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Chapter V Conclusion Chapter V Conclusion Conclusion Recovery and the study of molluscan shells and shell objects from archaeological sites world over, since the late nineteenth century added a new dimension to the archaeozoological research. These studies are not only aimed at identifying the role of molluscs in the past, but also serve as important tools in understanding different aspects of past human behaviour. The potential of this material in archaeological research has long been realised in various European and American archaeological studies. Here, frequent attempts at the reconstruction of subsistence pattern, environment, seasonality, etc. have been made with great extent. In Indian archaeology, the application of molluscan studies is still in its teething stage. Molluscan remains have been reported from various sites, ranging from the Palaeolithic to the Historic period. Some of the commonly reported finds are those of Lamellidens marginal is, Cypraea sp., Dentalium sp., Vivipaxrus bengalensis, Turbinella pyrum fragments and bangles, etc. Frequent occurrence of Chank bangles and their waste from a majority of the protohistoric sites indicate their large scale manufacture and use. Inspite of such an appreciable amount of evidence, there is still a paucity of research regarding these finds. A major part of faunal studies are mainly focused on large vertebrate remains while those of invertebrates, remain unexplained. Therefore, an attempt is made in this dissertation 294 to determine the economic role of certain molluscan species in Gujarat during the Harappan period. This region in particular, has yielded numerous Harappan sites, such as Lothal, Surkotada, Dholavira, etc. Some of the sites like Nageshwar and Lothal show large-scale shell working. Especially the reconstruction of the shell industry at Nageshwar has helped us to gain insight into the nature of shell working during the Mature Harappan period. At present sites like Rangpur, Hagwada, Surkotada, Dholavira, Padri, etc. through their excavations have also indicated shell use, but as mentioned earlier such studies pertaining to this aspect remain incomplete. Thus, it was decided to analyse in detail, the shell remains from the Harappan site of Kuntasi and Shikarpur. These two sites are located on the Gujarat coast quite close to the Gulf of Kutch. Excavations at these sites have revealed the Mature and Late Harappan cultural phases. Although located inland today, the geomorphological studies around these sites indicate close proximity to the sea during the Harappan period. The two sites probably served as small ports as evidenced by the archaeological finds. Besides the study of the shell material from Kuntasi and Shikarpur, ethnographic studies were conducted to draw suitable parallels for comparison with the archaeological material. Ethnographic information of commonly exploited molluscan species on the Indian coasts indicated that a majority of the species represented in the archaeological assemblage are harvested for 295 consumption, even today. Observation of Turbinella bangle manufacture at Vishnupur, in West Bengal, revealed the continuity of this craft till now without much change. The only major change has been, the replacement of the ancient semi-circular saw 1Sankha-Karat' by electric cutting machines. Observations made here helped in the reconstruction of bangle manufacture at Kuntasi. Thus a concise study of the Shikarpur and Kuntasi shell assemblages, which involved identification, spatial and temporal analysis, along with the use of ethnographic information concerning present-day chank bangle manufacture in West Bengal and molluscan fishery has yielded interesting results. A total of fifty species at Kuntasi and eleven species from Shikarpur were identified. Some of the species like Turbinella pyrum, Chicoreus ramosus, Anadara rhombea, Paphia gallus, Thais carnifera, etc. were common at both the sites, reflecting somewhat similar pattern of use and collection strategies. According to the excavators, both the sites being coastal in nature probably served as small ports during the Mature and Late Harappan periods. Of these, Shikarpur was directly on the Gulf of Kutch, whereas Kuntasi was an estuarine tidal port. For the Gujarat Harappans, sites of this type were important not only for their docking facilities, but also for the exchange of raw materials and finished goods with the hinterland sites. They also had another advantage over the other Harappans, as the Gulf of Kutch which provided the important molluscan shells utilised in 296 the manufacture of various shell objects was nearer to these sites. Kuntasi shell assemblage comprising more than 5000 shells revealed that 50% of the shells were collected for food, whereas 20 to 30% were used