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Q & A Session with Tony Joseph
29th March 6:30 AM IST; 28th March 9:00 PM EST and 6:00 PM PST
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You note in Chapter 3 that the dominant language of Harappan Civilization was Proto-Dravidian and it may have reached South India around 2800 BCE, well before the Harappan peak period. [Page 149, 2018 edition] Question is: what type of evidence enabled you to indicate this?
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Iron Age dating - please share your insights on this discovery as it predates the mature Harappan phase.
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Harappans were an advanced civilization. When they migrated South and East, why did they not “re-create” what they left behind? Please share any thoughts you might have. We realize this goes a bit beyond the book, but we are very interested in your perspective.
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There were several settlements that were contemporaneous to IVC in Rajasthan. ASI excavations in 1981 indicate the towns of Purani Marmi, Ojiyana and Balathal. The Ahar Museum at Udaipur contains the following description. Thus, is there a possibility that there were settlements such as these in South India, especially Tamil Nadu? That is, contemporaneous civilization to the Harappans?
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Why did you end with the Steppe people, calling them as "the last Indians", when there were many others came after them?
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Are you planning a sequel (Part 2) to the current book?
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You note in Chapter 3 that “Chola, Chera and Panti” were brothers who lived together in ancient times; Chola the advisor, Chera the high officials, Panti the commoner. I wonder if you could elaborate, especially geographical location and timeline context.
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A recent paper reports that "Using advanced analysis based on full genome sequences, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found evidence that modern humans are the result of a genetic mixing event between two ancient populations that diverged around 1.5 million years ago. About 300,000 years ago, these groups came back together, with one group contributing 80% of the genetic makeup of modern humans and the other contributing 20%.”
If archaic humans separated for more than 1.5 million years can breed together again, is it likely that those modern humans who came to ancient India may have bred with Homo erectus and/or other archaic humans already in India? Do we have any evidence of such "ghost DNA" exclusive to India? Given these findings, how can we consider Homo sapiens and Homo erectus as belonging to different species?
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Ancient DNA samples are available in very limited numbers in India. Available bone samples have degraded to the state of porous structure due to climatic conditions and are not usable for DNA analysis. This puts a restriction on understanding the genetic history of India at high resolution. Are there any new advanced scientific methods been developed that can help analyze aDNA found in India?
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Graffities found in Tamil Nadu have a strong resemblance to Indus valley scripts. This indicates a strong relationship between Tamils and IVC folks. Since the graffities found at Keezhadi belong to a much later time, it appears to show continuity in the use of IVC graffities in the Tamil region.
What would be the primary use cases of these graffities or what we can infer via this continuity?
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Prior to the recent genetic studies, the widely held view was that the Aryans came in two waves. But I understand that the recent genetic studies point to trickling in of Aryans in small numbers and not just two waves as was assumed earlier. Is this true?
If yes, on the basis of what convincing evidence supports this inference. This is a very tricky question, hence a detailed reply, if possible, would be appreciated.
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Asko Parpola is of the opinion that the Steppe pastoralists established themselves in BMAC before moving further towards the Indian subcontinent. As per recent genetic study it is not so, I understand.
Please comment.
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What is the possible path of migration of Steppe pastoralists into the Indian subcontinent? Is it possible to construct such a path, particularly because the migration took place in several waves over a long period of time.
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I am of the opinion that we should look for evidence of the earliest Aryan migrations, from Sibri and Pirak (about which you do mention in your book).
Any contrary views.
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In some cases, the archeological evidence does not match with genetic studies. Should we not go for a holistic understanding rather than focus solely on genetic evidence. Please share you views on this.
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When you refer to a lot of evidence, to what extent your preoccupied thoughts influenced it ? In my case, either I get carried away by different theories or I struggle to arrive at a neutral conclusion. I need a few tips regarding it
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