Money

The fundamental function of money in an economic system is to facilitate the exchange of goods and services & to lessen the time and effort required to carry out trade.

Primitive trade was carried out by Barter Sustem and it is seen in some places even today. Pure barter is so wasteful of time and effort that little trade would be feasible if if this is the only available method of exchange. There are various disadvantages in barter system, to name a few,

• The lack of any common unit in terms of which to measure and state the values of goods and services.


• The lack of a double coincidence of wants, which means that to trade in a barter system A should have a good which is wanted by B and also A should want the good which is with B.


• The lack of any satisfactory unit in terms of which one can write contracts requiring future payments.


• The lack of any method of storing generalised purchasing power. The stored commodity may deteriorate in value or it's storage may be difficult.

FUNCTIONS OF MONEY

Money serves two Specific functions and two derivative functions.

Specific functions : 1. a unit of value 2. a medium of exchange
Derivative functions: 1. a standard of deferred payments 2. a store of value


MONEY AS A UNIT OF VALUE :

Money serves as a unit in terms of which the value of all goods anf services can be measured and expressed. This simplifies accounting. Assests, liabilities, income and expenditure of all kinds can be stated in terms of money.

MONEY AS A MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE :

All goods and services are traded with other goods and services with money acting as the intermediary. This reminds us of the primitive barter syste, the only modification being the addition of money as the intermediary. This gives the bearer a great advantage of choosing on which goods and services to spend his money.

MONEY AS A STANDARD OF DEFERRED PAYMENT:

Modern economic systems require the existence of a large volume of contracts for the payment of principle and interests on debts in which future payments are calculated and stated in monetary units.

MONEY AS A STORE OF VALUE :

Money is a good store of value which overcomes all the disadvantages that are faced in barter.

Money also serves an important function in the modern system of production. The organiser of a business or a firm uses money for the purchase of raw materials and to pay wages to the workers. Money is his working capital. Without money the modern methods of production cannot be carried out.

Prehistory of India

Prehistoric Age is that phase in the development of mankind when man had not started keeping written records while Protohistoric Age is that phase in the development of mankind of which we get written records but are undeciphered.

Prehistory:

1. Paleolithic Age
2. Mesolithic Age
3. Neolithic Age
4. Chalcolithic Age

The earliest traces of human existence in India, so far discovered, goes back to the second interglacial period between 4,00,000 BC and 2,00,000 BC. Homo sapiens first appeared around 36,000 BC.

ANCIENT INDIAN CIVILIZATION:

Early man lived in India 5,00,000 years ago.

PALEOLITHIC PERIOD (3,40,000 BC- 30,000 BC):
Stone tool which was mainly used is Hand Axe. Main stone used is Quartz. Hence, Paleolithic culture is also called Quartzite Culture. Paleolithic Period can be divided into 3 phases,
1. Lower Paleolithic (3,40,000 BC- 2,20,000 BC) - Homonid sp.
2. Middle Paleolithic ( 2,20,000 BC- 1,20,000 BC) - Homo eructus.
3. Upper Paleolithic (1,20,000 BC - 30,000 BC) - Homo sapien.

Lower Paleolithic Habitations: The earliest habitation in South Asia is Himalayan Area, around 3,00,00 and 1,20,000 years ago. Soan Valley in West Pakistan ( Soan is a tributory of Indus). Flake industry found here is called Late Soan. The first hand axe industry was located at Attirampakam, near Chennai. Paintings of the Paleolithic Period can be seen in Bhimbetka Hills in Madhya Pradesh ans Belan Valley in Uttar Pradesh and Borra Caves in Andhra Pradesh. Flint was commonly used as it is hard but flakes easily.


Middle Paleolithic Habitations: Marked regional variations in the fleke industry.Navasa in Maharashtra. Types of tools - Points, Borers, Scrapers and nodules. These tools were mainly made from chert and Jasper. Chert and Jasper are selicious rocks.

Upper Paleolithic Period: Blade and Burin Industry is typical of this period. Widely distributed in A.P., Karnataka, M.P., Maharashtra. Other tools - Scrapers, Points, Borers, Bored Stones - made of Quartzite or Siliceous rock. For the first time tools made of Bone appeared in India. For the first time, the earliest recognisable art and ornamentation appeared. Rock paintings of Bhimbetka caves, Adamgarh Hill and bone figurine found in Belan Valley are a few examples.

MESOLITHIC PERIOD (30,000 BC- 10,000 BC): Tools are called microliths (2.5cm in length). Tool types - Trapezes, Triangles, Lunates. Man started taming dogs, sheep and goat. Man started settled life during this period.Microliths were discovered at Birbhanpur in Damodar Valley (Bihar), Tirunalvelly district in Tamilnadu, Godavari Valley in A.P.,and Langhnaj in Gujarat. Human skeletons and bones of animals like deers and buffaloes were found at Langhnaj. Bow and arrow are used for the first time. Animal skin is used for clothing.

