Sub-continent from as early as about 65,000 BCE and spread subsequently across the world as climatic conditions allowed.

Today, people who deny such irrefutable evidence do so out of some vested interest which will soon be exposed by further future discoveries.

Recognizing that we are all children of only FIVE to TWELVE ancestral mothers let us ALL be proud of our ancient knowledge, culture and history and learn from it, and not be arrogant about where it may have originated from or developed in.

Annexure – I:

The ability of humans, to cover vast distances and even to run down their prey, is well documented in the book ‘Born to Run’ by Christopher MacDougall, it is also, proven by the fact that the traveller Mensen Ernst ran from Constantinople to Calcutta, a distance of about 5900 kms each way, in the 19th century and after three days ran back again in about a total of 59 days. Robert Barclay Allardice covered the 115 kms from London to Portsmouth in just 9 hours. These runners were not running on roads but across country paths and over mountainous terrain and passes at speeds of over 140 kms per day. Also, 53-year-old Dean Karnazes ran 560 kms without sleeping, in just over 80 hrs. and 44 mins. Also, 61 years old Cliff Young, a sheep farmer, ran the ultra-marathon from Sydney to Melbourne, a distance of 875 Kms in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes. Many others constantly ran even longer distances. Hence, running 50 to even 100 kms each day would have even been routine for our ancestors.

It may be of interest to know that over such ultra-marathon distances, many women showed better capabilities than the men. Hence, we can easily believe that they not only moved with the tribe even when pregnant but also, gave birth, and a few hours later, with the help of the grandmothers, moved on with the tribe. The grandfathers, when not joining in the hunt, helped protect and teach the young.

Another interesting fact that research has recognized is that human physical running ability from age 19 increased up to age 28 when it peaked, and thereafter started declining at a surprisingly slow rate, such that the same capability as was there at age 19 was present at age 64 years. Though few, if any, of the ancients may have lived that long, the fact that such capability existed in the older members of the tribe proves that they were not only able to hunt and teach the young, but also able to help as needed. The difference being the greater time needed by them for recovery or recuperation.

Annexure – II:

Brief Time-line of Modern Human civilization in years BCE

– 300,000…. 250,000 BCE (Modern Humans living as Aquatic apes and as Nomadic hunters, in South-East Africa, striving to survive the other Hominins and other Predators there then, with no real need to migrate then).

– 75,000 (Toba eruption and migration of the bottle-neck human population, of about a 1000 or less, a few into South-West Africa, but most along the eastern sea-coast of Africa, across the coast of Arabia and upto the Indus River Delta in India. Some going up- stream, the Indus River tributaries into the North-Western Himalayas, and some continuing down the coast of Peninsular India, the coast of Sundaland and by 60,000 to 55,000 BCE into Australia, some still following the Asiatic coastline all the way into Eastern China and even upto Japan. All seeking a living along the Coasts or at times a little inland along the coastal rivers, if they could find food and safety there, but did not manage to grow a population density adequate to develop a civilization).

– 55,000 BCE, (build -up of adequate and inter-active population density in the North-Western Himalayan region, and the beginning of civilization and growing of crops. During this period there seems to have been some migration of a few adventure-seeking human males into Northern Asia and beyond, with few returning with tales of Aurora-borealis activity and of Hominins there).

– by 42,000 to 40,000 BCE, strong tectonic activity resulted in motivating the migration of humans into the Sindhu-Saraswati and Indo-Gangetic plains, into ‘Janapadas,’ and development of agriculture and domestication of cattle and perhaps even horses).

– 40,000 to 20,000 BCE as the Ice-caps began retreating, migrations of strong groups of humans into Northern Europe, more effectively, even larger groups down the Indian peninsular coast, some moving inland into river valleys, but majorly into Sundaland, where human civilization advanced and developed and spread from there worldwide, perhaps even into Space).

– 13,000 BCE, the world-wide Great Flood catastrophe destroyed and submerged all this civilization, leaving a few who had survived this Catastrophe, perhaps by having moved into underground shelters or even into Space, to now move across the Globe and seek to educate the few survivors that had by then reverted to being primitive tribal people, to re-build a civilization.

