A Peaceful Realm : The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization [Hardcover]

Jane Mcintosh (Author)

Book Description

Series: Peter N. Nevraumont Books | Publication Date: December 24, 2001

Some 5000 years ago, civilized societies emerged in the valleys of four great rivers: the Nile, the Euphrates, the Yellow, and the Indus. Of these primary Old World civilizations, that of the Indus remains the least known and the most enigmatic, though, paradoxically, it has left perhaps the most lasting influence on the societies that followed it. In this lucid account - abundantly illustrated with maps and photographs, including sixteen pages in full color - archaeologist Jane McIntosh addresses what we know about the rise and fall of the civilization of the Indus and Saraswati valleys, what it might be reasonable to speculate, and what we still hope to learn. While drawing on archaeological and linguistic evidence to create a portrait of the civilization from the inside, McIntosh also carefully pieces together a wider picture of the Indus civilization using evidence from its trading partners in Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, and Southwest Asia. The result is an outstandingly vivid recreation of one of the world's great but all-but-lost ancient civilizations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An informed, lucid, and imaginative rendering of one of the major, and least known, ancient civilizations." -- -C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, Stephen Philips Professor of Archaeology, Harvard University

About the Author

Jane McIntoshis a professional writer on prehistory and archaeology. She holds a degree in European prehistory and a Ph.D. in Indian archaeology from Cambridge University. Widely traveled, she has worked on many excavations in Britain and abroad. She now lives in the west of England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (December 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813335329
• ISBN-13: 978-0813335322
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,265,500 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Accurate, comprehensive and accessible description, January 28, 2002

By 

Vishal Agarwal "VishalSAgarwal" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Peaceful Realm : The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization (Hardcover)

I am glad to read this book, which is produced very aesthetically with stunning color and black and white photographs. The book forms a suitable companion to Kenoyer's "Cities of the Indus Civilization". It contains neatly divided sections and chapters on various topics (e.g. Pottery, textiles, metallurgy, town planning). It does not confine itself to just a dry description of artifacts and excavated towns - the discusion is skilfully supplemented by insights from cultural and social anthropology and other tools of theoritical archaeology. The author does a commendable job in showing the survival of the vital traits of the civilization down to our present times in India and Pakistan - whether it is houseplanning, village carts, ladles and coonches for pouring oblations in sacred ritual fire and so on. With the current acedemic climate being vitiated by virtiolic disputes over the nature of this civilization,the author manages to steer clear of the controversies, and manages to give a very consistent, accurate, insightful account that is quite understandable to the lay reader.

The author is a practicing archaeologist, with excavation experience in India and Pakistan. It is hoped that she will continue writing on the Indus Civilization in the years to come.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and "reader friendly" historical study., March 23, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Peaceful Realm : The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization (Hardcover)

A Peaceful Dream: The Rise And Fall Of The Indus Civilization by archaeologist and prehistory expert Jane McIntosh is an amazing account of the second oldest known civilization next to the Mesopotamian Civilization. Little is known for absolute certain, yet much has been unearthed of the Indus Civilization. This informative account is gloriously illustrated with maps and black-and-white photographs, as well as a section of color plates, showing the lost treasures and artifacts of an ancient world. Chapters recount and hypothesize about religion, trade, the enigmatic script and the eternal legacy of the Indus Civilization. A Peaceful Dream is a fascinating and "reader friendly" historical study which is very highly recommended for personal, school, and community library antiquities collections and reading lists.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning depiction and went speechless!!!, April 29, 2006

By 

Moorthy (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Peaceful Realm : The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization (Hardcover)

Wonderful!. Excellent!. It left me stunned with spontaneous tears of joy!!!. I am a Tamil speaking Dravidian and could not differ on her theory of continuity of Indus culture in the present day South India.

For example, Lord Shiva, a Dravidian God, is being worshiped till today. ( Yogi Indus seal in Harappa )
Lord Shiva is also mentioned in our old Tamil epics.

The recent discovery of iron age tools with Indus Script in Nagapattinam, South Tamilnadu has proved beyond doubt that South Indian Dravidian culture is in fact Indus!!!.

She seems to have a deep understanding of our culture. Hats off to her!.