Beginning of Agriculture in Neolithic and Chalcolithic | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Neolithic Revolution: Transition to Food Production

The Neolithic Age, succeeding the Mesolithic period, marked a pivotal shift in human history with the advent of food production. This era was characterized by the transition from a reliance on natural resources for survival to the deliberate cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals.

Key Developments in the Neolithic Age:

• Food Production: Communities began cultivating cereals such as barley, wheat, and rice, and domesticating animals for milk, meat, and labor.
• Neolithic Tools: The era is distinguished by the emergence of new stone tools, known as Neolithic tools, which were ground, pecked, and polished. These tools were closely linked to changes in subsistence strategies.
• Domestication: The domestication of plants and animals became a defining feature of Neolithic culture, leading to technological advancements, increased food availability, population growth, and the establishment of larger, more complex settlements.
• Sedentary Living: With the shift to food production, communities became more sedentary, leading to the development of small, self-sufficient villages.
• Pottery and Division of Labor: The invention of pottery and a division of labor based on sex were also notable features of this period.

Historical Perspectives:

• The term "Neolithic" was introduced by Sir John Lubbock to describe the period characterized by more skillfully made and varied stone implements.
• V. Gordon Childe defined the Neolithic-Chalcolithic culture as a self-sufficient food-producing economy and coined the term "Neolithic Revolution" to emphasize the significance of these changes.
• Miles Burkitt highlighted key traits of Neolithic culture, including agriculture, animal domestication, stone tool production, and pottery manufacture.

Impact of Domestication

• The domestication of plants and animals led to the rise of village communities, the beginnings of agricultural technology, and greater control over natural resources.
• The Neolithic period is marked by the assurance of food supply through the cultivation of cereals and domestication of animals, alongside the hallmark of ground stone tools.

The Neolithic Revolution thus represents a fundamental transformation in human society, laying the groundwork for more complex social structures and the eventual rise of civilizations.

Onset of Agriculture in India

For a long time, it was believed that India borrowed the concept of food production from Mesopotamia, its western neighbor, through the Iranian plateau. However, modern research has challenged this view, suggesting that agriculture in India was an independent and indigenous development rather than an import.
Evidence supports this for three main staples:

• The discovery of wheat and barley in Mehrgarh (present-day Pakistan), which were grown around the same time as in the Fertile Crescent, indicates that these crops were not diffused into India.
• The discovery of rice from Koldihwa in Uttar Pradesh and millet from sites in South India raises questions about the diffusion of these crops from South China and Africa, respectively.

The onset of food production in India occurred over several millennia, from the 8th millennium BC to 1000 BC. The question remains: what drove humans in diverse regions to adopt agriculture and animal domestication?

V. Gordon Childe

• V. Gordon Childe proposed that environmental changes at the end of the Pleistocene spurred the shift to food production.
• He believed that around 10,000 years ago, West Asia’s climate became drier due to a northward shift in summer rains. This desiccation forced people, plants, and animals to cluster around water sources, fostering new dependencies that led to domestication.

Robert J. Braidwood

• Robert J. Braidwood challenged Childe’s emphasis on environmental change, arguing that domestication occurred in specific nuclear zones with diverse wild plants and animals suitable for domestication.
• He contended that these zones naturally led to domestication through human experimentation and increased familiarity with the environment.

Lewis R. Binford

• Lewis R. Binford dismissed Braidwood’s theory as untestable archaeologically.
• He argued that a stable balance between population and food resources is maintained in constant environments, with stress from environmental change or population growth disrupting this balance.
• Binford identified internal demographic stress (population increase) and external demographic stress (immigration) as factors upsetting the balance.
• He emphasized external demographic stress, suggesting that post-Pleistocene sea-level rise forced coastal populations inland, disrupting the people-food equilibrium and prompting the search for new food strategies.
• Critics noted the lack of evidence for such migrations and questioned the concepts of 'overpopulation' and 'food crisis' in times of small communities with abundant resources.

Kent Flannery

• Kent Flannery shifted the focus from the causes of food production to the process itself and the advantages of plant and animal domestication over foraging.
• He distinguished between negative feedback (balanced exploitation) and positive feedback (increased productivity through human interference) food procurement systems.
• Flannery argued that once people recognized the increased productivity from domestication, they shifted towards it, explaining the preference for agriculture over gathering.
• However, this does not clarify why initial experiments in domestication began.

Recent Studies

• Recent studies suggest that environmental change, specifically a warmer and wetter Holocene climate, may have expanded the habitat for wild cereals suitable for domestication.
• It is proposed that rather than an environmental crisis, environmental amelioration facilitated the beginnings of domestication.

