TRACING VEDIC DIALECTS - People.fas.harvard.edu

It goes without saying that even the following tentative dating, based on
the present knowledge in archeology, has some major consequences for
the interpretation of the Post-Ṛgvedic texts: the various texts receive, for
the first time, a position both in time and space. Future research will
show whether each of the following statements is correct or will have to
be adjusted. However, I have no doubt that the general scheme of text
layers and geographical attributions is correct. The preceding chapters
have shown, time and again, that the spatial and temporal relationships
of the Vedic texts agree with the various sorts of evidence brought into
play. In the following table, this is merely extended to include firm dates
which are based both on the evidence of the material culture mentioned
in the texts and on the geographical distribution of the texts and schools.
In the table, some more details regarding the various Vedic texts and
schools, their formation and relative position, and the relevant layers of
some texts as well as some important historical and cultural data have
been added.
______________________________________________________________
|
Panjab | W E S T | C E N T R E | E A S T
| | & |
| | South |
______________________________________________________________
Late Harappan/ | |
1750- OCP: Ocre coloured pot. | |
| |
and various smaller | | (Neolithic)
cultures (Grey Ware, |1250 Kausambi: |
Gandhāra grave culture, | OCP |
etc.) | |
metals: copper, no iron | |
no rice | |
Ṛgveda | |
composition | |
& first fam. collections | |
| |
immigration to the Panjab, | |
of OIA speakers, | |
in several waves, | |
the latest = Bharata | NB. rice is |
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