POINTS TO REMEMBER

. Charcoal, because of its high content of carbon, is the
most common material utilised for radiocarbon dating.
. The study of coins is called numismatics.
. Ancient coins were made of copper, silver, gold or lead. . The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins. . Most of the Mauryan, post-Mauryan and Gupta inscrip­
tions have been published in a series of collections called Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum.
. The earliest inscriptions are found on the seals of Harappa belonging to about 2500 BC, but the earliest inscriptions deciphered so far were issued by Asoka.
. Firuz Shah Tughlaq found Asokan inscription in Meerut
and Topra (Haryana).
. Mahabharata possibly reflects the state of affairs from the
tenth century BC to the fourth century AD.
. Kautilya's Arthashastra is divided into 15 books. It
provides rich material for the study of ancient Indian
polity and economy.
. The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (in Greek), by an unknown author, Ptolemy's Geography (in Greek) and Pliny's Naturalis Historical (in Latin) provide valuable data for the study of ancient geography and commerce.
. Manusmriti was translated into English and was called 'A Code of Gentoo Law'. Williams Jones translated Abhijnanasha-kuntalam into English in 1789. Wilkins trans­lated the Bhagavad Gita into English in 1785.

F. Max Mueller, a German scholar, provided the greatest
push to Indological studies.
. History of the Dhilrmasastra was written by Pandurang
Varman Kane.
. AI-Beruni's Kitab-ul-Hind is considered the finest foreign
account of medieval India.
. Minhaj-us-Siraj's Tabaqat-i-Nasiri gives useful informa­
tion regarding the slave dynasty of Delhi, while Zia-ud­din Barani's Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi gives the history of the first six years of Firuz Shah Tughlaq's reign.
. The reigns of Bengal Sultans, especially of the 14th to 16th centuries, have been explained solely on the basis of epigraphic sources (inscriptions).

­