Source: Itihas Darpan, Vol. XVIII(2) pp. 233-266, Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, New Delhi
This is Prof. Verma's latest research in India's Puranic history and civilization. This is an article with illustrations and in two parts.
Summary
In this study on the river Sarasvati and its civilization we have discerned two distinct phases of Hindu civilization: 1) the Harappa/Sarasvati civilization phase and, 2) the Ganga civilization phase. Both have clear cut geographical limits as well as distinct archaeological features. While geographically the Harappa/Sarasvati civilization was conined to the north-western part of the subcontinent the Ganga civilization was spread all over it. Archaeological nature of the two are also diferent When viwed in the light of literature, Vedic, Puranic and the epic Mahabharata, chronology of both phases goes much deep in antiquity than speculated by the Western historians. Here the science of geology comes to our aid which, combined with literature, reveals that at the time of Harappa phase the Ganga valley was a sea and the peninsula also was not populated. The valley of Sarasvati was the epicenter of the civilization that is attested by numerous sites along the palaeochannels of its tributaries. The civilization was extended up to Shortughai in northern Afghanistan. The third geological factor that influenced the civilization in its making and vanishing was the presence of the Sea that later converted into the great Indian desert of Thar in Rajasthan. We have analysed its role in the history of Sarasvati civilization. The Ganga civilization is an extension of it.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/179165096/Sarasvati-the-civilization-and-the-river-TP-Verma-2013