Animal Domestication

• When wild animals or plants are domesticated over long periods of time, certain morphological changes tend to take place.
• In the case of animals, early domesticates tend to be smaller than their wild counterparts.
• There are changes in dental structure—teeth become smaller, some teeth may disappear. Horns tend to reduce in size.
• Domesticated cattle have weak muscle ridges while in the case of draught animals there is a strengthening of certain muscles.
• Domestication also leads to a shortening of the animal’s hair.
• This makes it possible for scientists to study the animal bones and teeth found at an archaeological site and to identify not only the animal they represent, but also whether this animal was wild or domesticated.

Other ways of inferring animal domestication

• Animals found outside their natural habitat suggest domestication.
• Age and sex ratios can also provide clues. In the wild, the male–female proportion among animals is 1:1. However, when they are bred, males are killed quite young and females are killed in old age.

Plant Domestication

• Wild and domesticated plant grains and seeds can also be differentiated.
• Under conditions of domestication, over a long period of time, plants undergo certain morphological changes.
• For example, the grains of wild wheat and barley are larger than those of domesticated varieties.
• Even an analysis of impressions of grain or husk on lumps of clay or pottery can help identify domestication.
• Certain kinds of artefacts and tools such as grinding stones and sickles are sometimes taken as indicative of plant domestication.

The Transition to Food Production in the Indian Subcontinent

• The Neolithic age is generally associated with food production, pottery, and sedentary living.
• In the Indian subcontinent, the roots of some of the features associated with the Neolithic can be traced to the Mesolithic phase.
• There were references to the evidence of pottery and animal domestication at certain Mesolithic sites.
• On the other hand, there are some Neolithic sites without pottery.
• Some Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities led a fairly sedentary life.
• And there were some communities practicing animal and/or plant domestication who did not live for very long in the same place.
• The beginnings of animal and plant domestication did not mean the end of the hunting-gathering way of life.
• Communities that practiced animal rearing and agriculture usually continued to hunt and forage for food.
• Moreover, there were numerous communities who retained their hunting-gathering way of life and never switched over to domestication at all.
• The history of early food-producing settlements in the subcontinent consists of different regional profiles and trajectories.
• In certain regions (e.g., the northern fringes of the Vindhyas), the food-producing Neolithic culture emerged out of an earlier Mesolithic phase.
• In other areas (such as the north-west), there is no Mesolithic phase and the earliest settlements seem to belong to Neolithic agriculturists and pastoralists.
• While there are some ‘pure Neolithic sites, there are many Neolithic–Chalcolithic cultures which have elements of the Neolithic along with the use of metal (mainly copper).
• In still other parts of the subcontinent (such as Rajasthan), there is so far little evidence of a Neolithic or even Neolithic–Chalcolithic stage, and the earliest sedentary communities appear in a full-fledged Chalcolithic context.

Neolithic Cultures in Different Geographical Regions

North-Western Region

• Time Period: 7th to mid-4th millennium BC
• Location: Including Afghanistan and Western Pakistan, particularly the Kachi plains in Baluchistan.

Northern Region

• Time Period: 2500-1500 BC
• Location: Covers the Kashmir Valley.

Central India

• Time Period: 4000 BC-1200 BC
• Location: Covers the Vindhyan outcrops in the districts of Allahabad, Mirzapur, Reva, and Sidhi, particularly the Belan Valley.

Mid-Ganga Valley Region

• Time Period: 2000 BC–1500 BC
• Location: Eastern U.P. and Bihar.

Eastern Region

• Time Period: Not specified
• Location: Covers Chhota Nagpur plateau with extensions in Orissa and West Bengal.

Northeastern Region

• Time Period: Not specified
• Location: Covers Assam and adjacent sub-Himalayan region.

Southern Region

• Time Period: 2500 BC–1500 BC
• Location: Covers Peninsular India.

It is important to note that the Neolithic phase in India did not develop everywhere at the same time, nor did it end simultaneously. In fact, there were many Neolithic cultures coexisting with the copper-using, urban Harappan Civilization (2600-1900 BC). These cultures, besides having different time frames, exhibit some regional variations too.

• In the northeast region, Neolithic tools have been found, but there is no evidence so far of plant cultivation.
• While most of the Neolithic cultures evolved out of the preceding Mesolithic cultures, no such evidence is reported from the Kashmir Valley.
• Bone tools have only been recovered from sites in Kashmir and from Chirand in Bihar.
• In terms of cereal consumption, while wheat and barley predominate in Mehrgarh in Pakistan, it is rice from Central India and millet and ragi cultivation from the South Indian Neolithic sites.

