Question

what are the chief sources of Indian history?

Answer 1

They are :

Inscriptions

Numismatics

Archaeology

Literature

Foreign Sources

Traditions

Answer 2

As a house is constructed bit by bit and brick by brick, the history of a countryand its people is constructed by putting several pieces of evidences together.An honest historian never remains contended unless he has verified the facts he has gleaned from the literary sources, with other hard evidence. And these hard evidences come to him in the form of coins, seals and inscriptions.The coins are the earliest evidence of the economic activity of the human being. When early men started to have surplus produce, the need for exchange was felt. In the primitive society, this exchange was done through barter – commodity for commodity or commodity for service. However, as the social structure grew complex and the needs of the people multiplied, a metallic medium, commonly accepted by all, came into use. These metallic media varied in different societies: if it was Nishka – an ornament in the VedicSociety in India, in China it was an iron knife. Later metallic pieces of definite weight and purity came into use in India. These pieces were stamped with certain symbols, probably to vouch for their weight and fineness. Thus, Punch Marked Coins, the earliest coinage of the world was born in India.