The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c17.s2: Proto-historic wares

The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c17.s2

Language: English

Proto-historic wares

c17.s2.1

For the sake of convenience, we shall discuss this ware first, because of its implications on chronology. A ware with inverted firing resulting in black-and-red, black-and-tan and black-and-grey (probably due to the firing techniques and temperature ranges) has been found associated with the Harappan and the Grey Ware at Rupar, in the Bikaner region with the Grey ware, with the earliest levels of the Harappan at Lothal, and with Post-Harappan cultures at Rangpur, Amra and Lakhabawal, and with the Central Indian chalcolithic sites in Malwa (Navda Toli and Ujjain). The most significant discovery was at Ahar, where in phases Ia and IB it occurs without any other ware and in Ic with the black-on-red painted ware. Recently, Dr. Puri explored a number of sites of this culture in the Chambal and its tributaries in Rajasthan. This is very important in that it provides the evidence, for the first time, since this controversy started, of another independent cultural group within the Late Harappan and Post-Harappan cultures of India.

c17.s2.2

At the last symposium, the differences between the various groups in these Proto-historic wares was sought to be made on the basis of the position of the designs, the relation supposed to exist of the black-and-red wares with the local wares of the relevant site. It was resolved that "there is no absolute identify either in shapes or designs except in two cases where there is a vague resemblance in the form". In view of the fact that it was not possible to compare in detail, all the forms available in the whole range of sites, there need not be any finality about this conclusion. The writer puts forward his views to keep up our efforts at understanding the problem still further.

c17.s2.3

The minor divergences in shapes and fabrics, when we are dealing with such a vast region and the differences in the nature and size of the excavations need not be a great obstacle for establishing contacts between the various sites of the period. Naturally, when a new technique emerges, it is sought to be copied and resemblances to the local forms is much less significant than the divergences. They mark the contacts and association with other sites. For example, the bowl with an everted lip and one with slight incipient beaded rim, which occur at Lothal and Amra, do not fit into any ceramic form associated with Harappa. Finally the existence of an independent ceramic tradition at the heart of this region and with geographic contiguity to the other cultures, weakens any assumptions of an independent origin of this technique at each of these sites.

c17.s2.4

So the writer pleads for a more comprehensive study of a large volume of material.¹

c17.s2.5

¹ For example, the so-called differences between the Chalcolithic cultures of Nagda, Navda Toli and Nevasa, Nasik and Jorwe are appearing to be more insignificant than the common affinities. Similarly the distribution of select crucial types in the black-on-red painted wares has brought out the affinities in time and space of these wares of the Post-Harappa period.