Series I - India Before Common Era (Before 684 B.C. Magadha Formation)

Vedic Period

The Vedic period (or Vedic Age) is the period in the history of India when the sacred Vedic Sanskrit texts such as the Vedas were composed. The associated culture, sometimes referred to as Vedic civilization, was centered on the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This civilization is the foundation of Hinduism and the associated Indian culture that is known today.

Indus Valley Civilization 3300–1700 BCE

5500-3300	Mehrgarh II-VI (Pottery Neolithic)	Regionalisation Era
3300-2600	Early Harappan (Early Bronze Age)
3300-2800	Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase)
2800-2600	Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII)
2600-1900	Mature Harappan (Middle Bronze Age)	Integration Era
2600-2450	Harappan 3A (Nausharo II)
2450-2200	Harappan 3B
2200-1900	Harappan 3C
1900-1300	Late Harappan (Cemetery H, Late Bronze Age)	Localisation Era
1900-1700	Harappan 4
1700-1300	Harappan 5

Late Harappan Culture 1700–1300 BCE

Iron Age Kingdoms · 1200–700 BCE
The classical "Golden Age" of ancient India spans the 1st millennia BCE and CE. Historical kingdoms arose from ca. 700 BCE with the Mahajanapadas. Glimpses of prehistoric political entities may be glimpsed from the early Vedic texts, in particular the Rigveda (dated to from around 1500 BC).

Maha Janapadas 700–300 BCE
The Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations (Solasa Mahajanapadas) which were in existence before the time of Buddha. The Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya, at several places, gives a list of sixteen nations:

1. Kasi
2. Kosala
3. Anga
4. Magadha
5. Vajji (or Vriji)
6. Malla
7. Chedi
8. Vatsa (or Vamsa)
9. Kuru
10. Panchala
11. Machcha (or Matsya)
12. Surasena
13. Assaka
14. Avanti
15. Gandhara
16. Kamboja

Just Before the Mauryans (600-300 BC)