3 Review(s)

Until recently the scientific study of the prehistoric peoples of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the South Asian borderlands has been neglected, beyond some cursory comments in the popular literature about archaeological discoveries. Here is a book that offers much more: a broad survey of all prehistoric cultures of the Indian subcontinent from Paleolithic to Iron Age times. Written in a style accessible to the general reader, the book pioneers a new approach involving the integration of data from archaeological, paleontological, ecological, and anthropological investigations to offer a comprehensive picture of the origins, diversity, and lifeways of southern Asian populations. Complex scientific ideas are clearly and carefully explained in early chapters as the author considers the theories of human origins in Asia and the significance of the fossils of anthropoid apes recovered from the Siwalik hills (the "God-Apes"). Kennedy's careful detailing of the story of human life and his unique theoretical approach combine to offer a broad survey of the prehistoric cultures of the Indian subcontinent from Paleolithic to Iron Age times that should serve as a model for future studies of ancient peoples and places.