Land System and Rural Society in Early India highlights the growth and changing contours of historiography with regard to the agrarian history early India. As such it incorporates some significant early writings as well as contributions which represent research still very much is 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 volumes in the series Readings in Early Indian History relate to trade, traders and networks of trade, urbanization, religion, technology and society, and women and the state in early India.