An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c16.s1.7

v1.c16.s1.7

*11.1.4 E. region.* Neolithic pottery has been found at three different sites, viz. DAOJALI HADING in North Cachar Hills and SARUTARU in Dt Kamrup, both in Assam, and SELBALGIRI in Garo Hills, Meghalaya [4.6.6]. At all the sites sherds of indeterminate shapes (complete vessels being absent) occur along with smooth and ground stone tools [4.6.6] in stratigraphic contexts which are free of metal. The largest quantity of ceramic material is available from DAOJALI HADING (Sharma, 1967, pp. 126-8), where a limited excavation yielded over 600 shapeless sherds. An analysis of the material reveals that a large number of vessels are made of coarse and impure clay, heavily tempered with large quartz and sandstone grits. A small percentage (2%) of plain red ware, made of a well-prepared fine clay and seemingly turned on a mechanical device, appears to be extraneous to the dominant ceramic tradition at the site, about 98% being handmade. In some cases the coil or ring-building method is used for heightening the wall of the pots. The final shape of the pot is given by beating with a beater, generally a slat of wood often wrapped with a string or a cord or made rough by engravings—a device adopted by primitive potters in order to prevent the instrument from sticking to the wet clay, as demonstrated by Wu (1938, pp. 32-3) with reference to the cord-marked pottery in China. Pots made by this process show on the outer surface impressions of string or cord as well as the impressed designs of the grooved beaters, while the inner surface bears marks of the pad, which was used to support the wall of the pot at the time of beating [cf. potters' dabbers, 16.11]. The pad may be a pebble wrapped with hide or cloth, but sometimes the potter would use the back of his free hand for this purpose. The cord-marked pottery is predominantly grey in colour. Brown and chocolate brown sherds show evidence of smoothing on the interior surface of the wall. A small percentage (3%) of grey ware has incised herring-bone designs.