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Black and Red Ware Culture: a Reappraisal

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Black and Red Ware Culture: a Reappraisal Black and Red Ware Culture: A Reappraisal Vinay Kumar1 1. Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University, Ajagara, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh – 221 005, India (Email: [email protected]) Received: 18 July 2019; Revised: 01 September 2019; Accepted: 06 October 2019 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7 (2019): 397-404 Abstract: During the last six decades Black and Red Ware has been attracting the attention of both Indian and foreign archaeologists. This pottery is characterized by two surface colours: Black interior and black and red or black and grey exterior with the black confined to the upper part of vessel. The bicolour effect is believed to be due to inverted firing or double firing technique. This ware was first reported in India at Arikamedu in 1945 by Mortimer Wheeler who described it as ‘Black and Red’ ware. Black and Red Ware is found in association with different and diverse cultural materials which are vastly differentiated in their location. For instance, in the pre-Harappan context, Neolithic context, Chalcolithic context, Iron Age context and many more. Besides this the most enigmatic aspect of this pottery tradition is its manufacturing technique. Hence, in the present paper an attempt has been made to find out various cultural traits and the personality of this culture. Keywords: Chalcolithic, Bicolour, Black and Red Ware, Tradition, Fabric, Iron Age, Cultural Context Introduction In Indian archaeology the term Black and Red Ware (BRW) has almost developed a generic meaning because of historical reasons. Consequently, a common man tends to accept this term to mean a specific cultural tradition only. In reality, however this ceramic type occurs in different areas with entirely diverse cultural and chronological context. Black and Red Ware is a distinct pottery characterized by two surface colours: black on the interior and outer rim and red on the exterior. The bicolour effect is believed to be due to inverted or double-firing technique. The lower portion of the pot as also inside of it is in contact with the reducing flame present in the combustible material and this turns the clay in these areas black while the top portion of the pot exposed to the air turns red as a result of oxidization (Wheeler 1947). There are other archaeologists namely - Sharma (1960), Singh (1969), Misra (1967), Subbarao (1961), and Srivastava (1980) who had in different ways contributed to the identical view of inverted firing as the main technological specialty of this ceramic group. In most cases the surface bears a ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7: 2019 shine and is often painted in white. Besides India, this Black and Red Ware is reported from ancient Egypt where it has been termed as Black topped Ware as well as Red and Black pottery (Lucas 1929) and its antiquity goes back to the fourth millennium BCE. This pottery was first reported in India in 1945 at Arikamedu by Mortimer Wheeler who designated it as Black and Red Ware (Wheeler 1947). Earlier it was categorized as representing the early historical period and was termed as sherds belonging to Satavahana period (Singh 1982). Till the end of the sixties Black and Red Ware had been found predominantly from two contexts — one belonging to Proto-historic Period from Ahar in Rajasthan (Chalcolithic) and the other from South Indian Iron Age graves known as Megalithic sites. The common feature of both the periods and cultures is the overwhelming content of Black and Red Ware in them. Subsequently, this ware has been reported from several sites belonging to temporally and spatially diverse cultural contexts. Black and Red Ware had an early origin starting from the beginning of the third millennium BCE and it was an important pottery type up to the early centuries of the Christian era. During this period, it is associated with Neolithic Chalcolithic and Iron Age cultures. Typologically this ware is devoid of any fossilized shape, as its shape and fabric went on transforming with the change of culture. Occurrence of BRW in Different Cultural Contexts Black and Red Ware is found in association with different and diverse cultural materials which are vastly differentiated in their location. For instance, in the pre- Harappan context the Black and Red Ware is reported form the pre-Prabhas levels (Ca. 3000-2800 BCE) at Somnath in Gujarat. This so far is the earliest radiometric date for this ware in India. Another site that has yielded this ware in the pre-Harappan context is Kunal in Haryana. Vessels from these two early sites are not only different form each other but also have no comparison in the succeeding Harappa culture. On the other hand, it is reported in the Mature Harappan context from