– 12,209 BCE, the Ram-Ravana war story tells us of a fairly spiritually advanced civilization, with access to advanced technology of weapons and perhaps even aviation).

– 5,561 BCE, the story of the Mahabharata war tells us of a great civilization with large populations spread all across India, with access to weapons of advanced technology. The Mahabharata war seems to have not only destroyed much of the population then, but also reduced the civilization levels.

– 4,000 BCE the resurgence of civilization (Indus-valley) in the Sapta-Sindhu region and the Indo-Gangetic plains and thereafter slowly along the river valleys of the many Indian Rivers and into the peninsular Indian region, and even beyond into the middle east, into Europe.

– 2000 BCE, the prolonged failure of the Monsoons, leading to the collapse of the Sindhu-Saraswati Civilization.

The question of other Hominid civilizations having existed during these thousands of years remains to be properly answered. The finding of over 3000 elongated skulls of a few months’ old children to adults, white skinned, red haired and having green / blue eyes in Paracas in Peru and other South American sites and also, in Iran, with a skull capacity for a brain one and a half times or even bigger than ours and whose genetic studies show as having a Central Asian background from about 40,000 years ago, and the fact that many of our ancient Gods have Crowns that indicate elongated skulls which are also, shown in the Egyptian Drawings of a Pharaoh and his wife and children. Also, the curious custom of some tribes to bind the skulls of their children in an attempt to try and show some links to such people and claim status, all indicate that such elongated skull people had great status, perhaps even being considered Gods. Perhaps it was such people who were responsible for the Megalithic structures across the world?

The migration from out of India/Bharat from about 42 to 40,000 years BCE into North-Western Europe, North and East Asia and Southwards along the coast and river valleys in the South of India/Bharat and on to Sundaland and beyond, when the sea-levels were 400 feet below present and the development of greater civilization and its outposts in those areas as the climatic conditions and available resources there allowed must also be studied. Then the collapse of all civilizations in the Great Flood about 13,000 BCE, the major Tectonic crustal shift of Antarctica and Asia, and the rise of sea levels to present levels, drowning all the coastal cities and developments, leaving only a few people to again re-build their civilization and work to help other peoples to also rebuild. This too needs proper study.

The tales and descriptions of the Flying machines and weapons in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata need proper study.

The extensive destruction and loss of life during the Mahabharata war would have also set back the then existing civilization and people would have needed to build it all back again.(Sindhu-Saraswati / Indus valley civilization?) As the sea levels by then were almost at the same level as at present, and as there is no record of any major rise in sea levels around 5525 BCE, the sinking of Dwaraka city on the west coast and of the Mahabalipuram temple city on the east coast could be due more to subsidence of the ground.

Proper study and analysis need to be undertaken of the very ancient archaeological sites in Keeladi, in Tamil Nadu, in other even more ancient sites in Odisha and perhaps even in other parts of India, especially of the Lord Murugappan temple site in Udayagiri in Madhya Pradesh evidencing connections to ancient Egypt and even to South America. Perhaps these could be linked to remnants of the great civilization on Sundaland after the ‘Great flood’. More study and understanding of the Narmada Hominin Skull (Homo-Erectus?) cap and where it could have come from and from when, also needs further study. Another question that awaits an answer is that – as humans display characteristics, physiological, social, cognitive, and even genetic, similar to that displayed by all domesticated animals, who then domesticated humans, or did humans self-domesticated, if that is at all possible?

The question of the veracity of the tales inscribed on the Sumerian / Mesopotamian clay tablets about the ‘Annunaki’ and the creation of humans, and of gold mining and extensive terrace farming in South Africa around the ‘Great Zimbabwe’ and ‘Adam’s Calendar’ ruins and the many fossils found there, all need further study.

The tales in the Book of Enoch and the story of Gilgamesh also needs further study. The story of Barbarik/robot head, from the Mahabharata and of the weapons and other technologies described as used in that war also need study. Also, the tales of the Dogon tribe of Mali which describe the Sirius constellation and tell of visitors from Sirius need study.

