Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia (10 December 1908 – 28 January 1989) was an Indian
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
scholar and
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
specialising in proto- and ancient Indian history. He is considered to have pioneered archaeological excavation techniques in India, with several significant discoveries from the
prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
period to his credit. Sankalia received the
Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak award in 1966.
And also received Padma Bhushan in the year 1974.
Early life and education
Sankalia was born in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
into a family of lawyers hailing from
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
. A frail infant, he was not expected to survive.
At fifteen, Sankalia read the
Gujarati translation of
Lokmanya Tilak's ''
The Arctic Home in the Vedas
''The Arctic Home in the Vedas'' is a 1903 book by Indian nationalist, teacher and independence activist Bal Gangadhar Tilak on the origin of the Aryans. Based on his analysis of Vedic hymns, Avestic passages, Vedic chronology and Vedic calend ...
''. Although he understood little of the book (p. 6), he was determined to "do something to know about the Aryans in India" (ibid.). To this end, Sankalia decided to emulate Tilak and study
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
. He received a B.A. degree in Sanskrit, and received the Chimanlal Ranglal Prize. Sankalia made Indian prehistory his life's work, and never lost sight of the origin of the
Indo-Aryan peoples
Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of peoples predominantly found in South Asia, who (traditionally) speak Indo-Aryan languages. Historically, Aryans were the Indo-Iranian speaking pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia int ...
. (1962c: 125; 1963a: 279–281; 1974: 553–559; 1978a: 79, etc.). He studied English, which introduced him to textual criticism (p. 7), and wrote an article on Kundamala and the
Uttararamacarita in which he convincingly proved that Dinnaga (author of the former) influenced Bhavabhuti (author of the latter). Bengali scholar K. K. Dutt arrived at similar conclusion independently of Sankalia.
Sankalia studied ancient Indian history for his M. A. degree at the new Indian Historical Research Institute (now the Heras Institute), and worked on the ancient university at
Nalanda
Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...
for his M.A.
dissertation. His dissertation included chapters on history, art and architecture, iconography and the influence of the Nalanda school of art on
Greater India
Greater India, also known as the Indian cultural sphere, or the Indic world, is an area composed of several countries and regions in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself ...
(particularly
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
). Sankalia visited a number of sites, and studied
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
with B. Bhattacharya (p. 10). These studies led to his later study of Gujarat. He passed the
LLB examinations at the request of his father and uncle (who were both lawyers), and was expected to follow them (cf. pp. 10, 13, 28). However, Sankalia decided to go to England for his doctoral degree. He wrote an essay, "Caitya caves in the Bombay Presidency", which earned the
Bhagwan Lal Indraji prize.
Personal life
Sankalia captained a cricket team on College Day. He also enjoyed kite-flying and gardening.
In London
Sankalia left for England, and enrolled at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
for his
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
on the archaeology of Gujarat. He studied under
Bernard Ashmole (Roman
classical archaeology), Sidney Smith (
Sumerian language
Sumerian ) was the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the List of languages by first written account, oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is a local language isolate that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the a ...
), K. de B. Codrington (
museology
Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...
), F. J. Richards (
Indian archaeology) and R. E. M. Wheeler (field archaeology) (p. 18).
From Richards, Sankalia learnt geography, geology, anthropology, ethnography and
toponymy
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...
. He focused on the latter, applying it to inscriptions in Gujarat and elsewhere (Sankalia 1942a; 1984). Sankalia encouraged his students to pursue toponymy, opening a new field in Indian archaeology.
Wheeler, who was excavating at the site of
Maiden Castle, Dorset
Maiden Castle is an British Iron Age, Iron Age hillfort southwest of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements Hillforts in Britain, constructed across Britain during the I ...
and had perfected his field techniques (begun in 1921), was a significant influence. He lectured on field techniques, in addition to providing practical training. Sankalia said about Wheeler's training, "The training was brief, lasting just about a month or so, but it was of immense importance for my future career. I learnt here, not only what was stratigraphical digging and drawing a section and three-dimensional recording of finds
..but was also made aware of the necessity of minute-to-minute supervision of the trench under one's charge for
..at any moment the layer might change and
hich shouldbe noted as early as possible" (pp. 26–27). Sankalia (cf. pp. 112 ff.; 1938; and his popular articles), influenced by Wheeler, was a proponent of popular archaeology.