for manufacturing objects. Comparison with modern habitats of the representative species from the Indian coast has revealed that at Kuntasi, shells for both the purposes were collected from the tidal mudflat areas close to the site, the seaward rims of the patchy coral reef areas in the Gulf of Kutch and freshwater rivers and streams. Today the river Phulki is a brackish water stream which runs close to the site. Identification of 9 edible bivalve species and their occurrence in both the Mature and Late Harappan period impliy^a regular systematic collection. The most preferred were the bivalve species Paphia, Anadara and Meretrix and lesser important ones were Trachycardium enode, Crassostrea sp., Marcia recens, Lamellidens marginal is, Periglypta puerpera, etc. These were collected in all the layers in various proportions. There was not much preference for gastropods, but species like Telescopium telescopium may have been collected. Some of these molluscs are commonly collected even today along the east and west coast of India from the backwaters, estuaries, creeks and river mouth. Exploitation was maximum in the Mature Harappan Phase with a gradual decline towards the end of the Late Harappan Period. A change in the species preference was observed in the Late Harappan Period. With a decline in marine species, the 297 collection of freshwater bivalve, Lamellidens marginalis is resorted to. This observed change could be attributed to the over exploitation and ecological changes caused by fluctuating sea levels. It is reported that around 6000 years B.P., the sea level was higher than at present by 2-6 m (Gupta 1977). After that around 4000 years ago, the sea level started to recede. Probably during the Harappan times, at Kuntasi the sea was about l to 2 km away and was already receding (Dhavalikar 1992). Simultaneously a major decline had set in during the Late Harappan period. One of the reasons could be the silting of the port area. Silting might have been responsible for shifting and depleting the beds of some of the Venerid bivalves like Meretrix meretrix and Paphia gallus. Besides, a continuous collection of these species would have also hindered the growth of the shells. The representation of shells in a wider size range, indicates that to meet the regular demand even undersized shells were also collected in the Mature Harappan period. Therefore, a scarcity of these species may have prompted the collectors to exploit the lesser important species which were exploited on a smaller scale in the earlier periods. Thus, Paphia gallus and Anadara rhombea dominated in the Phase A and B of the Mature Harappan period while Marcia recens and Crassostrea sp. in Phase C. Proximity to the coast enabled the Kuntasi inhabitants to explore the nearby tidal mud flats at low tide for various edible bivalves. Size comparison of Crassostrea, Meretrix and Paphia 298 shells with the present-day marketable size of the same species showed that the method of harvesting resembles that of today. Since the seasonality estimation methods like Oxygen Isotope and Growth-line studies were not carried out at Kuntasi, fishing season for the various species are tentatively proposed through comparison with present-day collecting seasons and harvesting condition size. It is inferred that molluscan fishery was carried out all year round, but different species were collected seasonally presumably in the period between September to March. The following seasons have been proposed at Kuntasi : Meretrix meretrix : All year round Crassostrea : December to June Anadara : July to December Paphia : January to July Shell collection was probably done by simple methods like hand- picking, dredging, etc., since both the tidal mudflats in the estuarine areas and coral reef areas in the Gulf of Kutch are comparatively shallow. Meat extraction from the tightly closed valves was done by methods like boiling, roasting, etc. as seen by the charred shells of Paphia, Anadara, Meretrix and Crassostrea, whose margins show charring. At this juncture, it is difficult to ascertain the exact dietary contribution of molluscs in relation to other food types at both the sites. Nevertheless molluscs as seen from numerous sites world over had provided the Kuntasi inhabitants with proteins and vitamins, serving as a supplementary resource. 299 Evidence for the exploitation of this particular marine resource is meagre in the Harappan context and was briefly dealt with for the sites of Allahdino and Balakot in a small way. From the exploitation pattern of molluscs revealed at Kuntasi it can be inferred that other coastal Harappan sites in Gujarat were also regularly utilising marine molluscan species alongwith animal and plant foods. In the Harappan civilization shells of Turbinella pyrum,
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