Lothal in Gujarat, from the earliest levels (Ca. 2500-2160 BCE) associated with an indigenous Micaceous red ware. This ware is available during the Harappan period in Gujarat through all the stages of the culture, where it shows perfection in firing technique as the two colours merge with each other in a horizontal plane. The Harappan Black and Red Ware in generally prepared out of fine clay and available in fine to coarse fabric. The shapes include convex sided bowls, basins, small pots, dishes and jars. Besides Gujarat, this ware has also been found in the early levels of Harappa culture at Rupar in Punjab. Black and Red Ware has been reported form the eastern and southern Neolithic cultures contemporary to the Harappa culture. At Chirand in Bhiar it has been found in the Neolithic level with other wares. The important shapes reported form this site are simple and spouted vases, bowls, footed cup and channel-spouted bowls which are different from the later Chalcolithic Black and Red Ware of this region. In south India, the white painted Black and Red Ware is found associated with burials of Neolithic-Chalcolithic phase at Tekkalakota in Karnataka. Only a few shapes of bowls and dishes in this ware are available during this phase. 398 Kumar 2019: 397-404 Black and Red Ware is also available in most of the non-Harappan Chalcolithic sites reported from western and central India, south India and from north in the Ganga Valley. This ware is a standard feature of the Ahar Culture (Ca. 2000 – 1600 BCE) in the Banas and Chambal Valley in south-east Rajasthan and Central India. The important shapes, both in the plain as well as in the white painted Black and Red Ware of this culture, are a variety of bowls, bowls-on-stand, shallow dishes, and globular pots. The vessels are decorated on both the surfaces with motifs like spirals, dots, wavy lines, circles, hatched diamonds, and loops in white pigment. The Ahar Black and Red Ware tradition continues in the succeeding Malwa culture (Ca. 1600 – 1200 BCE) in central India. The Black and Red Ware in this period imitate most of the shapes from the Malwa ware. In Maharashtra too, the Black and Red Ware of Ahar affinity accompanied the Malwa ware, though in limited shape and quantity, at sites like Prakash, Daimabad and Bahal. The Black and Red Ware continues to occur in the succeeding Jorwe culture of this region. In the late phase (Ca. 1000- 700 BCE) of the Jorwe culture a plain Black and Red Ware of coarse fabric makes its appearance, perhaps due to the influence of the late- Neolithic and Megalithic culture of south India. Around this time, in south India, the Black and Red Ware appears in the overlap phase of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic and the Megalithic culture in most of the sites. The other Chalcolithic sites with plain and painted Black and Red Ware tradition are located in the Ganga valley. In the upper Ganga region plain variety of this ware has been found in a separate horizon at Atranjikhera in Uttar Pradesh and Jodhpura in Rajasthan. At these sites, it succeeds the other coloured pottery and precedes the Painted Grey Ware. The Black and Red Ware of Atranjikhera shows some affinity with that of Ahar. In middle Ganga Valley this pottery has been reported from the sites of Kaushambi, Rajghat, Prahaladpur, Sohgaura, Koldihwa, Dhuriapar, Narhan, Khairadih, Takiapar, Sarai Mohana, Waina, Lahuradeva, Akhta, Sravasti, and Agiabir. At Kaushambi it has been found in association with Painted Grey Ware in Pd. II. Both plain and painted variety of this ware has been found from sites like Chirand and Sonepur in Bihar and Pandurjar-Dhibi, Mashisdal, Nanoor, Bharatpur, etc. In this region many shapes like channel-spouted bowl, tulip-shaped vase, dish-on-stand basin, high necked lota with corrugated shoulder, etc. are available. Chirand in district Saran of Bihar is the most important site in eastern India for the study of Black and Red Ware. For the first time the ceramic was found to occur in a Neolithic context. The excavations at Sonpur/Sonitpur revealed three cultural periods viz. Coarse Black and Red Ware (Period IA), Black and Red Ware, Northern Black Polished Ware and post-Northern Black Polished Ware assigned to periods IB, II and III respectively. The presence of Black and Red Ware has seen till the second period. The prominent types of this pottery are dish, bowl, vase and basins both lipped and unlipped, shallow lids. Some bowls with everted lids are also found. Black and Red Ware of plain as well as 399 ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 7: 2019 painted variety has been reported from excavations at Senuwar. The painting is done in white pigment. The motifs included groups of parallel slanting lines on the inner surface, small vertical wavy lines in arrow at rim on the inner surface, short oblique strokes near the base, and group of short parallel slanting lines.
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