Beginning of Agriculture in Neolithic and Chalcolithic

Beginning of Agriculture: The Neolithic and Chalcolithic Age

The Neolithic Age, which followed the Mesolithic, heralded the beginning of food production in India — a transformation so fundamental that it eventually gave rise, through the intervening Chalcolithic stage, to the first proto-urban and urban civilisations of the subcontinent. Human communities entered a new stage of culture when, instead of depending entirely on the resources of nature for survival, they started producing their own food by cultivating cereals such as barley, wheat, and rice, and began domesticating species of animals — both for supplies of milk and meat, and for harnessing their labour. This article traces the meaning and defining features of the Neolithic, the competing theories on why agriculture began, the regional Neolithic cultures of the subcontinent, the broader social and cultic changes food production brought about, and finally the Chalcolithic cultures — the metal-using farming communities of western, central, and eastern India, and the pottery-defined cultures of the Ganga-Yamuna doab — that carried these developments forward towards urbanisation.

Defining the Neolithic

• The beginnings of this stage of human culture are revealed by a new type of stone tool, called the Neolithic tool, or tool of the New Stone Age.
  • The Neolithic age is associated with innovations in stone tool technology — specifically, the making of ground, pecked, and polished stone tools — alongside the advent of food production.
  • Changes in stone tools were related to shifts in subsistence strategies.
• Domestication of plants and animals has been considered one of the main characteristic features of the Neolithic stage of culture.
  • In the long run, such shifts were associated with technological change, greater food availability, a rise in population, an increase in the number and size of human settlements, and more complex social and political organisation.
  • Other features of the Neolithic phase include the invention of pottery, a greater degree of sedentary living, the emergence of small and relatively self-sufficient village communities, and a division of labour based on sex.
• The term Neolithic was coined by Sir John Lubbock, who used it to denote an age in which stone implements were more skilfully made, more varied in form, and often polished.
• V. Gordon Childe defined the Neolithic-Chalcolithic culture as a self-sufficient food-producing economy, and coined the phrase “Neolithic Revolution” to highlight the enormous significance of these changes.
• Miles Burkitt stressed that the following characteristic traits should be considered to represent the Neolithic culture:
  • The practice of agriculture.
  • The domestication of animals.
  • The grinding and polishing of stone tools.
  • The manufacture of pottery.
• The term Neolithic should represent a culture of the pre-metal stage, in which the inhabitants had an assured supply of food through the cultivation of cereals and the domestication of animals, and led a sedentary life. However, ground stone tools remain the single most essential characteristic of a Neolithic culture.
• Domestication of plants and animals led to:
  • the emergence of village communities based on sedentary life;
  • the beginnings of agricultural technology; and
  • greater control over nature, through the exploitation of natural resources.

Onset of Agriculture in India

• India was, for a long time, seen as having borrowed the idea of food production from its western neighbour, Mesopotamia, via the Iranian plateau. Modern research has discredited this viewpoint.
  • It is now generally believed that agriculture in India was an independent, indigenous development, rather than an import from outside.
  • This has been demonstrated for three of the main staples of the subcontinent:
    • The discovery of wheat and barley at Mehrgarh (in Pakistan), grown almost contemporaneously with sites of the Fertile Crescent, rules out the possibility of diffusion into India.
    • Similarly, the discovery of rice at Koldihwa in Uttar Pradesh, and of millet from sites in South India, has put a question mark over the diffusion of these two crops from South China and Africa respectively.
• The occurrence of food production in India was spread over several millennia — from the 8th millennium BC to 1000 BC.

Why Did Agriculture Begin? Competing Theories

After thousands of years of hunting and gathering, why did some groups of people, in vastly separated parts of the world, start domesticating animals and plants?

V. Gordon Childe

• Childe suggested that environmental changes at the end of the Pleistocene were the impetus towards food production.
• He argued that, about 10,000 years ago, the climate in parts of West Asia became drier, owing to a northward shift of the summer rains.
  • This desiccation led to a concentration of people, plants, and animals close to water resources such as rivers and oases.
  • This enforced closeness eventually led to new relationships of dependence between humans, plants, and animals, resulting in domestication.

Robert J. Braidwood

• Childe’s theory was questioned by Robert J. Braidwood, who rejected the focus on environmental change as the crucial factor leading to agriculture.
  • He pointed out that environmental changes had occurred within the Pleistocene as well, without leading to agriculture.
• He argued instead that domestication took place in certain “nuclear zones,” which supported a variety of wild plants and animals with the potential for domestication.
  • In such areas, domestication was the natural outcome of human experimentation, and of people getting to know their environment better, through evolving cultural and technological strategies.
• This theory, however, does not explain the pressures or incentives that may have led to domestication.
  • There is ethnographic evidence of many hunting-gathering communities who know their environment very well, and are even aware of agriculture, but do not see the point of practising it themselves.
  • There have to be good reasons for a community to radically change its way of life.

Lewis R. Binford

• Braidwood’s theory was, in turn, rejected by Lewis R. Binford, on the grounds that it could not be archaeologically tested.
• Binford asserted that in areas where environment and population have remained constant, a stable balance between the human population and food resources is achieved, and people do not have to look for new sources or strategies of getting food. Such groups, in fact, tend to live at food consumption levels far below the resource potential of their environment.
• Two factors can upset the balance between people and food: stress produced by environmental change, or by population growth.
  • Binford identified two kinds of demographic stress:
    • Internal demographic stress, which occurs when the number of people within a community increases.
    • External demographic stress, caused by immigration into an area by people from elsewhere.
  • In the context of the origins of agriculture, he emphasised external demographic stress.
    • He argued that, at the end of the Pleistocene era, as a result of a rise in sea levels, people living along the coasts migrated to less populated inland areas.
    • This upset the people–food equilibrium in inland areas, and gave an impetus to the search for new strategies to increase food supplies.
• Criticism: Evidence of a migration of people from the world’s sea coasts to inland areas at the end of the Pleistocene is lacking, and it is difficult to speak of “overpopulation” and “food crisis” at a time when human communities were small and resources abundant.

Kent Flannery

• Flannery shifted the focus away from the search for a single event that might have led to the beginnings of food production, towards the process of food production itself, and the adaptive advantages of plant and animal domestication over foraging and hunting.
• He distinguished between two types of food procurement systems:
  • Negative feedback food procurement systems, which involve a balanced exploitation and use of various food resources within an area, and discourage change.
  • Positive feedback systems, in which the productivity of resources increases as a result of human interference and exploitation.
    • For example, transplanting maize from areas within its natural habitat to other areas, and cross-fertilisation, increased the number of grains produced. Once people recognised this increased productivity, they turned more and more towards the domestication of maize.
• This explains why people found agriculture more advantageous than food gathering, but it does not explain why the initial experiments in domestication were made in the first place.

Recent Studies

• Recent studies have suggested that the key may, in fact, lie in environmental change — though not the sort suggested many years earlier by Childe.
  • In many parts of the world, the Holocene was marked by the onset of a milder, warmer, wetter climate. Such changes may have led to an expansion of the natural habitat area of wild cereals that had the potential for domestication.
  • Perhaps, then, it was not an environmental crisis but an environmental amelioration that was responsible for the beginnings of domestication.

Identifying Domestication and Food Production in Archaeology

Animal Domestication

• When wild animals are domesticated over long periods of time, certain morphological changes tend to take place:
  • Early domesticates tend to be smaller than their wild counterparts.
  • There are changes in dental structure — teeth become smaller, and some teeth may disappear.
  • Horns tend to reduce in size.
  • Domesticated cattle have weaker 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.
• These changes make it possible for scientists to study animal bones and teeth found at an archaeological site, and to identify not only the animal they represent, but also whether it 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 roughly 1:1, whereas when animals are bred, males tend to be killed quite young and females killed in old age.

Plant Domestication

• Wild and domesticated plant grains and seeds can also be differentiated, since, under conditions of domestication, plants undergo certain morphological changes over a long period of time.
  • 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.

Indirect Evidence

• Domestication can also be inferred from art remains, such as representations of people capturing or tending animals, harvesting grain, or processing food.

The Transition to Food Production in the Indian Subcontinent

• The Neolithic age is generally associated with food production, pottery, and sedentary living. However, in the Indian subcontinent, the roots of some of these features can be traced back to the Mesolithic phase — there is evidence of pottery and animal domestication at certain Mesolithic sites, while, conversely, there are some Neolithic sites without pottery.
  • Some Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities led a fairly sedentary life, while there were also communities practising 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 practised animal rearing and agriculture usually continued to hunt and forage for food.
  • Moreover, there were numerous communities that 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 also many Neolithic–Chalcolithic cultures, which combine Neolithic elements 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.

The Neolithic as “Neolithic Revolution”

• The Neolithic was the last leg of the Stone Age, and also the platform on which all subsequent civilisations arose.
• Unlike the lighter and sharper tools of the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic, the Neolithic tool kit was composed of heavy ground tools — pestles, mortars, grinders, and pounders — as well as axes and sickles, which carry a characteristic sheen resulting from harvesting wild or domesticated plants and grasses.
• But besides the use of stone tools, Neolithic people had little in common with their predecessors:
  • Palaeolithic and Mesolithic humans were mobile hunter-gatherers who travelled long distances to procure food.
  • Neolithic populations, on the other hand, everywhere relied on agriculture, or food production, and the domestication of animals for their dietary needs.
• Sedentism — the practice of living in one place for a long time — is another feature that distinguishes the Neolithic period. People, in vastly separated and seemingly unconnected areas, began settling down into agricultural communities, giving rise to villages, towns, and eventually cities.
• The use of pottery and the wheel, and the subsequent invention of crafts such as spinning, weaving, and bead-making, also demonstrate the uniqueness of the Neolithic phase.
  • Most Neolithic cultures begin as aceramic, or pre-pottery, Neolithic. However, sherds of hand-made pottery soon appear, often followed by wheel-thrown pottery.
  • The technological breakthrough of the wheel enabled developments like spinning, and, by the time of the Bronze Age civilisations, the use of the wheel in carts.
• It was a consideration of all these developments that led this period to be called the “Neolithic Revolution.”
  • However, the term “revolution” implies a sudden or abrupt change, whereas the Neolithic was, in fact, a gradual unfolding of developments, the culmination of the Stone Age.
  • While the significant socio-economic impact of the Neolithic cannot be denied, it is today generally viewed as a “transformation” or “evolution,” rather than a “revolution.”