Early Farmers (Neolithic Culture) of North-Western Region

In the North-Western region, which includes present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, we find the earliest evidence of wheat and barley cultivation around 7000–3000 BCE. By about 7000 B.C., sheep and goats were domesticated in Afghanistan. The subsistence pattern of the Neolithic period is characterized by a mixed economy based on early farming and domestication of animals, supplemented by hunting.

• Habitation: The inhabitants lived in rectangular houses made of mud-bricks. Some of the structures were divided into small square compartments and used for storage.
• Tools: The tool kit included one stone axe, five stone adzes, twenty-five grinding stones, and sixteen mulers, supplemented by abundant microliths of typical blade industry. Some of the blades show sheen, characteristic of flint used to cut grains.
• The beginning of agriculture and domestication of animals in Baluchistan (in Pakistan) is attested by archaeological excavations. The Kachi plains in Baluchistan have several advantages that contributed to the appearance of an early farming economy in the region. Located between the barren ranges of Baluchistan, the small valleys consisting of fertile alluvium brought by the streams from the hills and perennial river systems make irrigation easy on stretches of land with vegetation.
• It is in this ecological setting that the ancient site of Mehrgarh is located. Mehrgarh is situated in the Bolan valley, near the point where the river emerges from the hills through the Bolan pass. The Bolan valley was an important link between the Indus plains and the mountainous valleys of north Baluchistan, facilitating movement of people and animals from very early times.
• The oldest and best-documented evidence of change from a semi-nomadic pastoral life towards settled agriculture comes from Mehrgarh. Excavations at the site have revealed a long cultural history for the region, ranging from the pre-pottery Neolithic to the mature Harappan Period.

Pottery:

• Period I was a-ceramic.
• Small amounts of handmade pottery occurred in the early part of Period II, and wheel-made pottery appeared in the later part of Period II.
• The pottery of Period IV included polychrome wares.

Agriculture: The cereals cultivated here included two varieties of barley and three varieties of wheat. Charred seeds of plum and date were also found from the very beginning of the settlement. In Period II at Mehrgarh, the cultivation of cotton and grape is attested in addition to the cultivation of wheat and barley. It is likely that the Harappans inherited the knowledge of wheat, barley, and cotton cultivation from their early ancestors at Mehrgarh.

Animal: Neolithic Mehrgarh provides clear evidence of the transition from hunting to animal domestication. Period I yielded bones of wild animals like gazelles, swamp deer, antelopes, sheep, goats, and cattle. However, the later phase of the Neolithic deposits yielded bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats, alongside bones of wild gazelles, pigs, and onagers. Cattle were the most important domesticated animal. In Period III, while cattle still dominated, there was an increase in the proportion of sheep and goat bones.

Dental Health: A low rate of dental cavities in the early levels, possibly due to the high fluoride levels in the drinking water available in the area. Other features of the teeth suggest that people had a coarse diet. Dental health declined in Period III, possibly due to changes in food habits, such as the consumption of more refined foods.

Habitation: The people of Period I lived in houses made of handmade mud-bricks with small, rectangular rooms. One of the rooms had reed impressions on the floor and a grinding stone. The bricks used for house walls were of a standardized size. Some of the structures divided into small units may have been granaries. The size of the settlement increased during Period II, with several mud-brick structures divided into small cell-like compartments. Some of these may have been houses, while others may have been used for storage.

Tools: The stone tools of Period I included microliths, most of them based on blades. A few ground Neolithic handaxes were also found. Some of the blades were set into wooden handles with a layer of bitumen and may have been used as sickles to harvest grain. Grinding stones indicate food processing. Bone tools, including needles and awls, were also found, along with a handmade clay female figurine.

Burials: The people of Period I buried their dead in the open spaces between their houses. The bodies were placed in oval pits in a bent position. The bones were often covered with red ochre, suggesting some sort of fertility beliefs. In two burials, goats had been placed near the feet of the body. Grave goods included baskets and food offerings, and ornaments such as necklaces made of stone or shell beads, bone pendants, and anklets. Copper beads were found in one of the burials. The presence of turquoise and lapis lazuli beads also suggests long-distance exchange. The presence of such items in the graves indicates that the people of Mehrgarh were engaged in some amount of long-distance exchange.

In later Periods, the burials were more elaborate than before. There are instances of double burials and secondary burials. In Period III, a large cemetery shows changes in burial practices. There was one collective burial with two wheel-made painted pots as grave goods. In another burial, a copper or bronze seal was found. Ornaments, mostly made of steatite micro-beads, occurred frequently among the grave goods.

