GENERAL NOTES ON THE PREHISTORIC POPULATIONS AND CIVILIZATIONS OF THE INDIAN PENINSULA

The civilization of the Indian peninsula comprises multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious features, exhibiting an uninterrupted continuum since the prehistoric times and, thus, demonstrating a remarkable endurance that attracts the interest of scholars world-wide. Accordingly, the present paper briefly comments on the common theories of populating the Indian peninsula, notably considering maritime trading and referring to several sources that also include biblical text in historical context and potential consequences. The focus of these general notes mainly regards some features and origins of the prehistoric civilizations of the region, especially of the Indus valley and its relationships with other contemporary civilizations. Various pieces of evidence are commented from the study fields of linguistics, genetics and archaeology that aim at defining the overall cultural context of the Indus civilization during and after the 3rd millennium BCE.