Neolithic Cultures in Different Geographical Regions

• Some scholars divide Neolithic settlements into three groups — north-western, north-eastern, and southern — based on the types of axes used by Neolithic settlers.
• Others argue for as many as seven different geographical regions, each with its own distinctive features and chronological time span:
  1. North-Western region (including Afghanistan and western Pakistan, particularly the Kachi plains in Baluchistan) — 7th to mid-4th millennium BC.
  2. Northern region (covering the Kashmir Valley) — 2500–1500 BC.
  3. Central India (covering the Vindhyan outcrops in the districts of Allahabad, Mirzapur, Rewa, and Sidhi — particularly the Belan Valley) — 4000–1200 BC.
  4. Mid-Ganga Valley region (eastern UP and Bihar) — 2000–1500 BC.
  5. Eastern region (covering the Chota Nagpur plateau, with extensions in Orissa and West Bengal).
  6. North-eastern region (covering Assam and the adjacent sub-Himalayan region).
  7. Southern region (covering peninsular India) — 2500–1500 BC.
• An overview of this time frame shows that the Neolithic phase in India did not develop everywhere at the same time, nor did it end simultaneously.
  • In fact, many Neolithic cultures coexisted with the copper-using, urban Harappan Civilisation (2600–1900 BC). Besides having different time frames, these cultures also exhibit regional variations:
    • In the north-eastern region, Neolithic tools have been found, but there is, as yet, no evidence of plant cultivation.
    • While most Neolithic cultures evolved out of 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, wheat and barley predominate at Mehrgarh in Pakistan, whereas it is rice in central India, and millet and ragi cultivation at the South Indian Neolithic sites.

(1) Early Farmers of the North-Western Region

• It was in this region (present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan) that we find the earliest evidence of the origin of wheat and barley cultivation (c. 7000–3000 BCE). By about 7000 BC, sheep and goat had been domesticated in Afghanistan.
• Subsistence pattern: The subsistence pattern of the Neolithic period here is characterised by a mixed economy, based on early farming and animal domestication, supplemented by hunting.
• Habitation: The inhabitants lived in rectangular houses of mud brick; some structures were divided into small square compartments and used for storage.
• Tools: The tool kit included stone axes, stone adzes, grinding stones, and mullers, supplemented by abundant microliths of a typical blade industry. Some of the blades show a sheen characteristic of flint used to cut grains.

Mehrgarh

• Beginnings of agriculture and animal domestication in Baluchistan are attested by archaeological excavations. The Kachi plains of Baluchistan offered 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 have fertile alluvium brought by streams from the hills, and perennial river systems that make irrigation easy on stretches of otherwise vegetated land.
• It is in this ecological setting that the ancient site of Mehrgarh is located — 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, and people and animals must have moved along this route from very early times.
• The oldest and best-documented evidence of the 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.
  • Periods I and II at Mehrgarh are considered Neolithic, even though a small amount of copper is present. Period II, at Mehrgarh, is dated c. 6000–4500 BCE.
  • Period III belongs to the second half of the 5th millennium BCE, and is Chalcolithic.
• Pottery:
  • Period I was aceramic.
  • 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 included two varieties of barley and three varieties of wheat; charred seeds of plum and date were found from the very beginning of the settlement.
  • In Period II at Mehrgarh, the cultivation of cotton and grape is attested, in addition to wheat and barley — the Harappans probably inherited their knowledge of wheat, barley, and cotton cultivation from their ancestors at Mehrgarh.
  • Seeds of ber and dates were also found in Periods I and II, and Period III showed a diversification of agriculture.
  • As for methods of cultivation, farmers must have relied on winter rains, channelling water into their fields by building mud or stone embankments; stone sickles must have been used for harvesting grain.
• Animals:
  • Neolithic Mehrgarh gives clear evidence of the transition from hunting to animal domestication.
  • Period I yielded bones of wild animals — gazelles, swamp deer, antelopes, sheep, goat, and cattle. The later phase of the Neolithic deposits, however, yielded bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, and goat, besides those of wild gazelles, pig, and onager. Cattle were the most important domesticated animal.
  • In Period III, cattle still dominated, but there was an increase in the proportion of sheep and goat bones.
• Dental health:
  • There was a low rate of dental cavities in the early levels — this may have been 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 of handmade mud brick, with small, rectangular rooms; one room had reed impressions on the floor and a grinding stone. The bricks used for house walls were of a standardised size. Some 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 may have been houses, others used for storage.
• Tools:
  • The stone tools of Period I included microliths, most based on blades; a few ground Neolithic handaxes were also found.
  • Some 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, as was a handmade clay female figurine.
• Burials:
  • The people of Period I buried their dead in the open spaces between their houses, with bodies placed in oval pits in a bent position.
  • The bones were often covered with red ochre, suggesting some sort of fertility belief.
  • 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 of stone or shell beads, bone pendants, and anklets.
  • Copper beads were found in one burial, along with turquoise and lapis lazuli beads — the lapis lazuli could have come from the Chagai hills in Baluchistan or from Afghanistan, and the turquoise from eastern Iran or Central Asia. The presence of such items indicates that the people of Mehrgarh were engaged in some amount of long-distance exchange.
  • In the later period, burials became more elaborate, with some instances of double burials and secondary burials.
  • In Period III, a large cemetery shows changes in burial practices: one collective burial had two wheel-made painted pots as grave goods (pots not found in any other burial), and 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 painted pottery, 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 of steatite beads indicates that bead-making was another important craft, alongside beads of semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, turquoise, and agate, and of terracotta and shell.
  • There were also a few terracotta humped bulls, and terracotta crucibles with traces of copper, suggesting the beginning of metallurgy.
• Period IV: A further expansion of the settlement, with diversification of agriculture and crafts, and more and better-decorated pottery. A new style of terracotta female figurines may have had cultic significance.
• The idea that farming and animal domestication spread from West Asia towards the Indian subcontinent may thus have to be given up, in light of the evidence Mehrgarh provides.

Other North-Western Sites

• The Bolan pass leads from Mehrgarh into the Quetta valley, where a number of sites are found; Kili Gul Mohammad and Damb Sadaat are two important excavated sites in this area.

Kili Gul Mohammad:

• In the Quetta Valley, on the banks of the Hannah river, the first three levels of occupation are ascribed to the Neolithic period.
• The site began as an aceramic site around 5500 BC. Bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, goat, and ass/horse were found; there were no cereals, but two sickle blades were discovered.
• Inhabitants lived in wattle-and-daub and/or mud houses; remains of mud-brick houses have also been found.
• The artefacts included microliths and blades of chert, jasper, and chalcedony, along with a few ground tools and bone points.
• The transition from Period II to Period III can be discerned from the evolution of crude, handmade, 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; the dates for Period I fall within c. 4000–3500 BCE.
• Habitation: The early settlers were semi-nomadic, as no structures were found in the early phase; in the later phase of Period I, there were larger houses of sun-dried bricks. Cooking hearths were initially situated outside the houses, and there were wells between the houses.
• Pottery: mostly wheel-made.
• Tools and artefacts: bone awls, alabaster vases, stone blades, and beads made of stone and lapis lazuli, along with a few copper objects. A terracotta figurine of a humped bull was found in Period I.
• Period II at Mundigak gave evidence of plant remains — wheat and ber — and bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats.

Rana Ghundai (in the Anambar valley, along with Sur Jangal and Dabar Kot):

• Periods I–III belong to the Neolithic phase, lasting from 4500 to 3100 BC.
• Period I (c. 4500–4300 BCE) was a settlement of a semi-nomadic community; almost all the pottery was handmade and plain. There were bones of domesticated cattle, sheep, and goat, along with microlithic blades, bone points, and needles.
• In Period II, pottery was wheel-made, with a buff-to-red surface; decorations included friezes of stylised humped bulls, and, in one instance, blackbuck, all painted in black. The main pottery forms were bowls or cups.

Gumla and Rahman Dheri (in the valley of the Gomal river, a tributary of the Indus, in Dera Ismail Khan district):

• Gumla, in the Gomal valley:
  • Period I revealed a small settlement — microliths, bones of domesticated cattle, hearths, and large shallow pits used for cooking/roasting; it was aceramic.
  • Period II yielded a wide range of painted, wheel-made pottery, with pots of rough surface followed by finer pottery painted with geometric designs, cattle, and fish; microlithic tools, and a limited amount of copper and bronze. Terracotta objects included bangles, cart models, gamesmen, and cattle and female figurines.
• Rahman Dheri: dated 3400–2100 BC, this site shows a clear transition from the Neolithic to the Kot Dijian, and finally the Indus civilisation, phase.
  • The site is fortified right from the beginning, with a mud and mud-brick wall.
  • Remains of wheat, barley, fish, and domesticated cattle, sheep, and goat give clues about their diet.
  • Pottery was used from the very first settlement, and most specimens are of Kot Dijian forms and designs.

Sarai Khola:

• In the Punjab province of Pakistan, on the edge of the Potwar plateau; Neolithic occupation goes back to about the 4th millennium BCE.
• In Period I, there was handmade, plain, red or brown, burnished pottery; ground and polished stone celts, blades, microliths, and numerous bone points.
• Terracotta wheels and toy carts were also found.

(2) Early Farmers of Central India (the Belan Valley)

• Another early centre of agricultural-pastoral communities lay in the Vindhyan fringes of southern Uttar Pradesh, where many Neolithic sites have been identified along the Belan, Adwa, Son, Rihand, Ganga, Lapari, and Paisuni rivers (c. 6000–3000 BCE).
• The excavated sites of the Belan Valley that indicate a transition from the food-gathering to the food-producing stage are Chopani Mando, Koldihwa, and Mahagara.
  • The dating of the Neolithic horizon for this area suggests the beginning of Neolithic culture at Koldihwa to 6000 BC.
  • The area is covered with thick forest, with grasses including wild rice providing the vegetal cover, and was a favourite hunting ground of early Stone Age people.
• The Neolithic culture here emerged out of a well-established Mesolithic phase.
  • Some Mesolithic features, such as microlith blades and heavier stone tools, continued, but important new features also appeared, such as the domestication of cattle and the cultivation of rice.
  • Wild rice was found at Mesolithic levels at Chopani Mando in the Belan valley, and domesticated rice has been reported from Mesolithic levels at Damdama as well.

Koldihwa and Mahagara

• Koldihwa and Mahagara (both in Allahabad district, UP) are two important sites, located on the northern fringes of the Vindhyas, on the banks of the Belan river.

Koldihwa:

• The site shows a three-fold cultural sequence (Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Iron Age).
• Agriculture: Remains of rice, and impressions of rice husk embedded in pieces of burnt clay, were found here at Neolithic levels; people were familiar with both wild and cultivated rice.
  • The site’s claim to fame is the earliest evidence of domesticated rice, coming from the earliest, metal-free level of Koldihwa.
• Tools and artefacts: stone blades, polished stone celts, microliths (mostly of chert), querns and mullers (for grinding), and bone tools.
• Pottery: Handmade, and of three varieties — cord-marked pottery, a plain red pottery, and a black-and-red ware. Deep bowls and storage jars were the dominant shapes, and some red ware showed soot marks, suggesting use for cooking.
• Animals: Evidence of animal husbandry comes from the bones of cattle, sheep, goat, and deer, while fishing is indicated by the bones of turtles and fish.
• Habitation: wattle-and-daub houses.