The findings of tall skeletons from America, Europe, South Africa and even in India and the many tales of Giants also, raise questions that are still unanswered, what happened to those skeletons? Perhaps the Smithsonian Museum has the answers. It was only a few years ago that the discovery of skeletons of people less than 4 feet tall on the island of Flores, now called Homo Floresiensis or ‘Hobbits” shook the world.

The finding of the Naledi Hominin skeletons in South-Eastern Africa that lived contemporary with Humans, needs better understanding.

The evidence of the many fossilised human footprints, some even overlaid by the footprints of Dinosaurs, and some even with footwear, in Nevada, Arizona and Texas, and the many cave drawings of fully fleshed Dinosaurs from across the world and as sculptures in Indian and Indonesian temples, have yet to be explained.

Also, the story of the Petroglyphs in the Konkan region of India, near Ratnagiri, seemingly made around 12,000 BCE, perhaps after the ‘Great flood’.

The Citadel/Ancient City in the USA Grand Canyon with Egyptian hieroglyphs and statutes of ancient Indian Gods (Shiva), the major structures/perhaps even a city, under the Pyramids and the Giza Plateau, the ‘BARABAR’ Caves in India, the Gunung Padang pyramid in Indonesia and many other pyramids elsewhere, and the many lost cities, the OLMEC heads in South- America and the Easter Island statues and the submerged ruins of ancient cities off the coast of India, Japan, Bermuda and elsewhere and also the underground city of Derinkyu and many others in Turkiye and the Gobekli Tepe and other sites, also in Turkiye, all need proper study.

Also, explanation for the alignment of the many Jyotir Linga Temples from Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, to Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, a distance of about 2385 kms, along the 79 Degree East longitude line, built in India, when the ability to understand the concept of Longitude and the Chronometer to measure it, were not thought to have existed.

Also, a proper understanding of the Earth’s Energy/Ley lines that seem to form a grid connecting the many ancient monuments/locations across the Globe, is yet to be arrived at. (See- ‘Temples and Earth’s energy grids) many of which also show some correlation with the path traced by a two-day orbit of satellites with a 31-degree inclination, especially those that have huge monolithic stone constructions and foundations. (See- TED Talk by Roger Gilbertson). Such an orbit is special in that it avoids the Van Allen Belts and the Earth’s magnetic field and forms an almost circular path on the ground. Perhaps other special orbits will show more such relationships with other sites.

We also need to find the answers to the many ‘Out of Place Artifacts-OOPARTS’ found all over the world dated from millions of years ago to a few thousand years ago and also the many anachronistic temple carvings, of a Bicycle, Cell- phone, Tablet, Theodolites, Telescopes, buttoned shirts, and even IVF procedures and depictions of foetal development and cloning, and even perhaps of Alien species, etc. in Indian and Indonesian Temples. The details of the ‘Dark Knight’ Polar satellite and the OUMUAMUA interstellar object/ asteroid and the many alleged artificial objects on the Moon, on Mars and on Phobos- the moon of Mars, all need proper study and explanation.

We need to understand the legends of the time when the moon was not there, could these be true? We also need to understand how it is that the distance of the Sun and Moon from the Earth when divided by the diameter of Sun and the Moon respectively yields a ratio of 108, and also, how it is that the Sun and the Moon, seen from the Earth, seem to have the same diameter. All this is too unique to be purely coincidental.

The resonant ringing of the moon, like that of a bell, that lasted about an hour, when the Apollo 12 lander was deliberately allowed to crash onto the lunar surface, needs to be explained. Could the Moon be hollow?

Geologists are still seeking to explain the ‘Great Unconformity’, the significant gap of about one billion years of missing rock strata in the Earths’ geological record.

Pre-History, perhaps, has even more older chapters than what we are only now beginning to be aware of.

We need to keep an open mind and await the conclusion of researchers in all these fields.

JAI BHARAT! – JAI HIND!