Land System and Rural Society in Early India highlights the growth and changing contours of historiography with regard to the agrarian history in early India. As such it incorporates some significant early writings as well as contributions which represent research still very much in progress. The patterns of regional socio-economic transformation in the context of wider historical developments come through in many of these essays.

The introduction analyses historiographical trends and focuses on problems and issues, and flowing from it the areas and nature of contro­versies as well as on related themes.

The articles included here deal with aspects of rural settlements, the con­cept of village community, the problem of the ownership of land, agrarian change, the structure of rural society and rural unrest.

The other volume in the series Readings in Early Indian History relates to women in early India.