Mahagara:

• Contemporaneous with Koldihwa, on the right bank of the Belan river (near the Mesolithic site of Chopani Mando); it is a single-culture (Neolithic) site.
• Habitation: Floors and post-holes associated with 20 huts were identified; bamboo impressions on mud suggest that hut walls were made of wattle and daub.
• Tools: Mesolithic and Neolithic tools made of chalcedony, agate, quartz, and basalt, along with some bone implements.
• Pottery: Handmade and poorly fired, with straw and rice husk used as tempering agents; the principal type is corded, or cord-impressed, ware, with incised designs also occasionally seen.
• Animal and agriculture: A cattle pen with a fence marked by 20 post-holes, with clusters of hoof marks left by cattle, sheep, or goats, indicates the domestication of cattle.
  • Animal bones included cattle, sheep, goat, horse, deer, and wild boar, of which the first three seem to have been domesticated. Rice husk was found embedded in pottery.
  • The bone and plant remains suggest that people hunted wild animals, collected wild plant food, and also domesticated plants and animals.

Chopani Mando:

• A three-phase sequence, from epi-Palaeolithic to late Mesolithic or proto-Neolithic, has been established here.
  • Advanced Mesolithic is characterised by semi-sedentary community life and a specialised hunting-gathering economy.
• The Neolithic culture of the Belan valley shows a developed and advanced sedentary life, marked by:
  • defined family units;
  • standardisation of pottery forms;
  • portable-sized food-processing units, like querns and mullers;
  • specialised tools, such as chisels, celts, and adzes;
  • cultivation of domesticated rice; and
  • domestication of cattle, sheep/goat, and horse.

Kunjun

• Kunjun, in the Son valley in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh, not far from Koldihwa, yielded a Neolithic settlement with both wild and domesticated rice; it was also a factory site specialising in the making of stone artefacts.

Summing Up the Belan Valley Evidence

• Taken together, the evidence from Koldihwa and neighbouring sites suggests that the northern fringes of the Vindhyas constituted an early, independent centre of rice domestication.
  • The combined evidence indicates a sedentary life, and the domestication of rice, cattle, and sheep/goat. Other objects throwing light on the life of the people include:
    • Cord-impressed pottery.
    • Round celts and adzes, with rectangular or oval cross-section, and chalcedony blades.
    • Circular/oval floors littered with artefacts.
    • A large cattle pen, with hoof marks of cattle.
• It has been suggested that Neolithic farmers of the Belan Valley emerged as the earliest rice-farming community in India (6th millennium BC), although this suggestion is not accepted by all.
• However, pottery makes its appearance in the late Mesolithic/proto-Neolithic phase at Chopani Mando (9th–8th millennium BC) — indicating that pottery manufacture may have preceded the domestication of plants (rice) and animals (cattle, sheep/goat, and horse) here.
  • Chopani Mando in fact provides some of the earliest evidence of the use of pottery in the world.

(3) Neolithic Culture of the Northern Region (Kashmir)

• Evidence for north Indian Neolithic cultures comes mainly from the Kashmir Valley, represented by a large number of sites above the flood plains of the Jhelum river, including Burzahom (north-east of Srinagar), Gufkral (south-east of Srinagar), Hariparigom, Jayadeviudar, Olchibag, Pampur, Panzgom, Sombur, Thajiwor, Begagund, Waztal, Gurhoma Sangri, and Damodara.
  • These are multi-cultural sites, where prolific Neolithic remains are followed by evidence of megalithic and historical periods.
• An important feature of the northern Neolithic is the absence of a preceding microlithic/Mesolithic phase, with this culture developing between 3500 and 1500 BC.
  • During the Pleistocene era, the Kashmir valley was a gigantic lake, and the Neolithic sites are located on the remnants of the ancient lake beds, known as karewas.
  • The Neolithic culture of the Kashmir Valley is generally dated to 2500–1500 BC.
• The Neolithic culture of Kashmir is characterised by pit-dwellings, with well-made floors smeared with red ochre, as well as dwellings in the open.
  • The presence of a large number of unique bone tools suggests that the economy was predominantly a hunting economy.
  • Dog burials, placed alongside some human burials, have also been reported.
• The Neolithic culture of Burzahom displays affinities with Sarai Khola and Ghaligai of the Swat valley, in pottery, bone, and stone objects. Pit-dwellings, harvesters, and dog burials are also characteristic of the North Chinese Neolithic culture.

Burzahom

• Located on a terrace of karewa clay above the flood plain of the Jhelum river, near Srinagar. Burzahom is a Kashmiri word meaning “place of birch,” and the discovery of burnt birch indicates that birch trees grew in the area in Neolithic times as well.
• The first two periods of Burzahom are Neolithic, the third megalithic. The Neolithic people of Burzahom begin with Period I, around 2700 BC.
• Habitation:
  • Phase I shows mud-plastered pit dwellings, most round or oval, narrower at the top and widening towards the base. Post-holes around the pits show that wooden poles would have supported a roof of pinewood thatched with birch; both ladders and steps were used to get inside the larger pits.
  • Charcoal, ash, potsherds, and hearths made of stone or clay were found inside the pits. Square/rectangular pit chambers were found at the centre of the settlement, while round/oval ones were at the periphery; close to the living pits were smaller storage pits, containing stone and bone tools and animal bones.
  • In Period II, the people of Burzahom moved out of the pits and built huts of mud, mud-brick, and timber at ground level.
• Pottery:
  • In Period I: ill-fired, handmade, coarse pottery in grey, red, brown, and buff colours; mat impressions on the base of many pots showed that they were made on mats.
  • Period II artefacts included pottery, mostly handmade, with a few new shapes and a black burnished pottery. Contact with the pre-Harappans is also indicated by the pottery found.
• Tools:
  • Stone tools included oval and oblong stone axes, chisels, adzes, grinding stones, ring stones, and mace heads. Also found were “harvesters” — distinctive rectangular stone choppers.
  • A well-developed bone tool industry yielded points, harpoons, needles, awls (for stitching animal skins), spearheads, daggers, and scrapers; tools were also made from antlers. A single copper arrowhead was found towards the end of Period II.
  • Some handaxes had clearly been used for cutting, chopping, and dressing wood, while others were probably used for chopping meat.
• Burials:
  • Several burials were found in Period II (until c. 1700 BCE), mostly within the habitation area. The dead were usually buried under house floors or in the compounds, in oval pits plastered with lime; both inhumation and secondary burials were practised.
  • In primary burials, the body was placed in a flexed position, and there were usually no grave goods.
  • Humans were sometimes buried alongside wild animals such as deer, wolf, ibex, nilgai, snow leopard, and pig, and domesticated animals such as cattle, buffalo, dog, sheep, and goat — their meat may have been placed in the grave as part of the grave goods.
  • The interment of dogs with humans suggests that pets were sometimes buried along with their masters; there were also separate pit burials for animals within the habitation area — in one case, five dogs were buried along with antlers.
• Animal husbandry and agriculture:
  • Hunting and fishing were important parts of the lives of the Neolithic people of Burzahom, clear from the animal bones, an engraved hunting scene, and the high percentage of weapons such as spearheads, arrowheads, and harpoons.
  • There is also direct evidence of the cultivation of wheat, barley, and lentils.
• Other findings:
  • Sketchy evidence for ritual practice comes from engraved stone slabs depicting hunting scenes, or another representation of the sun and a dog.
  • Two finds from Period II, dated around the second millennium BC, show contact with the Indus plains — a pot with carnelian and agate beads, and another pot bearing the Kot Dijian “horned deity” motif.
• The distinctive features of the Kashmir Neolithic — a wide range of stone and bone tools, pit dwellings, perforated “harvesters,” and animal burials — also occur at sites in Central Asia and China.

Gufkral

• Literally meaning the “cave of the potter,” Gufkral is located south-east of Srinagar.
• Habitation: As at Burzahom, Period I shows pit dwellings, circular or oval, surrounded by storage pits and hearths, with post-holes around them; the bases of houses may have been plastered with mud to prevent the entry of water and snow.
  • Some pits were subsequently enlarged, and there were also two-chambered dwelling pits; no hearth or fireplace was found inside the dwelling pits. Later, the pit dwellings disappeared.
• Pottery: Gufkral started as an aceramic Neolithic site, probably around 3000 BC. Later, handmade and wheel-made pots appeared, including grey, burnished grey, red, and black wares, some with mat impressions on the base. There were also terracotta bangles and potsherds with graffiti marks.
• Tools: Polished stone tools, and tools of bone and horn, including small arrowheads and a bone needle — the tips of bone tools were charred to strengthen the working edge.
  • Steatite beads and a broken terracotta marble were found, along with stone and terracotta spindle whorls with large holes, suggesting the weaving of woollen cloth.
• Animal and agriculture: Bones of wild animals — sheep, goat, cattle, red deer, Himalayan ibex, wolf, and bear — were found, as well as bones of domesticated sheep, goats, cattle, pig, and dog, and bones of fish, hare, rodents, hedgehog, and beaver.
  • Later, the animal bones indicate that, although hunting remained important, there was a significant increase in the domestication of sheep, goats, cattle, pig, and dog.
  • Plant remains included barley, wheat, lentils, and common pea.

The Swat Valley and Other Sites

• There are some similarities between the Neolithic sites of Kashmir and those of the Swat valley in north Pakistan — for example, the Ghaligai cave.
  • A number of grave sites have been explored in the Swat valley, including Aligrama, Birkot Ghundai, Kherari, Lal-batai, Timargarha, Balambat, Kalako-deray, and Zarif Karuna.
  • Various kinds of burials have been identified — flexed burials, cremation, urn burials, fractional burials, and multiple burials.
  • Evidence of wheat, barley, rice, lentils, and common pea, and remains of pit-dwellings, has also been found.
• Surface finds of Neolithic axes, chisels, and ring stones occur at sites in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
• In Ladakh, the Neolithic site of Giak has given a radiocarbon date belonging to the 6th millennium BCE.