Craft (in Period III): There is evidence of a significant increase in craft activities, including large-scale production of wheel-made pottery with painted decorations, marked by innovations and refinement in pottery-making techniques. A pottery-manufacturing area was found. The frequent occurrence of ornaments such as necklaces and bracelets made out of steatite beads indicates that bead making was another important craft. There were also beads of semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, turquoise, and agate, as well as terracotta and shell. There were a few terracotta humped bulls. Terracotta crucibles with traces of copper suggest the beginning of metallurgy.

Period IV: A further expansion of the settlement, diversification of agriculture and crafts, and more and better-decorated pottery. A new style of terracotta female figurines which may have had a cultic significance.

The idea that farming and domestication of animals spread from West Asia to the direction of the Indian subcontinent may thus have to be given up in light of the evidence provided by Mehrgarh.

Sites in Quetta Valley:Kili Gul Mohammad and Damb Sadaat are two significant excavated sites in the Quetta Valley.

Kili Gul Mohammad:

• First three levels of occupation ascribed to the Neolithic period.
• Located on the banks of the Hannah river.
• Beginning as an aceramic site around 5500 BC.
• Bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, goat, and ass/horse were found.
• No cereals, but two sickle blades were discovered.
• Inhabitants lived in wattle-and-daub and/or mud houses. Remains of mud-brick houses have been found.
• The artefacts included microliths and blades of chert, jasper, and chalcedony. There were a few ground tools and bone points.
• The transition from Period II to Period III can be discerned from the evolution of a crude, handmade and basket-marked pottery to a fine wheel-made black-on-red ware with simple geometric designs.
• The first copper objects made their appearance in Period III.

Mundigak:

• Located on a now-dry tributary of the Arghandab river in south-east Afghanistan.
• Dates for Period I within c. 4000–3500 BCE.
• Early settlers were semi-nomadic, as no structures were found.
• In later phase of Period I, there were larger houses made of sun-dried bricks.
• Cooking hearths were initially situated outside the houses.
• There were wells in between the houses.
• Pottery was mostly wheel-made.
• Tools and artefacts included bone awls, alabaster vases, stone blades, and beads made of stone, lapis lazuli. The few copper objects and a terracotta figurine of a humped bull were found in Period I.
• Period II at Mundigak gave evidence of plant remains—wheat and ber, and there were bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats.

Sur Jangal, Dabar Kot, and Rana Ghundai:

• Three important sites in the Anambar valley.
• Periods I-III belong to the Neolithic phase and lasted from 4500 to 3100 BC.
• Period I (c. 4500–4300 BCE): settlement of a semi-nomadic community. Almost all the pottery was handmade and plain. There were bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, and goat. Microlithic blades, bone points, and needles were other artefacts found in Period I.
• In Period II, pottery was wheel-made, with a buff to red surface. Decorations included friezes of stylized humped bulls, and in one instance, blackbuck, all painted in black. The main pottery forms were bowls or cups.

Neolithic Sites in the Valley of the Gomal River:

Gumla:

• Located in the Gomal valley.
• Period I revealed a small settlement with microliths, bones of domesticated cattle, hearths, and large shallow pits used for cooking/roasting.
• Period II: wide range of painted wheel-made pottery, pots with a rough surface were followed by

The Life of Neolithic People

The Neolithic stage is linked with relatively self-sufficient village communities.
The obtaining and consumption of food is generally a social activity:food items may be part of systems of hospitality, gift giving, trade, and social taboos.

Community Food Preparation and Feasting

• The site of Budihal provides a vivid representation of how communities engaged in food preparation and feasting during the Neolithic period.

Social Organization

• Some Neolithic sites were characterized by small communities with a simple social organization, while others had more complex societal structures.

Variability in Subsistence Patterns

• The details of subsistence patterns varied based on the resource potential of the environment and the community's methods of adaptation to it.

Material Equipment and Craft Traditions

• Differences in material equipment such as tools, pottery, and houses indicate variations in craft traditions and lifestyles.

Burial Practices and Belief Systems

• Burial practices and objects of potential cultic significance reflect diverse belief systems and customs among different communities.

Challenges of Early Farmers

• Life for early farmers was not characterized by comfort and ease.
• Factors such as lack of rain,pests, or disease could lead to poor harvests.
• Mold and rodents could also destroy valuable reserves of stored grain.

Sedentariness and Mobility

• Elements of sedentary living can be observed among certain hunting-gathering groups, while some farmers and pastoralists maintained a migratory lifestyle.

