1.11.1. Cunningham’s confusion

When Cunningham, the first Director-General of the ASI, began archaeological excavations in the mid-nineteenth century, archaeologists preferred to use the written word (texts and inscriptions) as a guide to investigations. In fact, Cunningham’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic (c. sixth century BCE-fourth century CE) and later periods. He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate early settlements. Cunningham also collected, documented and translated inscriptions found during his surveys.

Cunningham was an archaeologist focused on historical texts and inscriptions to guide his explorations. During his excavations in the 1800s, he concentrated more on periods he was familiar with, particularly those after the 6th century BCE, based on accounts from ancient travelers. His work involved translating inscriptions to understand the historical context better. This focus shaped how he approached archaeology, emphasizing written evidence over material culture.

Imagine a researcher trying to write a new history book but only using modern newspapers and avoiding any ancient documents. This is similar to what Cunningham did; he relied heavily on chronicles from Buddhist pilgrims rather than exploring the material evidence that could tell equally important stories about earlier civilizations.

When he excavated sites he tended to recover artefacts that he thought had cultural value. A site like Harappa, which was not part of the itinerary of the Chinese pilgrims and was not known as an Early Historic city, did not fit very neatly within Cunningham’s framework of investigation.

As he dug into archaeological sites, Cunningham often found objects that he believed were culturally significant. However, he encountered a problem with Harappa; because it was not mentioned by the Chinese pilgrims he studied, he considered it irrelevant to his research. This oversight led him to misjudge the significance of the artefacts he found there, resulting in a lack of understanding about their age and meaning.

It's like a chef who only makes recipes from a specific cuisine and ignores other kinds because they aren't in his cookbook. When he finds ingredients for those ignored cuisines, he doesn't recognize their value and discards them, missing out on potentially great dishes.

So, although known Harappan artefacts were found fairly often during the nineteenth century and some of these reached Cunningham, he did not realise how old these were.

Despite some Harappan objects making their way to Cunningham through various means, he overlooked their significance due to his limited historical perspective. He assumed that these artefacts were part of contemporary or later historical periods he was familiar with, rather than recognizing them as remnants of an ancient civilization.

Consider a time traveler who arrives in the future and finds old relics, like an ancient phone or book. If he thinks these items are just outdated versions of technology rather than recognizing them as artifacts from a long-lost civilization, he misses the chance to learn about the history they represent.

A Harappan seal was given to Cunningham by an Englishman. He noted the object, but unsuccessfully tried to place it within the time-frame with which he was familiar. This was because he, like many others, thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley.

When an Englishman handed him a Harappan seal, Cunningham made an attempt to analyze it. Unfortunately, because he believed that Indian history only started with urban centers in the Ganga Valley, he couldn't see this seal as part of an older civilization that predated those cities. His misconceptions limited his understanding of India's ancient history.

It's like someone studying European history and only focusing on the Renaissance onward, arguing there was no significant history before it. This narrow view would cause them to miss out on crucial developments that laid the groundwork for that later era.

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