Subsistence-Based Economy and the Regional Interaction Processes of the Indus Civilization Borderland in Kachchh, Gujarat: A Bio-Molecular Perspective By Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty 2019 Subsistence-Based Economy and the Regional Interaction Processes of the Indus Civilization Borderland in Kachchh, Gujarat: A Bio-Molecular Perspective Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2019 Abstract This dissertation investigates the role of food producers in the Indus Civilization borderland in Kachchh, Gujarat, particularly during the Urban/Mature phase (2600-1900 BCE). During the Urban phase, this region was occupied by two distinct categories of settlements. The settlements from the first category were strategically situated, contained Classical Harappan type materials, and were specialized in craft production, craft-related trade and administration; these are popularly known as Classical Harappan-type settlements. The settlements from the second category, popularly known as Sorath-type settlements, were located inland, contained regional pottery and practiced agro-pastoralism. The analysis of the subsistence economy of Kotada Bhadli, a Sorath-type settlement, provides an evaluation of the nature of economic production at this settlement and the possible day-to-day interactions between this settlement and neighboring non- food craft-producing settlements. To date, our understanding of rural food production and regional everyday interaction between different specialized groups in the Indus borderland is limited, and therefore, through providing a detailed account of the subsistence-related economy at a rural settlement, this thesis aims to evaluate the nature of specialized staple production, and provide ii more data for the understanding the nature of staple exchange between these settlements specialized in diverse economic activities. To incorporate this everyday regional interaction in our current understanding of regional interactions during the Indus age, I summarized and arranged different arguments from various scholars into distinct models. The analysis of molecular, isotopic and micro-botanical remains suggest the involvement of Kotada Bhadli with specialized sedentary to semi-sedentary pastoralism and some form of household-level cultivation of plants, along with some importing of agricultural grains and Harappan-style craft goods from neighboring settlements. Based on these results, I propose a likely cooperative regional interaction between diverse groups and specialists such as craft producers, traders, raw material distributers and staple producers, in the presence or absence of a centralized or regional authority during the Urban phase. Such reciprocal relationship between diverse specialized groups not only supported the production of wealth but also helped to maintain status and identity, as well as dealing with critical environmental, economic and probably political conditions that may have ultimately helped sustain this civilization over many centuries. iii Dedicated To my Grandparents Late Sri Nanilal Chakraborty and Late Srimati Chaya Rani Chakraborty iv Acknowledgments I am overwhelmed to write this particular section of my thesis. Utilizing this opportunity to look back into those years, I find so many people, organizations, and institutions, without their enormous support and help, I would not have been here where I am today. Now when I have the opportunity to formally acknowledge them, I feel anxious of missing names. I am greatly thankful to all who have directly and indirectly helped me throughout my life, I am grateful to you and will always be indebted. First and foremost, I would like to thank my Ph.D. supervisor Prof. Heather M.-L Miller. From the first day of my Ph.D. and even before I formally became her student, she was a great support and a true inspiration. She is not just my Ph.D. advisor but a Guru who guided me for all my endeavors whether it is related to my Ph.D. or not. Her academic integrity, quest for scientific solutions to problems have always inspired me. She is a person of logic and perfection and these qualities of her have always pushed me beyond my comfort zone and made me what I am today. Along with her I would also like to thank my other committee members, Prof. Dave Smith, Prof. Genevieve Dewar and Prof. Liye Xie, for their constant encouragement, analytical support, and insightful and useful comments on my thesis. The next person I would like to show my gratitude is Dr. Prabodh Shirvalkar from Deccan College, and I often call him ‘Prabodh Bhaia’. Without his help and support, nothing would have been possible. He has taken me to the site, gave access to all the materials that I used for my Ph.D. and spent hours to explain me about the Sorath settlements. When I decided to do a Ph.D. on Kotada Bhadli, he told me “take whatever you want”. Such trust on me made me responsible towards the archaeological remains from Kotada Bhadli, and I made sure that as my analysis are destructive, I use the samples with a great responsibility. He is the person who personally taught me the nuances of field archaeology. Along with him Prof. Vijay Sathe from Deccan College was my mentor and provided me continuous academic and personal supports. He is the person who encouraged me to apply scientific methods in archaeology. He helped me to develop collaborations and taught me the applications of chemistry in archaeological research. Without his continuous support and teachings, I would have never imagined to carry-out scientific analysis on archaeological materials. Apart from the faculty members from University of Toronto, and Deccan College, there are few people who are the pillars of this thesis. They have not only collaborated with me at different stages of my Ph.D. but also taught me analytical procedures. I would personally like to thank Prof. Supriyo Chakraborty, Prof. Syamalava Mazumdar, Prof. Greg Slater, Dr. Sheahan Bestel and Prof. Petrus Le Roux. These eminent professors and scientist have not only allowed me to use the facilities of their labs, but also spent their time, energy and resources to teach me the analytical part of each methods that I used in this dissertation. They have also provided me with constructive and insightful comments during every stages of writing, and they made it sure that I get the science right. Here I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all the funding agencies who has provided generous funds to carry-out analysis as well as to present my results in different parts of v the world that helped me to evolve into a better researcher. I would like to thank the University of Toronto to provide me with graduate fellowship and many other grants to carryout pilot study, analysis, as well as to present my research at various professional meetings. Junior research fellowship from Indian Council of Historical Researches and the Small Study Grant from Nehru Trust for the Indian Collection at Victoria and Albert Museum have supported me during the initial stage of my research, and without their generous supports this thesis would not have been possible. Prof. Heather Miller has also funded a part of my research from her personal funds. I would like to extend my gratitude towards Natalia Krencil and Angelia Sidoriak. They made sure that things run as smooth as possible for me while at the University of Toronto. Dr. Michael W Gregg not only inspired me to carry out residue analysis, but he personally helped me extensively to develop my synopsis and to start my Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, and it’s because of him I ended up doing my Ph.D. under Prof. Heather Miller. He helped me enormously to construct my thoughts in every single stages of my Ph.D. To me, he is the go-to person whenever I encounter any problem or confusion. After him its Dr. Mathew Mosher (Matt) and Dr. Greg Brown, they have helped me to construct my thoughts, read my works numerous times. Matt not only helped me academically, he has also provided my brain with all the energies possible through inviting me to his house numerous times. Here I would also like to thank Prof. Julia Giblin for her constructed comments and for proof reading my drafts. I am very much thankful to all the Lab Technicians I have worked with. Particularly Dr. Carley Crann, Kansara Ji and Jennie have immensely helped me during my analysis and made my transition to these highly specialized instruments extremely smooth. With them I discussed and developed methods that I used for my Ph.D. research. They also equally helped me to interpret my data. My lab mates, Nitesh Jadav, Amay Datye, Greg Brown, Swang Wo, Ramiz Saikh, Dipa Jaishwal, Sharika Dubey, Manish Shandilya and Prof. Shibdas Bannerjee were tremendously helpful during my lab visits. Every time I visited the labs, they made me feel home and were very accommodating. I would specifically like to thank Deccan College Administration, and the Archaeological Survey of India, particularly Prof. Vasant Shinde (Chancellor, Deccan College), Sri Yadubirsing Rawat and Sri Jitendra Nath, for letting me analyze the materials from Kotada Bhadli and for allowing me to bring materials out of the country for the purpose of analysis. Particularly Shri Jitendra Nath who has given me the permission on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of India. This thesis would never have been possible without their timely help and support. Deccan College in Pune is where it all started from the first day, I was admitted to the Masters’ Program in 2008. Since then Deccan College has been my power house of archaeology. There I met many people who I still admire. Prof. K.