Health and Nutrition

• Studies of nutrition and disease based on human bone analysis suggest that hunter-gatherers had a high-protein diet that was more varied, balanced, and healthy compared to that of early farmers.
• Early farmers tended to have a diet high in carbohydrates, with a focus on cereals or root crops.
• Sedentary populations were also more vulnerable to infectious diseases and epidemics than nomadic groups, leading to a high incidence of disease reflected in the bones of early farming communities.

Demographic Changes

• A sedentary lifestyle and the diet associated with agriculture likely reduced stress on women during pregnancy and provided more stable conditions for mothers and children after childbirth.
• High-carbohydrate diets are linked to decreased birth intervals, contributing to higher birth rates.
• Sedentary living also made life easier for children and the elderly, resulting in reduced death rates and increased life expectancy.
• The transition to food production led to population growth and changes in the age profiles within communities.

New Tools and Planning

• Food production necessitated the development of new tool kits and equipment.
• It also involved shifts in the contributions of men,women,children, and the elderly.

Shift in Food Ethics

• Hunter-gatherers typically collected as much food as they could consume immediately, focusing on short-term needs.
• Farmers, on the other hand, had to produce and store large quantities of food for future use, requiring long-term planning.

Role of Women in Agriculture

• It is believed that women played a crucial role in the early experiments related to plant domestication.
• In hunting-gathering societies, where men primarily hunted and women gathered food, it is likely that women were at the forefront of early agricultural practices.
• Additionally, since pottery was linked to food storage and cooking—tasks generally associated with women—they may have significantly contributed to technical advancements in pottery making.
• Women and childrenmay have been involved in activities such as:
  • Collecting and processing clay
  • Gathering firewood
  • Arranging it in the kiln
  • Decorating pots

Cultural and Economic Developments

• Although the Neolithic stage is often associated with subsistence-level activities, there is evidence of specialized crafts and long-distance exchanges at sites like Mehrgarh.
• Sites such as Kunjhun and Ganeshwar indicate well-developed craft traditions and site specialization.
• Many sites show evidence of designated areas within settlements for different activities like cattle rearing,craft production, and butchering.
• Some Neolithic communities interacted with emerging proto-urban and urban cultures.

Social Differentiation

• As larger groups settled in villages, they had to establish new norms for interaction and cooperation, different from those in hunter-gatherer bands.
• The communities of early farmers and pastoralists were likely differentiated based on age and sex.
• At certain sites, variations in house sizes and the quality and quantity of grave goods suggest the presence of social hierarchies.

Political Organization

• In larger groups, the regulation of economic activities and social relations required some form of effective political control and organization.

Transformations in Cultic and Belief Systems

• Changes in subsistence practices likely involved shifts in symbolic and belief systems.
• The cultivation of crops and domestication of animals would have heightened concerns with fertility and religious practices related to it.
• Terracotta female figurines from Neolithic levels at various sites, often labeled as 'Mother Goddesses', suggest that farming communities associated women with fertility due to their role in childbirth.
• It is also possible that these communities worshiped goddesses linked to fertility.
• Figurines of humped bulls found at sites like Rana Ghundai,Mehrgarh,Mundigak,Bala Kot,Gilund,Balathal, and Chirand may have served as cult objects.

Burial Practices

• Standardized burials became more common during the Neolithic and neolithic-chalcolithic periods, indicating a growing significance attached to the bodily remains of the deceased.
• Patterns in burial orientations and forms reveal the existence of funerary customs among certain community members.
• Multiple burials might signify:
  • Simultaneous deaths
  • Strong kinship ties
• The practice of covering bodies with red ochre before burial at Mehrgarh suggests a connection to fertility rituals.
• The joint burials of humans and animals at sites like Burzahom indicate a close relationship between people and animals.

Social and Political Differentiation

• Simple versus elaborate graves reflect differences in funerary customs associated with individuals of varying ranks.
• Grave goods imply a belief in the afterlife.
• Secondary burials indicate multi-stage funerary practices and rituals.