Deccan College
After returning to India, Sankalia joined
Deccan College in 1939 as a professor of proto- and ancient Indian history and began systematic surveys of the monuments in and around
Pune
Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
with his students. These yielded papers on the megaliths of Bhavsari and the
Yadava-period Temple of Pur. At the request of
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
director general K. N. Dikshit, Sankalia undertook explorations in Gujarat to test Bruce Foote's hypothesis of a hiatus between the Lower Palaeolithic and Neolithic phases; this made him into a prehistorian.
He also conducted other expeditions in Gujarat. During his second expedition, Sankalia found the first human Stone Age skeleton. The
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
site of Langhnaj, "the first Stone Age site to have been excavated scientifically", was excavated
stratigraphically.
F. E. Zeuner, an authority on environmental archaeology, was invited by Wheeler to interpret the
palaeoclimate
Paleoclimatology (American and British English spelling differences, British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the scientific study of climates predating the invention of meteorological instruments, when no direct measurement data were available. ...
of Gujarat. Sankalia was profoundly influenced by Zeuner, from whom he learnt
geochronology
Geochronology is the science of Chronological dating, determining the age of rock (geology), rocks, fossils, and sediments using signatures inherent in the rocks themselves. Absolute geochronology can be accomplished through radioactive isotopes, ...
, geology, the stratigraphy of geological deposits and
pluvial
In geology and climatology, a pluvial is either a modern climate characterized by relatively high precipitation or an interval of time of variable length, decades to thousands of years, during which a climate is characterized by relatively high ...
and inter-pluvial mechanics.
Palaeolithic finds in the Deccan
Sankalia excavated the
Kolhapur
Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...
site in 1945–46 with M. G. Dikshit (Sankalia and Dikshit 1952). Before the excavation, his detailed surveys of the banks of the
Godavari River
The Godavari (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges River, Ganga River and drains the third largest Drainage basin, basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. It ...
and its tributaries revealed a
flake-tool industry. These findings were also observed in a stratigraphical deposit at Gangapur (Gangawadi), near
Nasik
Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari River, Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai.
Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sit ...
, where flakes, cleavers and hand axes were discovered. This developed industry, as later research proved, was part of the
Middle Palaeolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...
. Sankalia's explorations in the
Pravara River valley (at Nevasa) yielded palaeolithic industries and animal
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
s.
Nasik–Jorwe
The occurrence of
Northern Black Polished Ware
The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age Indian culture of the Indian subcontinent, lasting –200 BCE (proto NBPW between 1200 and 700 BCE), succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Black and ...
at Nasik (mentioned in the Puranas and traditional tales), reported to Sankalia by M. N. Deshpande, made him anxious to unearth evidence correlating to the Early Historical Period and (if possible) unearth pre- and
proto-historic cultures. The excavation was successfully carried out.
Maheshwar–Navdatoli
Sankalia's success at Nasik–Jorwe inspired him to excavate the site at
Maheshwar (the Mahishmati of the Haihayas, as described in the Puranas) to prove the tradition's historicity. The excavation was carried out at the site and at
Navdatoli in 1952–53 in a joint expedition with the
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a public university on April 30, 1949 and was renamed after ...
. This revealed a developed
chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
culture dating to between the decline of the
Harappan civilisation and the beginning of the Early Historical Period, largely explaining the hiatus between the periods. The culture was interpreted by Sankalia, mainly on the basis of resemblance of its pottery to that of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, as of Aryan origin. The horizontal excavation at Navdatoli was made in 1957–59 to reveal the settlement pattern, reconstruct the socioeconomic life of the chalcolithic people, and corroborate Sankalia's Aryan hypothesis.
Nevasa
Sankalia's excavation at
Nevasa
Nevasa is a city in Nevasa tehsil of Ahmednagar district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Mohiniraj Temple
The city of Nevasa is the location of a 75 - foot tall temple of Mohini, built in 1773, which houses an image of Mohiniraj (Vishn ...
, intended to prove (or disprove) the legend of its association with Jnaneshvara, revealed human occupation from the Lower Palaeolithic era to the Muslim-Maratha period.
Early humans in Kashmir
Sankalia went to
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
to study its geological deposits, which had been investigated by De Terra, Paterson, and Wadia without finding early human evidence. When Sankalia was examining a deposit he saw a worked flake with a prominent bulb of percussion, establishing the existence of early humans in Kashmir. He also discovered a hand axe in the same deposit, dating to the
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
or slightly later.
