Ancient Indian social history : some interpretations / by Romila Thapar

Includes index.

Interpretations of ancient Indian history -- Society and law in the Hindus and Buddhist traditions -- Ethics, religion and social protest in the first millennium B.C. in northern India -- Renunciation: the making of a counter-culture? -- Dana and Daksina as forms of exchange -- Social mobility in ancient India with special reference to elite groups -- The image of the barbarian in early India -- The historian and archaeological data -- The study of society in ancient India -- Puranic lineages and archaeological cultures -- The tradition of historical writing in early India -- Origin myths and the early Indian historical tradition -- Genealogy as a source of social history -- The scope and significance of regional history -- Great eastern trade: other times, other places (Maritime trade in the first millennium A.D.) -- The museum and history -- The future of the Indian past -- Recognizing historical traditions in early India