Conclusion

• While microlithic remains precede the Neolithic at certain sites, others reveal a clear Neolithic phase.
• Variation in the chronology of early food-producing societies:
• In c. 7000–3000 BCE, food-producing villages emerged in Baluchistan and the Vindhyas.
• The number and geographical spread of such settlements increased in c. 3000–2000 BCE.
• The beginnings of animal and plant domestication did not lead to the extinction of hunting and gathering.
• There was coexistence and interaction among Neolithic,Neolithic-Chalcolithic,Rural Chalcolithic,Urban Chalcolithic, and hunter-gatherer communities.
• Across the country between the fifth and first millennium BC, societies were moving towards a 'Neolithic' way of life—settled hutments,agriculture,animal husbandry,pottery, and the onset of craft production.
• The process of food production and its associated cultural developments eventually led to the rise of proto-urban settlements and, subsequently,full-fledged cities.
• By the second millennium B.C., several regional cultures emerged in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. These were non-urban, non-Harappan cultures characterized by the use of stone and copper tools, termed as Chalcolithic cultures.
• The Chalcolithic cultures are identified based on their geographical locations.
• Banas culture: Located in the Banas basin in Rajasthan.
• Kayatha culture: Type site Kayatha on the bank of the Kalisindh River, an affluent of the Chambal, represented by sites in central India (Narmada, Tapi, and Mahi valleys).
• Malwa culture: Centered in Malwa, extending into parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Jorwe culture: Primarily in Maharashtra.

Ochre Coloured Pottery Culture

Based on thermoluminescence dating of OCP pottery, this culture is dated between 2000 B.C. and 1500 B.C..

• New pottery types were found in trial excavations at Bisauli(Badam district) and Rajpur Parsu (Bijnor district), both sites associated with the Copper Hoard culture.
• Over 100 sites have been discovered, stretching from Mayapur in Saharanpur district to Saipai in Etawah district, Uttar Pradesh.
• At Hastinapur and Ahichchhatra, there is a gap between the OCP culture and the subsequent PGW culture. However, at Atranjikhera, OCP settlements are followed by Black and Red Ware Pottery.

Settlement and Habitation

• Sites associated with the OCP culture are typically found on riverbanks.
• These sites are generally small, with low mounds at many locations, such as Bahadarabad,Bisauli,Rajpur Parsu, and Saipai, indicating relatively short-duration settlements.
• The distance between these settlements ranges from 5 km to 8 km.
• At certain OCP sites, such as Ambkheri,Baheria,Bahadarabad,Jhinjhana,Lal Qila,Atranjikhera, and Saipai, excavations have revealed little evidence of regular habitation.
• Evidence regarding structures is scarce. At Lal Qila, it is known that floors were made of rammed earth, and the structures likely consisted of wattle and daub houses. This inference is based on the discovery of burnt mud plaster and mud clods with impressions of reeds and bamboo.

Material Remains
The material remains from the OCP culture are primarily in the form of pottery, which includes:

• Jars(including storage jars)
• Bowls
• Ring-footed bowls
• Flasks
• Handled pots
• Miniature pots
• Basins
• Spouts

This pottery is made from medium-grained clay, is underfired, and has a wash of ochre that ranges from orange to red. This characteristic has led to the association of these sites with the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture.

Some scholars suggest that the OCP represents a degenerated form of late Harappan pottery based on similarities in pottery types.

Other objects found at OCP sites include:

• Terracotta bangles
• Beads made of terracotta and carnelian
• Terracotta animal figurines
• Terracotta cart wheels with a central knob
• Stone querns and pestles
• Bone points

A copper harpoon was also discovered in the OCP stratum at Saipai.

Archaeobotanical remains from sites like Atranjikhera indicate the cultivation of rice,barley,gram, and kesari during this period.

The Problem of Copper Hoards

• The first copper object associated with the Copper Hoard culture was discovered at Bithur in Kanpur district. Since then, nearly 1,000 copper objects have been found in hoards from 85 sites.
• The distribution of these hoards includes:
• Haryana - 5 hoards
• Rajasthan - 6 hoards
• Uttar Pradesh - 33 hoards
• Bihar - 19 hoards
• West Bengal - 6 hoards
• Orissa - 7 hoards
• Madhya Pradesh - 8 hoards
• Karnataka - 1 hoard
• The number of objects in a hoard ranges from 1 to 47, except at Gungeria in Madhya Pradesh, where a single hoard contained 424 objects.
• At Saipai, a copper harpoon was found in excavation within a stratum associated with OCP.
• The copper objects found in hoards are classified into several types, including:
• Celts
• Rings
• Harpoons
• Antennae swords
• Hooked swords
• Anthropomorphs
• Double axes
• Considering the association of the copper harpoon with the OCP at Saipai and the presence of Copper Hoards at other OCP sites (though not in direct archaeological association), these hoards can be related to the OCP culture.
• This association allows for the dating of the Copper Hoards to 2800 B.C. to 1500 B.C.

Black and Red Ware Culture

The Black and Red Ware (BRW) culture spans a vast time period, from 2400 B.C. to the early centuries of the Christian era.