NEOLITHIC PERIOD (10,000 BC - 4,500 BC):

Man started cultivation of food. Man, thus, became a food producer. Agriculture became the basis for civilization. Zericho Village in Jordan Valley is considered to be the earliest village settlement with agriculture (7,000 BC). Agriculture first started near Nile river in Egypt. Crops which entered India through Central Asia are Wheat and Barley. Tools - Axes, Adzes, Chisels. Vessels made of wood have been used. Needles, rings and earrings were prepared from bones. Figures of women were made with unburnt clay. Man learnt using wheel and making pottery with it. They knew weaving of cloth. They even knew ship building.

Sites - 1. Brahmagiri 2. Sanganakallu 3. Utnur 4. Tekkalkota 5. Maski

They domesticated sheep and began making garments of wool.
Other Neolithic sites - Burzahom and Gofkral near Kashmir.
Burzahom - Pit dwelling and Double burial system.
Gofkral - No pottery - aceramic Neolithic civilization.
For the first time in the world, pots were made at Chopani Mando in U.P.
For the first time rice was cultivated at Mehargarh (U.P.), Adhampur (U.P.).
Tools made of bones - Chirand (Bihar)
Domestication of animals was absent in Assam.
In south India maximum number of neolithic sites were seen in Karnataka - T.Narsipur, Hosur, Takkalikota, Bhagalkot, Kopparai.
In A.P. - Utnur (Adilabad) and Nagarjunakonda (Guntur).
TamilNadu - Payampalli
In south India ashmounds have been discoveres which are an evidence of the extensive cultivation. South Indians were the first to cultivate rice. In the west - Mehrghar is a neolithic site situated near Baluchistan in Pakistan. The neolithic culture which lasted for the maximum period is Mehrghar. Mehrghar had trsde with Mesapatomian civilization and was thus indirectly responsible for Indus Valley Civilization.
First metal discovered by man was Copper.

COPPER AGE (4,500 BC - 2,500 BC):

Towns and cities started developing. A constitutional systyem has come to being. Script has started. Certain stone tools were used along with metal tools, hence copper age is also called Chalcolithic Age. Indus Valley in India remained as a major center for significant copper age.

Gandhara Art

One of the greatest contributions of Buddhism was the impetus it gave to the development of art & architecture. Two schools of Art known as the Amaravati (in Andhra) and Gandhara ( in North Western India) developed.

The Gandhara region extending from Punjab to the borders of Afghanistan was an important center for Mahayana Buddhism upto 5th Centur AD. A new school of Indian sculpture known as the Gandhara school developed during that period. All kinds of foreign influences like Persian, Greek, Roman, Saka and Kushana were imbibed into it.

The origin of Gandhara art can be traced to the Greek rulers of Bactria and North West India. During the reign of Kanishka, this art recieved great patronage. Buddhist monastries, stupas, images of Buddha and Bodhisatvas were constructed on a large scale. The Gandhara school of Art is also known as the Graeco-Buddhist school of Art since Greek techniques of Art were applied to Buddhist subjects. The art was essentially Indian in spirit but the technique was borrowed from Greek.

The most important contribuion of the Gandhara school of Art was the evolution of an image of Buddha. But the figures of the Buddhist pantheon were modelled on identical charecters Graeco-Roman pantheon. Their dress was also designed in the style of a Roman toga. The sages of the Indian tradition like Yakshas, Garudas, Nagas and Vajrapani were modelled after Atlantes, Zeus, Eros. It is famously said, " the Gandhara artist had the hand of a Greek and the heart of an Indian".


Technique:

Gandhara school had the following outstanding technical charecteristics which distinguished it from other Indian schools.

1. The facial and physiognomical features have striking resemblence with those of Greece and Rome. Wavy hair, transperency of the drapery show unmistakable hellinistic influence.
2. Gandhara Art paid minute attention to moulding human body in a realistic manner, especially the muscles and moustaches.
3. Gandhara sculptures are richly carved with ornaments.

Best specimens of Gandhara art are from Jaulianand Dharmarajika Stupa at Taxila, and Haddar near Jalalabad. Apart from sculpture, Gandhara art is visible in architecture. Ruins of Buddhist structures in the vicinity of Peshawar, Rawalpindi and valley of Swat testify to the excellence of Gandhara architecture. Gandhara architecture continued to flourish even 2 centuries after the Kushan period. In the 4th Century AD, the Chinese pilgrim Fahian noticed a large number of monasteries in Gandhara region.

The barbarious Hunas under the leadership of Mihirgula destroyed nearly 1,600 stupas. After this fatal blow, Gandhara art virtually disappeared.