Magadha, although other areas such as Gandhara, Kasi (Varanasi district) and
Kausambi (Allahabad district) also provide indications of the evolution of
monarchical systems.
Archaeological sources The Neolithic settlements point to an earlier
population, prior even to the arrival of the Black-and-Red Ware people who
probably migrated along the southern route from western and central India.
    Painted Grey Ware occurs at Sarasvati (Seth-Maheth, a part of Kosala in
eastern UP), indicating links with the western Ganga valley, along the
northern route as well as at Kausambi and the Ganga Yamuna confluence,
indicating settlement along the Vindhyan outcrops.
    The main culture prior to urbanisation is that of the Black-and-Red Ware
pottery, the sites of which seem to follow the route of migration, towards the
south and then spread northwards into the middle Ganga valley. They are
located along rivers and more frequently near inter-fluvial confluences which
were optimum catchment areas.
    The pottery ranges from crude to refined. If it could be related to Black-
and-Red Ware from other areas then its provenance would be western India
with an extension eastwards, south of the Yamuna and through central India.
Its occurrence in the middle Ganga valley would be later in time and dates to
the first half of the first millennium BC.
    That it is a precondition to urbanisation is sug-gested by the fact that it
registers a demographic increase, shows an acquaintance with iron
technology in its late phases and provides evidence of early rice cultivation.
    If ceramic industries can be taken as an indication of cultural variation
then the Black-and-Red Ware people were culturally different, although not
entirely unrelated to those who dominated the western Ganga valley.
    The Northern Black Polished Ware dating to about the sixth century BC
marks a qualitative change. Its provenance is associated with the areas on
both sides of the Ganga between Varanasi and Patna, which was also an area
of concentration for the preceding Black-and-Red Ware culture. Northern
Black Polished Ware is indicative of a more complex and sophisticated
culture with some characteristics of urban living, as the important sites are
located at places which, from the literary sources, are known to have been
urban centres.