Enamel Isotopic Data from the Domesticated Animals at Kotada
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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 21 (2018) 183–199 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep Enamel isotopic data from the domesticated animals at Kotada Bhadli, Gujarat, reveals specialized animal husbandry during the Indus Civilization T ⁎ Kalyan Sekhar Chakrabortya, , Supriyo Chakrabortyb, Petrus Le Rouxc, Heather M.-L. Millera, Prabodh Shirvalkard, Yadubirsingh Rawate a Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Canada b Center for Climate Change Research, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India c Department of Geological Science, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa d Department of A.I.H.C and Archaeology, Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Pune, India e State Department of Archaeology and Museum, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: During the Mature period (2600–1900 BCE) of the Indus Civilization, Gujarat was occupied by two types of South Asia settlements, the settlements with predominantly Classical Harappan traits and the settlements with pre- Indus Civilization dominantly Sorath traits. Most reconstructions of the data conclude that the settlements with Classical Harappan Sorath Tradition traits in Gujarat were engaged in the production and trade of non-perishable Harappan-style goods, while the Agro-pastoralism settlements with Sorath traits focused on agro-pastoralism. To date, no major attempt has been made to un- Carbon isotopes derstand the nature of the agro-pastoralism practiced in these Sorath settlements. This pilot study based on the Oxygen isotopes ff Strontium isotopes oxygen and carbon isotope data from cattle/bu alo, sheep, and sheep/goat teeth from the Sorath settlement of Kotada Bhadli (2400–2000 BCE) suggests that this settlement was indeed engaged in specialized seasonal herding of the domesticated animals. Comparing these data with published data on cattle/buffalo, sheep and goat from the nearby Harappan settlement of Bagasra indicates that a distinct form of sedentary animal hus- bandry was practiced at the site of Kotada Bhadli, the nature of which is considerably different from that practiced at the permanent settlement of Bagasra. At Kotada Bhadli both wild flora and agricultural waste were utilized as fodder, depending on their seasonal availability. Such seasonal availability, and the diversification of fodder selection may suggest a regional adaptation to the local climate by the agro-pastoralists during the Late phase of the Mature period (2300–1900 BCE) of the Indus Civilization. The strontium isotopes from the tooth enamel suggest the domesticates consumed at Kotada Bhadli were most likely raised locally, with a grazing catchment not extending far from the settlement. The results also suggest that at least in Gujarat during the Mature period of the Indus Civilization, carbon isotope values along with tooth morphology might be used to distinguish between sheep and goats, due to human practices involving the deliberate use of millets as fodder for sheep but much less so for goats. 1. Introduction pastoralism played in the regional economy, through the analysis of carbon, oxygen and strontium isotopes from the tooth enamel of cattle/ Gujarat, the southern frontier of the Indus Valley Civilization buffalo and sheep/goat from the Sorath settlement of Kotada Bhadli, (Fig. 1) (henceforth Indus Civilization) was a hub for Harappan-style located on mainland Kachchh, Gujarat. The results will be compared craft activities and trade due to its naturally available resources and its with the published results of biogenic isotopes from the site of Bagasra, location near to the sea that helped in facilitating trade networks. The the only Harappan site from Gujarat that has published isotope data economy of Gujarat during the Indus Civilization was not only limited from domesticated animals. We also compare the strontium isotope to the production and trade of Harappan style objects; agro-pastoralism values of the domesticated animals consumed at the site of Kotada also played an important role in the regional economy of Gujarat. In Bhadli with the model of modern biologically available strontium va- this paper, we try to evaluate the nature of pastoralism and its relation lues of Gujarat, as developed by (Chase et al., 2018), to determine the to the regional agricultural production and climate, as well as the role mobility of the domesticated animals and availability of grazing land. ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.S. Chakraborty). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.06.031 Received 5 February 2018; Received in revised form 10 April 2018; Accepted 24 June 2018 Available online 19 July 2018 2352-409X/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. K.S. Chakraborty et al. