The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c16.2

c16.2

Wheat and barley have both been identified: the wheat as *Triticum compactum* or *T. sphaerococcum*, both of which are grown in the Punjab to-day, and the barley as *Hordeum vulgare* of the six-rowed variety such as is found in pre-Dynastic graves in Egypt. The corn was ground on flat or saddle-shaped slabs of stone, as generally in the ancient world prior to the second century B.C.; and grain of one kind or another was pounded in wooden mortars as in modern Kashmir (p. 21). Charred peas from Harappā were thought to be field-peas (*Pisum arvense* L.); and melon-seeds and a lump of charred sesamum were found on the same site. A few date-stones are recorded from Mohenjo-daro, and two small faïence objects from Harappā appear to represent date-seeds, but these may prove no more than the occasional importation of dates, possibly from the shores of the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, certain conventionalized tree-forms on pottery may be derived from palms, and a pot from Harappā has been likened to a coconut fruit. Similar evidence for the pomegranate is more doubtful. Other tree-forms suggest the banana, which is thought to be native to southern Asia.