Vol. IX, (19I+7) » P- 171; O.H.K. Spate and A.K. Learmonth,
op. cit.
, pp. 177 ff*.What technological changes caused this spurt of agrarian
settlements? And what was the role of iron? The remains of early
historical iron tools do not show any recognizable advance over the
previous period. In fact, the classification used for the PandukaI
phase is quite adequate for this period. We now, however, witness
not only the extensive use of iron but also the coming into being
of sedentary b l a c k s m i t h s a n d their workshops.
From the doubtful existence of the plough in the earlier
period, we now have definite inscriptional evidence. The term
'hala'
commonly used in the epigraphs of the Iksvakus, literally(84
means a plough. It could have also been used as a unit of land
measure. In spite of the polysemic nature of the word, we can
safely infer from its usage in the epigraphs that ploughs were
(
85definitely known and that one way of measuring land was in terms
of the plough. A contemporary inscription refers to a donation by (86
a
halika
or the wife of one who owns a plough. This descriptionof the donatrix who from the nature of the donative epigraph appears
to have been wealthy, can tentatively be interpreted in terms of the
prestige associated with being the owner of a plough. In the case
of the plough being a status marker, it is only natural to infer that they
were not yet widespread. Associated with the donation of hundreds
82 Ch. Ill, pp. 62-63.
83 For instance at Peddabankur in Karimnagar district, I.A.A.R., 1971-72, p. 3; 197^-75, p. 5.
8U For the different meanings, see D.C. Sircar,
Indian Epigraphical
Glossary,
Delhi, 1966, p. 125.85 Frontispiece to the Chapter; the epithet is invariably used to describe the first of the Iksvaku kings, Chamtamula in various inscriptions from Nagarjunakonda, J. Ph. Vogel,
E.I.
Vol. XX, pp. 15ff andE.I.,
Vol. XXI, pp. 62 ff; D.C. Sircar,E.I.,
Vol.
XXXV,
pp. 3ff.86 R.P. Chanda,
E.I.
, Vol. XV, No. 56. Ahalika. Badha
is mentioned in the Bhaja cave inscriptions of Maharashtra,Archaeological
Survey of Western India,
Vol. IV, p. 83.33
of thousands of
halas
is also the donations of hundreds of thousandsof cattle. Although the numbers are conventional, we can at least
infer that cattle so crucial to agriculture in India, were also
donated.
The significance of the use of the plough has been
(87
emphasized by a number of historians of early India. From a
present-day analogy, it appears that plough cultivation and rice
cultivation are synonymous in India. But in the intensive
cultivation of paddy tracts the plough is not indispensable. Even
to this day, in certain parts of Sri Lanka, intensive hoe-farming is
(88
carried out effectively. As mentioned before, during the Edo
period in Japan we have an excellent example of intensive hoe- (89
farming of rice. What is interesting is that during this
period there was a switch from plough cultivation 'back
1
to hoe cultivation. This change had strong ideological reasons behind(90
it. So the question of change in the present context is not
purely technological but also a new social arrangement.
A necessary strategy for the intensification and extension
of agriculture was irrigation. While the beginnings had already
been made in the previous centuries, irrigation acquired greater
importance in this period. The control and utilization of water
was imperative, especially for paddy. There is evidence for
87 A.L. Basham,
The Wonder that was India
, London, 1967, p. 196; R.S. Sharma, 'Material M i lieu.... ',op. cit
.; R. Thapar,Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations,
New Delhi,1978, pp. h
0
-62
.88 Professor B.L.C. Johnson, A.N.U. (personal communication) 89 Hisashi Ho r i o ,
op. cit.,
pp. 169-85.90 Moriaki A r a g i ,
Bakuhan taisei shakai no seiritsu to kozo,
3h
artificial irrigation of three types: storage irrigation with
its origins in the exploitation of the catchment areas in the
relief; the use of gravity flow for canals or inundation; and
the excavation of wells.
The earliest evidence for irrigation skills in South India
occurs in Andhra Pradesh.( 9 1 To what extent this knowledge had
been borrowed from the Gangetic basin is difficult to ascertain.
There is evidence for advanced engineering skills in the preceding
centuries, both in North India and in the neighbouring region of
given the stimulus, it is not surprising that the Dharanikota settle
ment which had definite trade and political links with the Gangetic
basin, should yield the earliest evidence for such skills.
same site excavations have exposed the remains of a navigational
channel constructed in various stages. Although it was used for
navigational purposes, the skills required to construct it may very
91 For the importance of irrigation in early historical South India, see V. Venkayya, ’Irrigation in Southern India in