1 ‘Multi‐cropping’, intercropping and adaptation to variable environments in Indus South Asia C.A. Petrie* and J. Bates Department of Archaeology and Anthropology McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research University of Cambridge Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ Corresponding author email address:
[email protected] Abstract Both today and in the past human populations manage crops in a range of different ways. A variety of methods can be used singly or in conjunction to reconstruct these choices, and the investigation of cropping strategies lends itself to the exploration of a range of socio‐economic and political themes. This paper explores the nature of cropping strategies, and endeavours to ‘unpack’ the concept of ‘multi‐cropping’ by considering the diversity and variation in the cropping practices utilised by the populations of South Asia’s Indus Civilisation. It argues that nuanced interpretations of the evidence provided by the combinations of crop seeds and weeds present in specific context and phases of occupation have the potential to reveal much about Indus cropping strategies, which in turn enable consideration of issues related to adaptation, intensification and resilience in the face of changing social, political, economic and environmental climates. Keywords Cropping strategies, ‘multi‐cropping’, environmental diversity, adaptation, resilience, Indus Civilisation, South Asia 2 I. Introduction There is a growing body of literature devoted to the investigation of how human populations manage crops, with themes including the socio‐economics of intensification, extensification, diversification, water supply, land ownership and labour organisation (e.g. Halstead 1992; Morrison 1994; Bogaard 2005; Marcus and Stannish [eds] 2006; Bogaard et al. 2013; Morehart and De Lucia [eds] 2015).