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The history of science and technology in the Indian Subcontinent begins with prehistoric human activity the Indus Valley Civilization to early states and empires.〔(Distribution of Acheulian sites in the Siwalik region )〕 Following independence science and technology in the Republic of India has included automobile engineering, information technology, communications as well as space, polar, and nuclear sciences. ==Prehistory== By 5500 BCE a number of sites similar to Mehrgarh had appeared, forming the basis of later chalcolithic cultures.〔 The inhabitants of these sites maintained trading relations with Near East and Central Asia.〔Kenoyer, 230〕 This was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization by around 4500 BCE.〔 The size and prosperity of the Indus civilization grew as a result of this innovation, which eventually led to more planned settlements making use of drainage and sewerage.〔Rodda & Ubertini, 279〕 Sophisticated irrigation and water storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization, including artificial reservoirs at Girnar dated to 3000 BCE, and an early canal irrigation system from c. 2600 BCE.〔Rodda & Ubertini, 161〕 Cotton was cultivated in the region by the 5th–4th millennia BCE.〔Stein, 47〕 Sugarcane was originally from tropical South and Southeast Asia.〔 Different species likely originated in different locations with ''S. barberi'' originating in India, and ''S. edule'' and ''S. officinarum'' coming from New Guinea.〔Sharpe (1998)〕 The inhabitants of the Indus valley developed a system of standardization, using weights and measures, evident by the excavations made at the Indus valley sites.〔Baber, 23〕 This technical standardization enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction.〔 Calibration was also found in measuring devices along with multiple subdivisions in case of some devices.〔 One of the earliest known docks is at Lothal (2400 BCE), located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt.〔 Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.〔Rao, 27–28〕 Excavations at Balakot (c. 2500–1900 BCE), present day Pakistan, have yielded evidence of an early furnace.〔 The furnace was most likely used for the manufacturing of ceramic objects.〔Dales, 3–22 ()〕 Ovens, dating back to the civilization's mature phase (c. 2500–1900 BCE), were also excavated at Balakot.〔 The Kalibangan archeological site further yields evidence of potshaped hearths, which at one site have been found both on ground and underground.〔Baber, 20〕 Kilns with fire and kiln chambers have also been found at the Kalibangan site.〔 Based on archaeological and textual evidence, Joseph E. Schwartzberg (2008)—a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of geography—traces the origins of Indian cartography to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2500–1900 BCE).〔 The use of large scale constructional plans, cosmological drawings, and cartographic material was known in India with some regularity since the Vedic period (2nd - 1st millennium BCE).〔"We now believe that some form of mapping was practiced in what is now India as early as the Mesolithic period, that surveying dates as far back as the Indus Civilization (ca. 2500–1900 BCE), and that the construction of large-scale plans, cosmographic maps, and other cartographic works has occurred continuously at least since the late Vedic age (first millennium BCE)" — ''Joseph E. Schwartzberg, 1301''.〕 Climatic conditions were responsible for the destruction of most of the evidence, however, a number of excavated surveying instruments and measuring rods have yielded convincing evidence of early cartographic activity.〔Schwartzberg, 1301-1302〕 Schwartzberg (2008)—on the subject of surviving maps—further holds that: 'Though not numerous, a number of map-like graffiti appear among the thousands of Stone Age Indian cave paintings; and at least one complex Mesolithic diagram is believed to be a representation of the cosmos.'〔Schwartzberg, 1301〕 Archeological evidence of an animal-drawn plough dates back to 2500 BCE in the Indus Valley Civilization.〔Lal (2001)〕 The earliest available swords of copper discovered from the Harappan sites date back to 2300 BCE.〔 Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges–Jamuna Doab region of India, consisting of bronze but more commonly copper.〔Allchin, 111-112〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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