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 21 (2018) 183–199 Fig. 1. Shaded area shows the approximate extension of the Indus Civilization during the Mature period (2600–1900 BCE), and the location of major sites and settlements mentioned in the text. All the conclusions and discussions in this paper are based on a very 1992; Sonawane, 2004). While a few settlements with Sorath traits may limited number of animals (n = 23) from a single site, which was oc- have participated in the acquisition and distribution of raw materials cupied for no more than a few centuries. Therefore, this paper does not for the production of Harappan-style goods (Law, 2013), the majority of generalize the data from this settlement to all similar settlements with Sorath settlements contain remains demonstrating their primary in- Sorath traits; on the contrary, this site is used to argue for the existence volvement with agriculture and pastoralism (Bhan, 2011; Momin, 1984; of multiple forms of economic specialization and a very local level of Reddy, 1994, 2003; Rissman, 1985). Agriculture and pastoralism were environmental adaptation, which may have varied even from settle- major economies of the Indus Civilization and surpluses were produced ment to settlement. for the trade and exchange of perishable goods, as well as to support the During the Mature period of the Indus Civilization craft specialists who were not food producers (Wright, 2010). During (2600–1900 BCE), two types of settlements were found in Gujarat, one the Mature period of the Indus Civilization, various regional and inter- with predominantly Classical Harappan type traits, similar to those regional network systems developed to facilitate trade and exchange. found in the region of the Indus Valley and its tributaries, the other with These regional networks were utilized for the exchange of raw materials predominantly Sorath type traits that are argued to be developed re- and finished Harappan-style goods, and likely human services and food gionally (Possehl, 1980, 1992; Possehl and Herman, 1987; Possehl and grains (Kenoyer, 1995). Regionally specific studies also indicate that Raval, 1989; Sonawane, 2002, 2004; Verma and Menon, 1999). the networks were used for the movement of plants, animals, and Broadly, the economic activities of the settlements in Gujarat with marine products (Belcher, 2005; Chase et al., 2014b; Reddy, 1994). predominantly Sorath traits during the Mature period have been asso- Both the types of settlements that occupied Gujarat during the ciated with agriculture and pastoralism (Possehl, 1992; Sonawane, Mature period differ from contemporaneous settlements found on the 2004). These settlements lack evidence for the production and trade of Indus alluvial plain. Unlike those in the Indus, the settlements in non-perishable Harappan-style goods, separating them from the inter- Gujarat are small, stone built, fortified, and located along trade routes regional and international trade that typically characterizes settlements and near the sources of raw materials that were utilized during the in Gujarat with predominantly Classical Harappan type traits (Possehl, Indus Civilization (Ajithprasad and Sonawane, 2011; Possehl, 1980, 184 K.S. Chakraborty et al. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 21 (2018) 183–199 1992; Sonawane, 2002, 2004). Comparing these two types of settle- Harappan traits (Possehl, 1992; Sonawane, 2002). Recent excavations ments, the sites with Classical Harappan traits in Gujarat are larger with indicate that Sorath traits have expanded into Kachchh particularly extensive fortifications. The material remains from these settlements during the Late phase of the Mature period between 2300 and show considerable similarities with the settlements on the Indus allu- 1900 BCE, when many settlements with predominantly Sorath traits vial plain (Possehl, 1992). In contrast, the settlements with pre- started to appear in Kachchh, for example, Desalpur (Uesugi et al., dominantly Sorath traits are smaller; while fortified, they lack the forms 2015) and Kotada Bhadli (Shirvalkar and Rawat, 2012). Settlements of architecture observed in the settlements with Classical Harappan which earlier contained Classical Harappan type materials, now started traits, and the material remains seldom include Indus style objects to exhibit the predominance of Sorath type remains, such as period IIB (Ajithprasad, 2008; Possehl and Raval, 1989). Earlier archaeologists and III at Kanmer (Uesugi and Meena, 2012), period II at Shikarpur categorized the Sorath Tradition as a regional manifestation of the (Ajithprasad, 2009), Stage VI at Dholavira (Bisht, 1999) and period III Indus Valley