How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Ordinary people could not leave behind any historical evidence about their life. Hence, the historians use a variety of sources to reconstruct the lives of the common people during the ancient times. The important sources are:
1.Remains of houses and pottery give an idea of the life of common men.
2.Some inscriptions and scriptures talk about the relation between monarchs and the subject. It talks about taxes and happiness and unhappiness of the common men.
3.Changing tools of craftsmen and farmers talk about the lifestyle of the people.
4.Historians also depend upon folklores to reconstruct the lives of the people during the ancient times.
Discuss the main features of the Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?
Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (source 8). Do you notice any similarities and differences?
Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?
To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?
This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: "There is no aspect of life, culture, activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions."Discuss.
Discuss the main features of the Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?