• Excavations at Atranjikhera revealed a distinct horizon of BRW pottery sandwiched between the OCP and PGW levels.
• A similar stratigraphic sequence with BRW pottery has been discovered at Jodhpura and Noh in Rajasthan.
• At sites such as Ahichchhatra,Hastinapura, and Alamgirpur, BRW pottery is found associated with PGW.

Pottery

• The characteristic features of BRW pottery include a black interior and rim, with the rest of the body in red. This color combination is achieved through inverted firing.
• BRW pottery is predominantly wheel-turned, although some pieces are handmade. It is made of fine clay with thin walls.
• Painted BRW pottery has been found in sites across Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh,Bihar, and West Bengal. However, the BRW pottery from the doab area lacks paintings.

Other Objects

• At Atranjikhera, various fragments and cores of stones, waste flakes, and chips of quartz, chalcedony, agate, and carnelian were found, along with beads of carnelian, shell, and copper, a copper ring, and a fragment of a bone comb.
• No stone or metal tools have been discovered at Atranjikhera.
• At Jodhpura, a bone spike was found.
• At Noh, a shapeless piece of iron, a terracotta bead, and a bone spike were recovered.

BRW in the Doab and Other Regions

• Some scholars identify affinities between the BRW of Atranjikhera and sites like Gilund and Ahar in southern Rajasthan, based on comparisons of fabric, texture, and burnishing.
• However, there are notable differences in the shapes and designs of pottery from these regions.
• The BRW from the doab area, including Noh, is characterized by its plain surface without paintings. In contrast, the BRW from Gilund and Ahar is often painted in white on a black surface.
• Typological differences also exist, with the painted BRW from Ahar featuring pronounced carinated concave sides and coarse fabric, while the plain BRW of the doab has no carination and fine fabric.
• Notable features of doab BRW, such as dish with featureless rim and concave sides, are absent at Ahar and Gilund. Additionally, bowls with spouts and dish-on-stand found at Ahar and Gilund are not present in doab sites.

Distribution of Black and Red Ware

• Black and Red Ware pottery, with regional variations, has a wide distribution from Rupar in the north to Adichanallur in the south, and from Amra and Lakhabhwal in the west to Pandu-Rajar-Dhibi in the east.

Painted Grey Ware Culture

The Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture, first identified at Ahichchhatra, has been discovered at numerous sites across northern India. Some of the notable excavated sites include:

• Rupar (Punjab)
• Bhagwanpura (Haryana)
• Noh (Rajasthan)
• Alamgirpur, Ahichchhatra, Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, Jakhera, and Mathura (all in Uttar Pradesh)

PGW sites are primarily concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic divide (Haryana), the Sutlej basin, and the upper Ganga plains, with settlements typically located along riverbanks. The average distance between sites ranges from 5 km to 12 km, with most settlements being small villages covering 1 to 4 hectares. An exception is Bhukari in Ambala district, Haryana, which is a large settlement spanning 96,193 sq.m.

Pottery

• PGW pottery is wheelmade from well-lavigated clay with a thin core, featuring a smooth surface and grey to ash-grey color.
• The pottery is painted in black on both the outer and inner surfaces, with bowls and dishes being the most common designs.

Structures

• Houses and structures were primarily made of wattle and daub, as evidenced by patches of burnt earth, mud bricks, burnt bricks, mud platforms, and mud plaster pieces with reed and bamboo impressions found at various excavation sites.
• At Bhagwanpura, different structural phases were identified, including circular and rectangular huts in the first phase and a large house with 13 rooms and a courtyard in the second phase.

Other Objects

• Excavations revealed a variety of objects made from copper, iron, glass, and bone, including axes, chisels, fish hooks, and arrowheads. Iron spearheads and agricultural implements like sickles and hoes were also found.
• Iron objects were present at all sites except Hastinapura, with evidence of iron smelting at Jodhpura.

Ornaments

• Beads made of terracotta, agate, jasper, carnelian, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, glass, and bone were discovered, along with glass and copper bangles.
• Terracotta objects included figurines of humans and animals, discs, balls, and potter’s stamps.

Crops and Animal Remains

• Cultivated crops were identified at Hastinapura (rice) and Atranjikhera (wheat and barley).Animal bones of horses, cattle, pigs, goats, and deer were found at various sites, representing both wild and domesticated species.

Trade Practices and Linkages

• Semi-precious stone beads found at PGW sites suggest trade links, as these stones are not locally available. Stones like agate and chalcedony were sourced from regions like Kashmir, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, while lapis lazuli came from Afghanistan.
• Parallels between PGW pottery and grey ware from north-western India indicate cultural links.