(4) Neolithic Cultures of the Mid-Ganga Valley

• Covering the areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the mid-Gangetic basin encapsulates the Ganges, along with the drainage of its tributaries, such as the Saryu and the Ghaghra.
• Most of the Neolithic sites dotting this area are, predictably, found on the banks of rivers and streams:
  • Narhan, on the banks of the river Saryu.
  • Imlidih, on the Kuwana stream.
  • Sohagaura, on the banks of the river Rapti.
  • Chirand, on the banks of the river Ghaghra.
  • Teradih.
  • Senuwar, on the banks of the Kudra river.
  • Maner, on the banks of an old course of the Ganga near Patna.
• The Gangetic valley, with all its flora and faunal resources, was occupied by sedentary village settlements much later (2000–1600 BC).
  • Chirand is considered the representative site of the area. Early agricultural settlements also spread into the central Ganga plain, as indicated by recent excavations at Lahuradeva, in Sant Kabir Nagar district of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
    • Cord-impressed red ware and a black-and-red ware were found here; the pots were handmade, and the houses were of wattle-and-daub.
    • Plant remains included rice and a few wild grasses; husk marks of domesticated rice were found embedded in the core of several potsherds.
• Sohagaura: A Neolithic site in Gorakhpur district, at the confluence of the Rapti and Ami rivers, with small pieces of ill-fired, handmade pottery, either rusticated or cord-impressed.
• There are several Neolithic and Neolithic-Chalcolithic sites in the alluvial plains of north Bihar — Chirand, Senuar, Chechar-Kutubpur, Maner, and Taradih (3rd/2nd millennium BCE) — located on the banks of streams, showing the presence of full-fledged agricultural villages in the Gangetic plains of Bihar.

Chirand

• In Saran district, at the confluence of the Sarayu and Ganga rivers.
• Tools and artefacts: Chirand is the only site in the country, besides Burzahom in Kashmir, to have given a substantial range of bone and antler objects — needles, scrapers, borers, and arrowheads. Bone ornaments, such as pendants, bangles, and earrings, have also been discovered, including bangles made of tortoise bone and ivory.
  • Stone tools consist of microliths, Neolithic axes, and other implements such as stone pestles and querns.
  • Evidence of beads made of agate, carnelian, jasper, steatite, and faience, together with the rich terracotta, bone, and antler assemblage, suggests a movement towards craft production and possibly the exchange of commodities.
  • No copper objects were found. Terracotta objects included figurines of humped bulls, birds, and snakes, along with bangles, beads, and sling balls.
• Pottery: Red, grey, and black wares, mostly handmade; some pots had painted (usually red ochre) and scratched designs, and the exterior of many grey pots was burnished.
• Habitation: Circular wattle-and-daub huts, with post-holes and hearths; a semi-circular hut had several oblong ovens, perhaps for community cooking, and mud boundary walls enclosed the houses.
• Agriculture and animals: The people relied on plant cultivation and animal domestication.
  • Crops included rice, wheat, barley, moong, and lentil — possibly indicating the raising of two crops a year, in winter and autumn.
  • Animal remains include a wide range, from domesticated cattle to elephants, rhinoceros, and deer; bones of animals, birds, and fish indicate the prevalence of hunting and fishing, while clusters of fish scales and remains of river shells and snails give further information on food habits.
• Chirand had a later, Chalcolithic, occupation level as well.

Senuwar

• A Neolithic site on the banks of the Kudra river, at the foot of the Kaimur range, in Rohtas district of Bihar.
• The Neolithic farmers cultivated rice, barley, field pea, lentil, and some millets; the later Neolithic-Chalcolithic people at Senuwar also began cultivating gram and moong, in addition to the crops raised earlier.
• Both Chirand and Senuwar are known for their remarkable bone tools; the houses were of wattle-and-daub.
• Three kinds of pottery were found: a red ware, burnished red ware, and burnished grey ware — most was wheel-made.
• Domesticated animals included cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, cat, and dog; remains of molluscs and shells indicate that people also ate shellfish.
• In the Neolithic-Chalcolithic period, copper objects appeared, including a fishhook, wire, rings, and a needle — metal was probably obtained from the neighbouring Rakha mines.
  • Painted decoration became much more frequent, and pots were also often decorated with finger impressions and rope patterns.
  • Shell ornaments included triangular pendants; there were many finished and unfinished beads of semi-precious stones, and terracotta artefacts included beads, pottery discs, and a bull figurine.
• There are some cultural similarities between Neolithic Chirand and Senuar.

Taradih

• In Bodh Gaya. Hand-made red wares, and handmade burnished grey ware with post-firing ochre-coloured painting, were found, along with Neolithic celts, microliths, and bone tools.
• Houses were of wattle-and-daub, with hearths.
• Bones of cattle, goat, buffalo, pig, sheep, deer, bird, fish, and snail were found, along with plant remains including grains of rice, wheat, and barley.

(5) Neolithic Culture of Eastern India

• Eastern India comprises the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Orissa, and the Neolithic here caps a rich prehistoric past. Important sites include Kuchai and Golbai Sasan in Orissa, Pandu Rajar Dhibi, Bharatpur, and Mahisdal in West Bengal, and Barudih in Jharkhand.
  • Since no rigorous excavations have been undertaken here, only a tentative picture of the Neolithic way of life can be sketched, and dating too remains a problem.

Kuchai:

• The existence of a Neolithic level at Kuchai, near Mayurbhanj in Orissa, was established on the basis of polished stone tools like celts and axes.
• Tools: faceted hoes, chisels, pounders, mace heads, and grinding stones, alongside Neolithic material such as celts, bar chisels, rounded-butt axes, wedges, and hammer stones.
• Pottery: a reddish-brown pottery, some with incised decoration.

Golbai Sasan:

• On the left bank of the river Mandakini. Period I at the site is Neolithic, showing a range of dull red and grey handmade pottery with cord or tortoise-shell impressions, in association with a few worked pieces of bone and traces of floors and post-holes.

Pandu Rajar Dhibi:

• In the Ajay Valley, the first site to clearly demonstrate the Neolithic base of later developments like the Chalcolithic.
• Period I is the Neolithic phase, showing handmade grey ware with rice husk impressions, painted red pottery, some sherds of black-and-red ware, and ground stone tools, microliths, and bone tools.
  • The coexistence of microliths, ground stone tools, and bone tools reveals the emergence of the Neolithic from an underlying Mesolithic matrix.

Barudih:

• The first archaeologically identifiable village level in the Chota Nagpur plateau is represented at Barudih, in Singhbhum district, Jharkhand.
• Finds include microliths, Neolithic celts, iron slag and implements, and a range of wheel-made pottery, among which black-and-red ware is prominent. The earliest calibrated time range for the site is 1401–837 BC.

(6) Neolithic Culture of North-East India

• The north-eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Manipur have not yet been properly explored for prehistoric sites.
  • Large numbers of polished stone tools have been found in the Khasi, Garo, Naga, and Cachar hills, but their cultural context and dates remain uncertain.
• The spread of the Neolithic here is considered by some to be an import from South-East Asia, on account of the use of shouldered axes and cord-impressed pottery, which have a close affinity with pottery from China and South-East Asia.
  • Yet the affinity of the Assam Neolithic with China or South-East Asia has not been finally settled, given a wide chronological gap; the Assam Neolithic phase has been dated to around 2000 BC.
• Important sites of the region include:
  • Daojali Hading, Sarutaru, and Marakdola, in Assam.
  • Napchik, in Manipur.
  • Pynthorlangtein, in Meghalaya.
• The Neolithic culture of this region is characterised by shouldered celts, small ground axes of rounded form, and cord-impressed pottery, heavily tempered with quartz particles.
• Daojali Hading, in the North Kachhar hills of Assam, has yielded Neolithic stone and fossil wood axes, adzes, hoes, chisels, grinding slabs, querns, mullers, handmade grey-to-dull-red cord-marked pottery, as well as dull red stamped pottery and plain red pottery.
  • No domesticated cereals have been recovered, but the presence of mullers and querns establishes the practice of agricultural activity.

(7) Early Farmers of South India

• The South Indian Neolithic culture, spread over the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, has given us the largest number of Neolithic settlements in the country, owing to the easy availability of stone. The culture has been placed between 2600 and 1000 BC.
• The geographical terrain of this culture is that part of the Deccan plateau bound by the river Bhima in the north and the river Kaveri in the south, with a major concentration of sites in the Raichur doab (between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra) and the Shorapur doab (between the Bhima and the Krishna).
• Besides the profusion of sites, what makes the South Indian Neolithic remarkable is the phenomenon of ash mounds, and the location of settlements on the flat-topped or castellated granite hills or plateaux of the region.

Ash Mounds

• Ash mounds are vast mounds of burnt cattle dung ash, accumulated as a result of periodical burnings.
  • Some researchers have suggested a West Asian origin for these; today, however, their growth and development is viewed in the context of earlier, indigenous Stone Age traditions.
  • The periodic burning may have been connected with seasonal festivals, marking the beginning or end of annual migrations to forest grazing grounds.
• Ash mounds have been excavated at Utnur, Kupgal, Kodekal, and Pallavoy.
  • They mark Neolithic cattle pens, surrounded by heavy enclosures made of tree trunks. Some Neolithic pens were attached to permanent settlements, while others may have been temporary camps.
  • Ash mound sites tend to occur in hilly tracts, close to sources of water, with good pasture land but soils too poor for agriculture.
  • Garbage accumulated from the penning of cattle and other animals was dumped along with household refuse at spots close to the settlement, and periodically burnt.
• Possible reasons for dung accumulation and burning:
  • To keep the settlement clean.
  • To protect people and animals from health hazards posed by vermin-infested dung heaps.
  • To scare away wild animals.
  • As part of rituals aimed at promoting the fertility of cattle.
• Some ash mounds are so large that the sites could have served as regional or local centres, where people came from afar to attend periodic cattle fairs; some ash mounds in remote areas may indicate seasonal migrations to forest grazing grounds. Some historians argue that sites such as Utnur represent seasonal cattle camps.

Important Neolithic Sites of South India

• Karnataka: Sangankallu, Hallur, Tekkalakota, Brahmagiri, Maski, T. Narsipur, Piklihal, Kodekal, Budihal, Kupgal.
• Andhra Pradesh: Utnur, Palavoy, Nagarjunakonda.
• Tamil Nadu: Paiyampalli.
• The location of Neolithic settlements near hills or plateaux seems to have been motivated by access to perennial water (streams or rivers), plentiful game and pasture for grazing animals, and raw materials such as stone and wood.
  • Both campsites and habitation sites have been discovered, where people lived in circular wattle-and-daub huts; hearths and storage areas have been found in practically all the huts.

The Three Phases of the South Indian Neolithic

• Phase I: The earliest phase, represented at Sangankallu and Nagarjunakonda. Faint traces of dwellings, crude handmade pale reddish-brown pottery, and blade tools of chert and ground stone tools at Nagarjunakonda demonstrate that people had only rudimentary knowledge of cultivation, and probably did not domesticate animals. This phase can be dated to 2500 BC or earlier.
• Phase II: Pottery is mainly of red ware fabric. Lapidary art and the domestication of animals appear as new features; microliths were now made of quartz crystals.
• Phase III: (datable to 1500 BC) Grey ware pottery predominates, along with Neolithic tools of various types, indicating a greater practice of agriculture, with food gathering and hunting now assuming a subsidiary role.
  • The latter two phases are characterised by dwelling pits at Nagarjunakonda, with roofs supported by wooden poles; wattle-and-daub houses are reported from other sites.

