An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c14.s1: 9.1 Black Cotton Soil
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c14.s1
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9.1 Black Cotton Soil
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Also called *regar*, this soil is formed as a result of weathering of the basaltic rocks, extensively spread over w. and c. India and the Deccan. The exact process of the weathering is little understood, but it may be partly due to the action of abundant humic acids in the soil formed under thick wild-grass and brushwood vegetation. The soil has a high degree of fertility in the plains but in the uplands and slopes of hills it is rather poor. It is largely used for growing cotton; hence its name. More often than not it is a highly-weathered pedocal. It is rich in iron oxide, alumina and lime. Much of the lime is found precipitated in the form of nodules in the illuvial zone of the soil. The depth of its weathered profile frequently goes down to 2 to 4 m or more. Its colour varies from 5 YR 3/2 dark reddish-brown to 2·5 YR 5/4 reddish-brown. Loamy and rich in clay and humus, it is retentive of moisture and sticky when wet. During winter and summer months it dries up, contracts, becomes hard and develops deep polygonal fissures, some of them measuring as much as 10 cm in breadth and 1 to 2 m in depth. Recent studies show that the soil was formed during the early part of the Holocene, under climatic conditions comparable to those of the present.
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Numerous Microlithic [4.5] and Chalcolithic [4.14] sites have been found on this soil. The bulk of artefacts is found on the surface of the soil, but a considerable amount is found deeply embedded within. It is now known that the artefacts find their way deep into the interstices of the soil through the fissures. The soil had been well-formed and mature much before the Mesolithic hunters came to the plains of Gujarat, Malwa and the Deccan. Excavations at JOKHA, NAVDATOLI, INAMGAON and a number of other sites show how the Chalcolithic peasants thrived on the soil.
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Allchin, B., Hegde, K.T.M., & Goudie, A., *Prehistory & Environment in w. India* (in press). Hedge, K.T.M., 1973, in *Ninth Congress International Union for Quaternary Research*, Christchurch. Krishnan, M.S., 1960, *Geology of India & Burma*, Madras. Raychaudhuri, S.P., 1960, *Land & Soil*, New Delhi—K.T.M. HEGDE