Northern Black Polished Ware Culture

The Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP) culture is characterized by its distinctive pottery, first discovered at Taxila. Since then, nearly 1500 NBP sites have been identified, extending from Taxila and Udgram in the northwest to Talmuk in eastern Bengal and Amravati in Andhra Pradesh.

Excavations have shown that:

• At several sites, NBP culture succeeded PGW levels.
• At some sites, NBP succeeded Black Red Ware (BRW), and NBP is succeeded by Red Slipped Ware.

Based on pottery types, frequency, and associated objects, two phases can be distinguished in NBP culture:

Phase I

• Also known as the predefence phase, this phase is characterized by predominance of NBP Ware and presence of shreds of BRW and PGW in meagre quantities.
• Absence of punch-marked coins and burnt brick structures, which signify a higher level of development.
• This phase is represented in sites like Atranjikhera, Sravasti, and Prahladpur.

Phase II

• Pottery specimens belonging to BRW and PGW are not found in this phase.
• NBP Ware is of poor quality (thicker in fabric) and is found in smaller numbers.
• A coarse grey ware comes into greater use.
• Punch-marked coins and burnt bricks make their first appearance.
• This phase is represented in sites like Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, Sravasti, and Prahladpur.

Some scholars suggest that NBP is a refined form of PGW, with differences mainly in surface treatment. NBP culture is concentrated in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with origins likely in this region. Its spread beyond the Ganga plains is attributed to the activities of Buddhist monks and traders.

Structures

• Excavations at sites like Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, and Kausambi reveal large-scale building activities and the emergence of cities.
• At Kausambi, evidence of settlement layout includes houses made of burnt bricks, with timber used in construction indicated by post-holes and door jamb sockets. Roofs were covered with tiles, and rooms were square or rectangular.
• Hastinapura excavations show an elaborate drainage system, and some settlements were fortified with mud or brick walls and encircled by moats.
• The fortification wall at Kausambi included guard rooms, towers, and gates at regular intervals, indicating social or political organization.
• The fortifications suggest defensive measures against invasions and political tensions, while the drainage system reflects advances in hygiene and public health.

Pottery

• NBP Ware is known for its glossy surface, made on a fast wheel from well-lavigated clay with a thin core.
• NBP Ware comes in various colors, including glossy black, golden, silver, white, pinkish, steel blue, chocolate, and brown.
• Rivetted pots indicate the high value of NBP Ware, suggesting societal divisions.
• Though generally unpainted, some NBP Ware has painted designs in yellow and light vermilion, with common motifs like bands, wavy lines, dots, and circles.
• Common pottery shapes include bowls and dishes.

Other Objects

• Various tools, weapons, ornaments, and objects made of copper, iron, gold, silver, stone, glass, and bone were found at NBP sites, indicating technological progress.
• Copper objects included chisels, knives, borers, pins, needles, and bangles.
• Iron objects were more varied than in PGW times, with over 1,115 iron objects found at Kausambi, including agricultural implements, tools, and weapons.
• Silver punch-marked coins from the middle phase of NBP culture suggest a shift from barter to metallic currency.

Ornaments

• Commonly found ornaments include beads made of semi-precious stones, glass, clay, copper, shell, and bone, with various shapes like circular, spherical, and barrel.
• A single gold bead from Kausambi dates to around 300 B.C.
• Other ornaments included bangles, finger rings, and pendants made from various materials.

Terracotta Figurines

• Terracotta figurines of humans and animals, as well as miscellaneous objects like toy carts, discs, and potter’s stamps, were found.
• Male figurines are usually plain, while female figurines feature elaborate headdresses and jewelry.
• Animal figurines are well-executed, and some objects suggest the use of carts for transportation.
• Seals and sealings with Brahmi script inscriptions appeared at a later stage of NBP culture.

Subsistence Economy and Trade

• Crops like rice, wheat, barley, millet, pea, and black gram were cultivated, and animal remains indicate reliance on cattle, sheep, goat, pig, and fish.
• The presence of diverse beads at several sites suggests trade links between Taxila, Hastinapura, Ahichchhara, Sravasti, and Kausambi during 600 B.C. to 200 B.C.
• Buddhist texts mention trade guilds and caravans using various animals for transport.
• Between the 6th and 3rd centuries B.C., trade occurred between India and western countries, with textiles, spices, and finished goods as main exports.
• The state controlled trade and had a monopoly over various industries, according to the Arthasastra.