Subsistence Base of the Southern Neolithic

• Different views have been proposed regarding the subsistence base of the southern Neolithic sites:
  • View I: Neolithic people were sedentary farmers who cleared forests to carry out agriculture.
  • View II: While these people may have practised some amount of agriculture, they were basically nomadic pastoralists.
  • View III: They were sedentary pastoralists who did not practise any agriculture whatsoever.
  • View IV: There was a transition from cattle pastoralism (represented at the early ash mound sites) towards agriculture (in the later sites) — though the site of Watgal shows that ash mound sites were not necessarily the earliest.
• Subsistence was primarily based on a mixed economy — rudimentary farming and animal husbandry.
• Evidence of animal domestication: The importance of cattle rearing is testified by faunal remains, ash mounds, terracotta figurines of humped cattle, and rock bruisings of cattle around some settlements.
  • Cattle dominate the faunal assemblage, both in ash-mound and non-ash-mound sites; sheep and goat bones occur in much smaller quantities, and there are few bones of water buffalo and pig (both wild and domesticated).
  • Bones of wild and domesticated fowl, ass, swine, and horse are also reported from some sites.
  • Animals were used for draught work, carrying heavy material, and ploughing fields. Excavations at Nagarjunakonda make it clear that domestication of plants preceded the domestication of animals.
• Evidence of agriculture:
  • Earlier research found not much evidence of agriculture at South Indian Neolithic sites — only occasional discoveries of charred grain and the indirect evidence of grinding stones, with cattle rearing seeming to dominate; it was argued that the terrain, soil, and dry climate of the area made it unsuitable for agriculture.
  • Recent research, however, has found a range of plant remains at southern Neolithic sites. Millet (ragi) was the staple crop, along with grains of pulses and seeds of ber.
    • It was generally believed that domesticated ragi came from Africa, but recent research shows it to be indigenous.
    • Other crops cultivated by South Indian Neolithic farmers were wheat, horsegram, moong (green gram), and date palm.
    • Terracing seems to have been an important feature of cultivation methods during this period.
• Fishing and hunting: Fish bones and charred and split animal bones show that fishing and hunting contributed substantially to dietary requirements.
• Evidence of craft: There is not much evidence of craft or trade activities; copper and bronze objects occur at several sites, but with no indication of local smelting or working of copper.
• Trade: A pair of gold earrings was found at Neolithic Tekkalakota, and the Kolar gold fields of Karnataka are the likely source of gold found in Harappan contexts — implying trade between the urban Harappans and the Neolithic communities of South India. Marine shell and marine shell artefacts found at Watgal indicate exchange with coastal areas.

Key Sites of the South Indian Neolithic

Sangankallu:

• A long occupation, beginning with the Palaeolithic phase, followed by a microlithic industry of quartz flakes, cores, and lunates. The classic Neolithic industry of polished stone tools features here, with a time-gap between the Neolithic and the earlier microlithic levels.
• Coarse grey and red pottery was discovered, either handmade or produced on a slow wheel. Storage pits have yielded remains of charred grains and bones of domesticated animals like cattle, sheep, and goat.

Piklihal (in Raichur district, Karnataka):

• An ash mound site. The Neolithic people here were cattle herders, who had domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats.
  • A mobile group, they set up seasonal camps surrounded by cowpens made with wooden posts and stakes, in which dung was gathered; when it was time to move, the entire camping ground was set afire and cleared for the next session of camping.

Utnur (in Mahbubnagar district, AP):

• An ash mound, where cattle hoof-prints were found in the ash. It gave evidence of stone axes, stone blades, and handmade pottery, with a material culture similar to that of sites such as Piklihal (dated from c. 2100 BCE) and Kodekal.

Budihal (in Gulbarga district, Karnataka; c. 2200–1600 BCE):

• An ash mound as well as a habitational deposit, and a chert blade-working area — it is possible that chert tools made at this site were sent to other Neolithic settlements.
• Child burials (some in pits, others in pots) were found in the habitational area.
• Artefacts found from the ash mound and residential area include red and grey pottery, ground stone tools, chert blades, bone tools including axe heads, and beads of shell, bone, and semi-precious stones. A few grains of domesticated horse gram were found.
• Animals: Faunal remains of domesticated and wild species; bones of domesticated cattle were the most numerous, showing that the Neolithic people of Budihal specialised mainly in cattle rearing, and to a lesser extent in sheep, goat, buffalo, and fowl.
  • The bones of wild fauna included nilgai, blackbuck, antelope, monitor lizard, tortoises, birds, fish, crabs, and molluscs, and a butchering area was identified within the settlement.

Ramapuram (Kurnool district, AP):

• Marks the beginning of the Chalcolithic phase at sites such as Singanapalli and Ramapuram, with evidence of house floors plastered with lime, wheel-made painted pottery (mostly black-on-red), microliths, and beads of semi-precious stones.

Summary Table: Key Neolithic Sites

Neolithic Site	Location	Time Span	Characteristics
Mehrgarh	Baluchistan, Pakistan	c. 7000 BC	Produced cotton and wheat; lived in mud-brick houses.
Burzahom (“the place of birch”)	Kashmir	c. 2700 BC	People lived beside a lake, in pits. Domestic dogs were buried alongside their masters. Used tools and weapons of polished stone as well as bone.
Gufkral	Kashmir	c. 2000 BC	Practised both agriculture and animal domestication. Used tools and weapons of polished stone as well as bone.
Chirand	Bihar	c. 2000 BC	Used tools and weapons made of bone.
Piklihal, Brahmagiri, Maski, Hallur, Tekkalakota, T. Narsipur, Kodekal, Sangankallu	Karnataka	c. 2000–1000 BC	The people of Piklihal were cattle herders, who domesticated sheep, goats, and cattle. Ash mounds have been found.
Paiyampalli	Tamil Nadu	c. 2000–1000 BC	—
Utnur	Andhra Pradesh	c. 2000–1000 BC	—

The Life of Neolithic People

• The Neolithic stage is associated 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, and food preferences and ways of preparation are part of social life. The site of Budihal gives a graphic image of community food preparation and feasting at a Neolithic site.
• Some sites were small communities with a simple social organisation, while larger sites were more complex societies.
  • The details of the subsistence patterns of these communities would have varied, depending on the resource potential of the environment, and on their methods of adapting to it.
  • Differences in material equipment, such as tools, pottery, and houses, suggest differences in craft traditions and lifestyles; burial practices and objects of possible cultic significance reflect divergent belief systems and customs.
• Life for early farmers cannot be characterised by comfort and ease — a lack of rain, or pests or disease, could mean a bad harvest, and mould and rodents could destroy precious reserves of stored grain.

Sedentary Living

• Elements of sedentary living can be seen among certain hunting-gathering groups, while some farmers and pastoralists retained a migratory lifestyle.
  • The transition to agriculture, however, led to increasing levels of sedentariness among most communities.

Health

• Studies of nutrition and disease, based on an analysis of human bones, suggest that hunter-gatherers had a high-protein diet — more varied, balanced, and healthy — compared to that of early farmers, whose diet tended to be high in carbohydrates, with an emphasis on cereals or root crops.
• Sedentary people were also more vulnerable to infectious diseases and epidemics than nomadic groups, and hence a higher incidence of disease is reflected in the bones of early farming communities.

Demographic Changes

• A sedentary life, and the diet associated with agriculture, would have meant less stress on women during pregnancy, and more stable conditions for mother and child after childbirth.
  • High-carbohydrate diets are connected with decreased birth intervals — all these factors would have combined to produce higher birth rates.
• Sedentary living was also easier on children and the elderly, resulting in reduced death rates and increased life expectancy.
• Hence, the advent of food production would have led to an increase in population, and to changes in the age profiles within communities.

New Tools and Planning

• Food production required new tool kits and equipment. It also involved shifts in the contributions of men and women, children, and the aged.
• A change in the food ethic followed: hunter-gatherers generally collect as much food as they can immediately consume on a short-term basis, whereas farmers had to produce and store quantities of food for future use — requiring much more long-term planning.

The Role of Women

• It has been argued that women may have been at the forefront of experiments related to plant domestication.
  • If, in hunting-gathering societies, men generally hunted and women gathered food, it is indeed likely that the early experiments in agriculture were made by women.
  • Since pottery was connected with food storage and cooking — tasks generally associated with women — women may also have played a significant role in the technical advances related to pottery making.
  • Women and children may have been involved in activities such as collecting and processing clay, collecting firewood, piling it in the kiln, and decorating the pots.

Craft and Trade

• Although the Neolithic stage is generally associated with subsistence-level activities, there is evidence of specialised crafts and long-distance exchange at sites such as Mehrgarh.
  • Kunjhun and Ganeshwar indicate fairly well-developed craft traditions and site specialisation.
• Many sites give evidence of separate areas within the settlement earmarked for different activities — cattle rearing, craft production, butchering, and the like. Some Neolithic communities were interacting with proto-urban and urban cultures.

Social Differentiation and Political Control

• When larger groups of people started living together in settled villages, they would have had to devise new norms of interaction and cooperation, different from those associated with bands of hunter-gatherers.
  • The communities of early farmers and pastoralists must have been internally differentiated on the basis of age and sex.
  • At some sites, differences in the sizes of houses, and in the quantity and quality of grave goods, suggest the existence of social ranks.
• Among larger groups, the regulation of economic activities and social relations would have required some sort of effective political control and organisation.

Changes in Cultic and Belief Systems

• Changes in subsistence practices would have involved corresponding shifts in symbolic and belief systems.
  • The cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals must have led to increased concern with fertility, and religious ways of controlling it.
• Terracotta female figurines, found at neolithic levels onwards at certain sites, have often been given the label of “Mother Goddesses.”
  • It is very likely that farming communities connected women with fertility, given that women give birth; it is also possible that they worshipped images of goddesses associated with fertility.
• Humped bull figurines, found at sites such as Rana Ghundai, Mehrgarh, Mundigak, Bala Kot, Gilund, Balathal, and Chirand, may have been cult objects.
• Burials:
  • Purposeful, standardised burials do not appear for the first time in the Neolithic or Neolithic-Chalcolithic phase, but they do increase in number at this time, implying an increased significance attached to the bodily remains of the deceased.
  • Patterns in the orientation and form of burials show the existence of funerary customs followed by some members of the community.
  • Multiple burials may indicate simultaneous death, or the strength of kinship ties.
  • The practice of covering bodies with red ochre prior to burial at Mehrgarh suggests a fertility ritual.
  • The joint burials of humans and animals at Burzahom reflect a close relationship between people and their animals.
• Social and political differentiation: Simple versus more elaborate graves can be seen as reflecting differences in funerary customs associated with people of different ranks.
  • Grave goods suggest a belief in an afterlife.
  • Secondary burials suggest multi-stage funerary practices and rituals.