Inamgaon
After establishing the cultural sequence of the Chalcolithic cultures in Deccan and Central India, Sankalia wanted to reconstruct the lives of the Chalcolithic people with large-scale horizontal excavations at Nevasa and Navdatoli. The former site was found to be highly disturbed and the deposits overlying the Chalcolithic layers were too thick to be thoroughly removed, and the plan was abandoned. The site of
Inamgaon was well-preserved, however, and was excavated over a 12-year period. After Sankalia's retirement in 1973 the excavation was completed by Z. D. Ansari and M. K. Dhavalikar, and its report was published in three volumes.
Early humans in Sachchidananda
After his retirement, Sankalia lived on campus and was appointed professor emeritus of the department. At his home, he discovered what he believed were palaeolithic implements. After publishing his studies on the ''
Ramayana
The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
'', new archaeology and prehistoric art,
[Pre-Historic Art in India. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. (1978b)] he died at age 80 on 28 January 1989.
Awards
Sankalia received the
Narmad Suvarna Chandrak.
Bibliography
* "Kundamala and Uttararamacarita". ''St. Xavier's College Magazine'': 22: 63 - 76. (1930)
* University of Nalanda. Calcutta: B. G. Paul & Co. (2nd revised edition, New Delhi: 1973). (1934)
* "Megalithic Monuments near Poona". ''Bulletin of Deccan College Research Institute''. 1: 178–184. (1940a)
* "Monuments of the Yadava period in the Poona District". ''Bulletin of Deccan College Research Institute'': 2 (3-4): 217 -225. (1940b)
* "Studies in the Prehistory of Deccan (Maharashtra): a survey of the Godavari and the Kadva, near Niphad". ''Bulletin of Deccan College Research Institute'': 4(3): 1–16. (1943)
* "Studies in the Prehistory of the Deccan (Maharashtra): a further survey of the Godavari (March 1944)". ''Bulletin of Deccan College Research Institute'': 6: 131–137. (1945)
* ''Studies in Historical and Cultural Geography and Ethnography of Gujarat''. Poona: Deccan College. (1949)
* "Archaeology and Indian Universities", Presidential Address at the Archaeology Section of the All India Oriental Conference, 16th Session, Lucknow. Pune: Deccan College. (1952a)
* ''The Godavari Palaeolithic Industry''. Poona: Deccan College. (1952b)
* ''Report on the Excavation at Nasik and Jorwe, 1950-51''. Poona: Deccan College. (With S. B. Deo.) (1955)
* "Animal fossils and Palaeolithic industries from the Pravara Basin at Nevasa, District Ahmednagar". ''Ancient India'': 12: 32 -52. (1956)
* ''Excavation at Maheshwar and Navdatoli, 1952-53''. Poona and Baroda: Deccan College and M. S. University. (With B. Subbarao and S. B. Deo.) (1958)
* ''From History to Prehistory at Nevasa (1954–56)''. Poona: Deccan College. (With S. B. Deo, Z. D. Ansari and Sophie Ehrhardt.) (1960)
* ''Indian Archaeology Today''. Bombay: Asia Publishing House. (1962)
* "Kundamala and Uttararamacarita". ''Journal of Oriental Institute'': 15(3-4): 322 -334. (1966)
* ''Excavations at Ahar (Tambavati)''. Poona: Deccan College. (With S. B. Deo and Z. D. Ansari.) (1969)
* ''Mesolithic and Pre-Mesolithic Industries from the Excavations at Sangankallu 1965''. Poona: Deccan College. (1969)
* ''Chalcolithic Navdatoli''. Poona and Baroda: Deccan College and M. S. University. (With S. B. Deo and Z. D. Ansari.) (1971)
* "Early man in Ice Age Kashmir". ''Current Anthropology'': 2(4): 558 -562. (1971)
* ''Ramayana: Myth or Reality?'' New Delhi, People's Publishing House. (1973)
* ''Prehistory and Protohistory of India and Pakistan''. Poona: Deccan College. (1974)
* ''Pre-Historic Art in India''. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. (1978b)
* ''The Ramayana in Historical Perspective'', Macmillan India, 1982,
* "A primary Palaeolithic site-the Deccan College Campus, Pune, India". ''The Explorer's Journal'': 63(1): 8–9. (1985a)
* "Follow-up on a Palaeolithic site in India". ''The Explorer's Journal'': 63(3): 136–137. (1985b)
* "The Stone Age man in and around Pune (Poona) or the habitation of early man in Sat-Chit-Ananda". ''Bulletin of Deccan College Research Institute'': 46: 115 -135. (1987)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sankalia, Hasmukh Dhirajlal
1908 births
1989 deaths
Alumni of University College London
20th-century Indian archaeologists
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service
Scientists from Mumbai
Historians of India
Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak
Corresponding fellows of the British Academy