Conclusion: The Neolithic Transition

• While profuse microlithic remains precede the Neolithic at some sites, others give a silent testimony, revealing only a full-blown Neolithic phase.
• There is significant 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, instead, a co-existence and interaction among Neolithic, Neolithic-Chalcolithic, rural Chalcolithic, urban Chalcolithic, and hunter-gatherer communities.
• All across the country, between the fifth and first millennium BC, people were moving towards a “Neolithic” way of life — settled hutments, the practice of agriculture and animal husbandry, pottery, and the beginnings of craft production.
• But the story of human cultural evolution did not stop here, for this was just the base on which the next chapter — that of large-scale civilisations — was to arise. In the long run, the process of food production and its associated cultural developments eventually led to the emergence of proto-urban settlements, and then full-fledged cities.

The Chalcolithic Age: Beyond the Neolithic

• By the second millennium BC, several regional cultures sprang up in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. These were non-urban, non-Harappan, and characterised by the use of stone and copper tools — hence, these cultures are termed Chalcolithic cultures.
• The Chalcolithic cultures are identified on the basis of their geographical location. Thus, we have:
  • The Banas culture, located in the Banas basin in Rajasthan.
  • The Kayatha culture, whose type site, Kayatha, lies on the bank of the river Kalisindh (an affluent of the Chambal), represented by other sites in central India, in the Narmada, Tapi, and Mahi valleys.
  • The Malwa culture, in Malwa, extending into other parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
  • The Jorwe culture, in Maharashtra.
• As the type sites of these cultures have been excavated, we have been able to form a detailed idea of their settlement patterns, economy, mortuary practices, and religious beliefs.
• In addition, in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, and Karnataka, catches of copper/bronze objects have been found. As these were found in hoards, these sites were once thought to represent a distinct “Copper Hoard” culture.
  • At Saipai (Etawah district), a site in Uttar Pradesh, a copper harpoon has been found in association with a pottery known as Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP). Though some other Copper Hoard sites have yielded OCP, the copper objects are not found in direct association with OCP elsewhere.
  • As more than a hundred sites in the Ganga-Yamuna doab have yielded this characteristic pottery, these sites are described as belonging to the OCP culture.
• The OCP culture is succeeded by the Black and Red Ware (BRW) and Painted Grey Ware (PGW) cultures, distinguished by their diagnostic pottery types.
  • In north India, there is a distinct concentration of Painted Grey Ware sites in Haryana and the upper Ganga valley.
  • Iron makes its appearance in the Painted Grey Ware culture, and its use becomes more widespread in the ensuing phase, known as the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP) culture. Starting from the sixth century BC, we also see the beginnings of urbanisation.
• The BRW, PGW, and NBP cultures are described by pottery type alone because that particular pottery happens to be their most distinctive feature, though each of these cultures possesses many other aspects as well.
• To understand the cultural developments following the decline of the Harappan Civilisation, we begin with northern India — especially the Ganga-Yamuna doab.

Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) Culture

• On the basis of thermoluminescence dates obtained from OCP pottery, the culture has been ascribed to 2000–1500 BC.
• A new pottery type was discovered in trial excavations at Bisauli (Badaun district) and Rajpur Parsu (Bijnor district) in Uttar Pradesh — both of them Copper Hoard sites.
  • More than 100 sites, extending from Mayapur in Saharanpur district to Saipai in Etawah district (UP), have since been discovered.
  • At Hastinapura and Ahichchhatra, there is a break in occupation between the OCP culture and the succeeding PGW culture, while at Atranjikhera, the OCP settlements are succeeded by Black and Red Ware pottery.
• Settlement and habitation:
  • OCP sites are generally located on river banks; these sites are small in size, and the mounds have a low height at many sites (e.g., Bahadarabad, Bisauli, Rajpur Parsu, Saipai) — indicating a relatively short duration of these settlements.
  • The distance between settlements varies from 5 to 8 km.
  • At some OCP sites (e.g., Ambkheri, Baheria, Bahadarabad, Jhinjhana, Lal Qila, Atranjikhera, Saipai), excavations have revealed no signs of regular habitation, and not much evidence is available regarding structures.
  • From the scanty evidence recorded at Lal Qila, it is known that floors were made of rammed earth; the structures consisted of wattle-and-daub houses — suggested by burnt mud plaster and mud clods with reed and bamboo impressions.
• Material remains:
  • These are mostly in the form of pottery — jars (including storage jars), bowls, ring-footed bowls, flasks, handled pots, miniature pots, basins, spouts, and the like.
  • This pottery is made of medium-grained clay, underfired, with a wash of ochre (which has a tendency to rub off), ranging from orange to red — hence the name “Ochre Coloured Pottery.”
  • On the basis of similarities in pottery type, some scholars believe that OCP represented a degenerated form of late Harappan pottery.
  • Other objects comprise terracotta bangles; beads of terracotta and carnelian; terracotta animal figurines and cart wheels with a central knob; stone querns and pestles; and bone points.
  • A copper harpoon has been found in the OCP stratum at Saipai.
  • Archaeobotanical remains recovered at Atranjikhera, related to this culture, indicate that rice, barley, gram, and kesari were grown.

The Problem of the Copper Hoards

• The first discovery of a copper object (a copper harpoon) belonging to the Copper Hoard culture was made at Bithur, in Kanpur district. Since then, nearly one thousand copper objects have been found in hoards, at 85 sites, distributed as: Haryana (5), Rajasthan (6), Uttar Pradesh (33), Bihar (19), West Bengal (6), Orissa (7), Madhya Pradesh (8), and Karnataka (1).
• The copper objects found in a hoard range from 1 to 47, except at Gungeria in Madhya Pradesh, where a single hoard contained 424 objects. It is only at Saipai that a copper harpoon was found in excavation, in a stratum associated with OCP.
• These copper objects are classified into several types, the main ones being: (a) celts, (b) rings, (c) harpoons, (d) antennae swords, (e) hooked swords, (f) anthropomorphs, and (g) double axes.
• Considering the occurrence of a copper harpoon in association with OCP at Saipai, and the fact that Copper Hoards have been found at other OCP sites (though not in direct archaeological association), they can be related to the OCP culture — in this way, the period of the Copper Hoards can also be ascribed to 2800–1500 BC.

Black and Red Ware (BRW) Culture

• It covers a vast time span — from 2400 BC to the early centuries of the Christian era.
• Excavations at Atranjikhera revealed a distinct horizon, sandwiched between OCP and PGW levels, characterised by a distinctive pottery called Black and Red Ware (BRW).
  • A similar stratigraphic sequence has been discovered at Jodhpura and Noh in Rajasthan.
  • But at Ahichchhatra, Hastinapura, and Alamgirpur, BRW is found associated with PGW.
• Pottery:
  • The characteristic features are a black colour inside and near the rim on the outside, and red colour over the rest of the body — this colour combination is produced by inverted firing.
  • The pottery is mostly wheel-turned, though some pots are also handmade; it is made of fine clay, with thin walls.
  • Black and Red Ware pottery with paintings has also been found at sites in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal — but in the BRW of the doab area, paintings are absent.
• Other objects:
  • At Atranjikhera: fragments of stones, waste flakes, chips; cores of quartz, chalcedony, agate, and carnelian; one bead each of carnelian, shell, and copper; a copper ring; and a fragment of a comb made of bone. No stone or metal tools were found.
  • At Jodhpura: a bone spike.
  • At Noh: a shapeless piece of iron, a terracotta bead, and a bone spike.
• BRW in the doab and other regions:
  • Some scholars see affinities between the BRW of Atranjikhera and that of Gilund and Ahar in southern Rajasthan, based on a comparison of fabric, texture, and burnishing — though there are also differences in the shape and designs of the pottery in these areas.
  • The important feature of the doab BRW (and that at Noh) is its plain surface, devoid of any paintings, while the BRW found at Gilund and Ahar is painted in white on a black surface.
  • There are also typological differences: the painted BRW from Ahar has pronounced carinated concave sides, and a coarse fabric, whereas the plain BRW of the doab has no carination and a fine fabric.
  • The dish with a featureless rim and concave sides, present in large numbers in the doab BRW, is absent at Ahar and Gilund; bowls with spouts and dish-on-stand, present at Ahar and Gilund, have not been found in the doab sites.
• Black and Red Ware, with some variation from region to region, has a wide distribution — occurring 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 (PGW) Culture

• Since the first discovery of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) at Ahichchhatra, a huge number of sites have come to light across different parts of north India, including Rupar (Punjab), Bhagwanpura (Haryana), Noh (Rajasthan), and Alamgirpur, Ahichchhatra, Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, Jakhera, and Mathura (all in Uttar Pradesh).
• The concentration of PGW sites is in the Indo-Gangetic divide (Haryana), the Sutlej basin, and the upper Ganga plains.
  • Settlements are located along river banks. The average distance between sites is about 10–12 km, though in some cases it is only 5 km.
  • Settlements are mostly small villages (1 to 4 hectares), with the exception of Bhukari (Ambala district, Haryana), an extensive settlement covering 96,193 sq. m.
• Pottery:
  • Pottery is wheel-made, from well-levigated clay, with a thin core; it has a smooth surface, grey to ash-grey in colour.
  • It is painted in black on the outer as well as inner surface; the most common designs are on bowls and dishes.
• Structures:
  • Houses and other structures were of wattle-and-daub, indicated by patches of burnt earth, mud bricks, burnt bricks, mud platforms, and mud plaster pieces with reed and bamboo impressions, found at Ahichchhatra, Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, and Jakhera.
  • Excavations at Bhagwanpura (Haryana) revealed different structural phases: post-holes in the first phase indicate circular and rectangular huts, while in the second phase, one house has 13 rooms with a corridor between two sets of rooms, and also a courtyard.
• Other objects:
  • A variety of objects made of copper, iron, glass, and bone were found — axes, chisels, fish hooks, and arrowheads. Spearheads are made only of iron.
  • Among agricultural implements, only a sickle and a hoe, made of iron, have been found, at Jakhera.
  • Iron objects are found at all the sites except Hastinapura. At Jodhpura, there is evidence of two furnaces; iron ore was procured from other regions.
• Ornaments:
  • Beads of terracotta, agate, jasper, carnelian, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, glass, and bone have been found. Two glass bangles were found at Hastinapura, and copper bangles at Jakhera.
  • Terracotta objects comprise human (male and female) and animal (bull and horse) figurines, discs, balls, potter’s stamps, and the like.
• Crops and animal remains:
  • Evidence of cultivated crops is available only at Hastinapura and Atranjikhera. At Hastinapura, remains of only rice were found; Atranjikhera has yielded remains of wheat and barley.
  • Bones of horse, cattle, pig, goat, and deer have been found at Hastinapura, Allahpura, and Atranjikhera — including both wild and domesticated animals.
• Trade practices and linkages:
  • Beads of a variety of semi-precious stones (agate, jasper, carnelian, chalcedony, lapis lazuli) are found at different PGW sites in the doab; none of these stones are available locally in the doab, and could only have been obtained through trade.
  • Agate and chalcedony are found in Kashmir, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, whereas lapis lazuli is found in Afghanistan — indicating that the people inhabiting PGW sites obtained these stones through trade or exchange with these regions.
  • Certain parallels in shape and size have been found between PGW pottery and pottery found in north-western India, especially grey ware found in association with iron, indicating some links with the PGW cultures.

Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP) Culture

• Northern Black Polished Ware culture is identified by its distinctive pottery, first discovered at Taxila, with a black lustre. Since then, nearly 1,500 NBP sites have come to light, extending from Taxila and Udgram in the north-west, to Tamluk in east Bengal, and Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) in the south.
• Excavations have revealed that:
  • At several sites, NBP Ware culture succeeded PGW levels.
  • At some sites, NBP succeeded BRW, and NBP is succeeded by Red Slipped Ware.
• On the basis of pottery frequency and associated objects, two phases can be distinguished in the NBP Ware culture:
  • Phase I (also called the “predefence” phase): characterised by a predominance of NBP Ware, and the presence of sherds of BRW and PGW, though in meagre quantities. There is an absence of punch-marked coins and burnt-brick structures, signifying a lower level of development. This phase is represented at Atranjikhera, Shravasti, and Prahladpur.
  • Phase II: Pottery specimens of BRW and PGW are not found in this phase. NBP Ware is of poorer quality (thicker fabric), found in smaller numbers, while a coarse grey ware comes into greater use. Punch-marked coins and burnt bricks make their first appearance. This phase is represented at Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, Shravasti, and Prahladpur.
• Taking into account the similarities between NBP and PGW, some scholars have suggested that the former is a refined form of the latter, and that the difference between the two appears to be confined only to surface treatment.
  • As the concentration of NBPW is in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it is held that its origin lies somewhere in this region; it spread beyond the Ganga plains in later times, a spread attributed to the activities of Buddhist monks and traders.
• Structures:
  • Excavations at Hastinapura, Atranjikhera, and Kausambi show that, during this period, building activities began on a large scale, and that cities began to emerge.
  • Excellent evidence of settlement layout was unearthed at Kausambi. Houses were made of burnt bricks, with the use of timber evidenced by post-holes and sockets for door jambs; roofs were covered with tiles, and rooms were square as well as rectangular — indicating fairly planned building activity.
  • Excavations at Hastinapura revealed an elaborate drainage system.
  • Some settlements were fortified, with a mud or brick wall, and moats were constructed encircling the fortification; the fortification wall at Kausambi had guard rooms, towers, and gates at regular intervals.
  • These structures tell us about the social or political life of the period: fortifications signify defensive measures against invasion and speak of political tensions; the drainage system indicates concern for hygiene and technical advancement; and large-scale building activity, such as fortifications, would have required a large number of people to participate — needing some authority to mobilise the workforce.
• Pottery:
  • The most characteristic feature of NBP Ware is its glossy surface. It is turned on a fast wheel, from well-levigated clay; the core of the pottery is, in some cases, as thin as 1.5 mm.
  • In addition to the glossy black surface, NBP Ware is also found in golden, silver, white, pinkish, steel blue, chocolate, and brown colours.
  • The recovery of rivetted pots (made by joining broken pieces) from some sites (e.g., Ropar, Sonepur) indicates how valuable NBP Ware was — this, along with the presence of other pottery types, suggests that NBP was a luxury ware, not accessible to everybody, and that society was divided into unequal groups.
  • Though NBP ware is generally unpainted, some painted sherds do occur, using yellow and light vermilion colours; common designs include simple bands, wavy lines, dots, concentric and intersecting circles, semi-circles, arches, and loops. The most common shapes are bowls and different kinds of dishes.
• Other objects:
  • Several kinds of tools, weapons, ornaments, and other objects made of copper, iron, gold, silver, stone, glass, and bone have been recovered from NBP Ware sites — revealing the technological progress of this period, further corroborated by early Buddhist texts, which mention a number of arts and crafts.
    • The Jatakas refer to about 18 guilds — for instance, of workers in wood, metal, stone, precious and semi-precious stones, ivory, and textiles.
  • Copper objects found at many sites include chisels, knives, borers, pins, needles, antimony rods, nail parers, ferrules, reels, and bangles.
  • Iron objects not only preponderate, but also exhibit a greater variety of form compared to the PGW period. The site of Kausambi alone has yielded 1,115 iron objects, dating between 800 BC and 550 AD, including:
    • Agricultural implements, like hoes and sickles, and craftsmen’s tools such as axes, adzes, chisels, and screw rods.
    • Weapons, like arrowheads and spearheads.
    • Miscellaneous objects, including knives, handles of different kinds, hooks, nails, rivets, fishplates, rings, and miniature bells.
  • Silver punch-marked coins have been found from the middle phase of NBP culture, indicating a possible shift from a barter system to a system of exchange through metallic currency.
• Ornaments:
  • Beads made of semi-precious stones, glass, clay, copper, shell, and bone are the most commonly found, in shapes such as circular, spherical, biconical, cylindrical, barrel, and square. A single gold bead is known from Kausambi (c. 300 BC).
  • Other ornaments include bangles of terracotta, glass, shell, stone, and copper; finger rings of copper, iron, horn, and clay; and pendants of terracotta, agate, and carnelian.
  • All these finds tell us about the use of ornaments in society, the existence of specialised craftsmen, and trade or exchange activities with other regions to procure various semi-precious stones.
• Terracotta figurines:
  • These comprise human and animal figurines and miscellaneous objects. Male figurines are usually plain, except for a few with a headdress, while female figurines have elaborate headdresses, ear ornaments, necklaces, and girdles.
  • Animal figurines are hand-modelled but well executed, including horse, bull, ram, and elephant. Miscellaneous objects include toy carts, simple and animal-headed gamesmen, discs, balls, flesh-rubbers, and potter’s stamps.
  • At a later stage of this culture, seals and sealings bearing inscriptions in the Brahmi script are found.
  • Such finds tell us a great deal about the people of the period — for example, toy carts tell us that carts were used as a means of transportation.
• Subsistence economy and trade:
  • Rice, wheat, barley, millet, pea, and black gram were cultivated; animal remains found at some sites suggest dependence on cattle, sheep, goat, pig, and fish.
  • The occurrence of a diverse variety of beads, common at several sites, is seen as evidence of trade — it has been suggested that trade links existed between Taxila, Hastinapura, Ahichchhatra, Shravasti, and Kausambi during 600–200 BC.
    • Such a view is strengthened by references in Buddhist texts to trade guilds, and to caravans of camels, horses, mules, oxen, and buffaloes.
  • Between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC, there was trade between India and countries to the west, with the main items of export being textiles, spices, and probably finished goods of iron and steel.
  • From the Arthashastra, it appears that the state not only exercised control over trade, but also had a monopoly over industries like gold, copper, iron, lead, tin, silver, diamond, gems, and precious stones.

Chalcolithic Cultures of Western, Central, and Eastern India

• Several local Chalcolithic, early-farming cultures flourished in western, central, and eastern India during the second and first millennia BC. These cultures were basically village settlements.
• Their distinctive features include:
  • Painted pottery, mostly black-on-red.
  • A highly specialised stone blade/flake industry of siliceous stones.
  • Copper was known, but its use was limited, since the metal was scarce.
• Settlements consisted of circular and rectangular huts, and, in some cases, pit dwellings are also known; the economy was based on farming and animal husbandry.
• These cultures are named after their type sites:
  • Kayatha culture (2000–1800 BC): named after the site of Kayatha (near Ujjain), on the bank of the Kalisindh, an affluent of the river Chambal.
  • Ahar, or Banas, culture (2000–1400 BC): named after the river Banas; its type site is Ahar (Udaipur, Rajasthan). Many sites of this culture are known in the valleys of the Banas and Berach, in south-east Rajasthan.
  • Savalda culture (2000–1800 BC): its type site is Savalda (Dhulia district, Maharashtra); it is mostly confined to the Tapi valley, though evidence from Daimabad suggests it reached up to the Pravara valley.
  • Malwa culture (1700–1200 BC): discovered in excavations at Maheshwar and Navadatoli (Nimar district, Madhya Pradesh), on the banks of the Narmada; named for the large number of sites brought to light in the Malwa region.
    • The Malwa people began to migrate to Maharashtra around 1600 BC, and several settlements have been discovered in the Tapi, Godavari, and Bhima valleys. The most extensive Malwa-culture settlements in Maharashtra are Prakash (Dhulia district), Daimabad (Ahmednagar district), and Inamgaon (Pune district).
  • Prabhas culture (1800–1500 BC): named after the type site Prabhas Patan, in Gujarat.
  • Rangpur culture (1400–700 BC): named after the type site Rangpur, in Gujarat.
  • Jorwe culture: its type site is Jorwe (Ahmednagar district), Maharashtra; extensive Jorwe occupation succeeds the Malwa culture at Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon.
  • Chirand culture (1500–750 BC): Stone- and copper-using agricultural communities have also been reported from eastern India. In northern Bihar, at Chirand, remains of an ancient village settlement have been found — people lived in small houses of bamboo and mud plaster, ate rice and fish, hunted wild animals, and used black-and-red ware pottery.
    • Similar settlements have been reported from Sohgaura in Gorakhpur (UP), and Sonpur in Gaya (Bihar), where people also grew wheat and barley.
    • In West Bengal, the sites of Pandu-Rajar-Dhibi (Burdwan district) and Mahisdal (Burdwan district) have yielded similar evidence.
    • All these settlements have been dated between 1500 and 750 BC.

Pottery: Diagnostic Features of Each Culture

• Kayatha ware: characterised by three fabrics — a thick and sturdy red-slipped ware, painted with designs in dark brown; a red-painted buff ware (thin, with a fine fabric); and a combed ware, with incised patterns and generally without a slip. Most pots of the sturdy red-slipped ware have a ring base.
• Ahar ware: has seven kinds of ware, but its most characteristic type is a black-and-red ware painted in white.
• Savalda ware: characterised by a black-on-red painted pottery, decorated with naturalistic designs such as birds, animals, and fishes.
• Malwa ware: coarse in fabric, with a thick buff slip, over which patterns are executed in black or dark brown.
• Prabhas and Rangpur wares: derived from the Harappan black-on-red painted ware.
• Jorwe ware: painted black-on-red, with a matt surface treated with a red wash.
• All these cultures also have other associated wares, mostly red or grey; the pottery is largely wheel-made, though there are also hand-made forms.
• Pottery shapes: bowls, basins, globular jars with concave necks, dishes, and lotas, among others.
  • The distinctive forms of the Jorwe culture are carinated bowls, spouted jars with flaring mouths, and high-necked globular vases.

Economy

• A greater part of the region in which these Chalcolithic cultures flourished lies within the zone of black cotton soil, with a semi-arid climate.
• The mainstay of the economy was subsistence agriculture and stock-raising.
• Cultivated crops: The main crops were barley, wheat, rice, bajra, jowar, lentil, horsegram, hyacinth bean, grass pea, pea, black gram, and green gram. Other plants utilised included jamun, behada, wild date, ber, and myrobalan.
  • Barley was the principal cereal during this period.
  • Evidence from Inamgaon suggests the practice of crop rotation, the harvesting of summer and winter crops, and artificial irrigation — a massive embankment was built at Inamgaon to divert flood water through a channel.
  • Black cotton soil was ploughed for farming operations, suggested by the discovery of a prototype ploughshare, made from the shoulder bone of cattle, at Walki (near Inamgaon).
• Animals: Excavations reveal evidence of both domesticated and wild animals.
  • Domesticated animals: cattle, sheep, goat, dog, pig, and horse. Bones of cattle and sheep/goat predominate at most sites, and cut and chop marks on the bones indicate that they were slaughtered for food; most animals were slaughtered when young.
  • Wild animals: black buck, four-horned antelope, nilgai, barasingha, sambar, chital, wild buffalo, and one-horned rhinoceros. Bones of fish, waterfowl, turtle, and rodents have also been found at some sites.
  • Bones of marine fish species have been found at Inamgaon — the source of these fish could have been either Kalyan or Mahad, the nearest creek ports.
  • The charred bones of both domestic and wild species indicate that they were cooked in an open fire.

Houses and Habitations

• Rectangular and circular houses, with mud walls and thatched roofs, are the most common type, though house size varies from site to site.
  • Most houses of the Savalda culture were single-roomed and rectangular.
  • Ahar people built houses on plinths made of schist; walls were built on these plinths with mud or mud brick, and decorated with quartz cobbles. Floors were made of burnt clay, or clay mixed with river gravels; bigger houses had partition walls, and chulahs (hearths) and quartzite saddle querns in the kitchen.
  • Malwa settlements, such as those at Navadatoli, Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon, were quite large.
    • Evidence at Inamgaon suggests some kind of planning in the layout of the settlement — most houses were aligned in an east-west orientation, and though built close together, they had an intervening space that might have served as a lane.
    • These houses at Inamgaon were large (7m × 5m) rectangular structures with a partition wall, a low mud wall, and a gabled roof; inside was a large oval fire pit, with raised sides to keep the fire under control.
    • Houses at Navadatoli were provided with one or two-mouthed chulahs in the kitchen, and grain was stored in deep pit silos, with circular mud platforms inside the houses.
  • A significant feature of the Jorwe culture is the presence of a large centre in each region — these centres are Prakash, Daimabad, and Inamgaon, in the valleys of the Tapi, Godavari, and Bhima respectively.
    • The Jorwe settlement at Daimabad was the largest, at 30 hectares; Prakash and Inamgaon each cover about 5 hectares.
    • A noteworthy feature of the Jorwe settlement at Inamgaon is that the houses of artisans — the potter, goldsmith, lapidary, ivory-carver, and others — were located on the western periphery of the principal habitation area, while those of well-to-do farmers were in the central part, and were larger. Both the position and size of these houses demonstrate social differentiation, with a lower position for artisans in society.
  • Some Chalcolithic sites have fortification walls around the settlement — for example, Eran and Nagda (Madhya Pradesh) of the Malwa culture, and Inamgaon, which has a fortified mud wall with a ditch around the habitation.
• At Inamgaon, a change in house types can be noticed from the Early Jorwe (1400–1000 BC) to the Late Jorwe period (1000–700 BC):
  • Early Jorwe houses were large rectangular structures with low mud walls, surrounded by wattle-and-daub constructions, laid out in rows with their longer axis in an east-west orientation, with an open space between them that might have served as a road or lane.
  • Late Jorwe houses, by contrast, depict a picture of poverty — large rectangular huts were no longer built; instead, small round huts (with a low mud wall) appeared in clusters of three or four, and pit silos were replaced by four-legged storage jars.
  • This shift from Early to Late Jorwe is attributed to a decline in agriculture, as a result of a drop in rainfall — a conclusion based on calculations of the percentages of animal bones found across different phases.
• At the close of the second millennium BC, there was a drastic climatic change in western and central India, leading to increasing aridity, and forcing people to resort to a semi-nomadic existence.
  • It seems that increasing aridity during the Late Jorwe period led to a decline in agriculture, and an economy based on farming shifted towards sheep/goat pastoralism.

Other Characteristics: Tools, Metal, and Ornaments

• All these cultures are characterised by a stone blade/flake industry, based on siliceous stones such as chalcedony, chert, jasper, and agate.
  • The tools include long parallel-sided blades, blunted-back blades, serrated blades, penknives, lunates, triangles, and trapezes. Some blade tools have a shine on the sharp edge, suggesting they were used for harvesting.
  • Polished stone axes, typical of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic cultures of Karnataka-Andhra, have also been found at some of these sites.
• Copper objects consist of flat axes or celts with convex cutting edges, arrowheads, spearheads, chisels, fish hooks, mid-ribbed swords, blades, bangles, rings, and beads.
  • At Kayatha, one pot contained 28 copper bangles.
• Ornaments: Beads made of carnelian, jasper, chalcedony, agate, shell, and the like.
  • A necklace made of 40,000 microbeads of steatite was found in a pot belonging to the Kayatha culture.
  • At Inamgaon, beads of gold and ivory, a spiral gold earring, and copper anklets were found.
• Terracotta objects: in the form of human and animal figurines, such as the stylised terracotta bulls at Kayatha.
  • Given the occurrence of numerous terracotta bull figurines at several Chalcolithic sites, it has been suggested that the bull was a sacred animal, though they may equally have been simple toys.
• The Daimabad Hoard: a hoard of four bronze objects — a two-wheeled chariot with a rider, a water buffalo, an elephant, and a rhinoceros.

Religion and Belief Systems

• Mother Goddesses: Chalcolithic communities worshipped a mother goddess, attested by the discovery of female figures of clay, both with and without heads.
  • At Nevasa, a large headless female figure was found, and Inamgaon has also yielded similar terracotta female figurines.
  • These figurines point to the worship of a goddess of fertility; the headless figurines, in particular, have been suggested to represent the goddess Sakambhari, the goddess of vegetative fertility, worshipped for warding off droughts.
• Gods: Male figurines are rare at Chalcolithic settlements; the male figurines of clay found at Inamgaon may possibly be identified as gods.
  • A painted jar of the Malwa period is considered to be of religious significance — its upper panel depicts a human figure wearing a garment of twigs covering the loin, surrounded by stylised animals such as stag, deer, and peacocks; the lower panel shows springing tigers or panthers, also stylised. This richly decorated vessel was probably meant for ritualistic use.
  • Similarly, finds of solid, cast copper elephant and buffalo figures at Daimabad could have had religious functions.
• Burial practices:
  • Disposal of the dead by burial was a common custom. Adults, as well as children, were usually buried in a north-south orientation, with the head towards the north and legs towards the south.
  • Adults were, in most cases, buried in an extended position, while children were buried in urn burials, either in single pots or in two pots.
  • Adults, and also children, were buried in a pit dug into the house floor, and rarely in the courtyard of the house.
  • During the Jorwe period, in the case of adults, the portion below the ankle was purposely chopped off.
    • Such practices — burying the dead within the precincts of the house, and chopping off the feet — could possibly suggest a belief in which the dead were restrained from turning into malevolent ghosts.
  • Grave goods: Adult burials in several cases contain grave goods, usually two pots, sometimes more; it was also common to bury the dead with personal ornaments.
    • In one adult burial, a large copper ornament was found near the neck of the skeleton; a child in a twin urn burial had a necklace of twelve alternating beads of copper and red jasper.
  • The Jorwe period at Inamgaon has disclosed some unusual burials — a four-legged urn burial, made of unbaked clay, containing the skeleton of a male in a sitting posture.
    • The burial offerings included a spouted pot painted with a boat design — reminiscent of the present-day Hindu belief that the departed soul must cross waters in a ferry to reach the heavenly abode.
    • This person, given such an elaborate burial, could have been of high status — perhaps the ruling chief of the settlement, or belonging to a social group that practised a different kind of burial.
• Administrative organisation:
  • In the Chalcolithic culture regions, a study of the distribution pattern of sites suggests two types of sites: one representing regional centres, and the other representing village settlements.
  • This difference, or hierarchy, has been taken to suggest that some form of administrative organisation was present in the Chalcolithic cultures.
  • This is further supported by the existence of public structures — fortifications, ramparts and moats, granaries, and embankments and canals (well documented at Inamgaon) — found at different sites.
• Seen in the larger context of post-Harappan developments, these Chalcolithic cultures betray discernible influences of the Harappan culture, though in a residual form. At the same time, they are marked by strong regional elements, and also display trade links and cultural contacts with one another.
• These metal-using farming communities, which flourished in the second millennium BC, largely disappeared around the first millennium BC (with the exception of the Late Jorwe, which continued until 700 BC).
  • One possible reason attributed to this decline is increasing aridity and unfavourable climatic conditions.
  • Many of these settlements, in the Godavari, Tapi, and other valleys, were deserted, and were reoccupied only after a gap of five or six centuries, in the fifth–fourth centuries BC, heralded by urbanisation.

Conclusion

The transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic, and from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic, represents one of the most consequential shifts in India’s early history — the movement from hunting and gathering to settled, food-producing village life, and from that village life towards the first stirrings of craft specialisation, social differentiation, and administrative organisation that would, in time, give rise to India’s earliest cities. As the evidence from Mehrgarh, the Belan valley, Burzahom, Chirand, and the South Indian ash-mound sites shows, this transition unfolded not as a single, uniform “revolution,” but as a gradual, regionally varied process, with different areas of the subcontinent adopting agriculture, animal domestication, pottery, and metal use at markedly different times and in markedly different combinations. The subsequent Chalcolithic cultures of the Ganga-Yamuna doab — the Ochre Coloured Pottery, Black and Red Ware, Painted Grey Ware, and Northern Black Polished Ware traditions — together with the regional cultures of western, central, and eastern India (Kayatha, Ahar-Banas, Malwa, and Jorwe), carried this process of village-based food production, craft specialisation, and social stratification forward, laying the material and social foundations upon which the second urbanisation of the Indian subcontinent, beginning around the sixth century BC, would eventually be built.