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An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19: 14 Settlements

An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19

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English

Contents

14 Settlements

14.1 Ecology and Pattern

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*14.1.1 Stone Ages*. The information available at present is far from adequate for the reconstruction of a satisfactory picture of the settlement pattern of Stone Age communities of India, the reason lying in the nature of research carried out so far. Though Stone Age research in India has a respectable antiquity, the subject has still not become truly professionalized, much of the work having been carried out by generalist archaeologists; thus there are many amateurs and very few specialists in the field. The awareness of the role of specialized disciplines like geology, geomorphology, palaeontology, palynology and pedology and scientific dating methods in the study of prehistory has not yet fully developed. Research has been mainly in the form of exploration and only a part of it is adequately published. Most of the exploration has been confined to secondary sites like alluvial deposits, eroded or washed-off material in river beds and to surface sites. Excavations have been few and far between and the number of those of true primary sites hardly exceeds a dozen. Fortunately the emphasis is now beginning to shift to the investigation of primary sites, but judged by the size of the country there are very few full-time workers in the field.

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However exploration has been extensive and has covered almost the entire country. It is therefore possible to form some idea of the settlement pattern of the Stone Age peoples. Also the quantity and quality of evidence are richer for the Holocene period [9.8.4] than for the Pleistocene [9.8.2]. The reason for this is simple. The Holocene landscape has not been seriously affected by processes like fluvial and aeolian aggradation and degradation, with the result that the sites are better preserved. Also as the time period involved is short and recent the preservation of organic material—mainly faunal remains—is better. We have therefore a better picture of the Mesolithic [4.5] settlement pattern than of the Palaeolithic [4.2-4]. During the Palaeolithic surprisingly, the evidence is far more plentiful for the Lower Palaeolithic [4.2] than for the Middle [4.3] and Upper Palaeolithic [4.4]. Unless specified the statements made below apply to all phases of the Palaeolithic.

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As stated earlier much of the Palaeolithic cultural material, almost entirely in the form of stone tools, comes from river alluvia. Rivers being a perennial or near-perennial source of water, the Palaeolithic man must no doubt have lived along the banks of major rivers and tributaries. It is from these locations that stone tools and animal bones were washed off and redeposited in river sediments. Erosion of river gravels and sands leads to the creation of tertiary sites. Thus, for example, we have extremely dense concentrations of Acheulian tools in the Gambhiri bed at Chittaur, in the Berach bed at NAGARI and in the MALAPRABHA valley at KHYAD in Karnataka. Continuing exploitation of the natural environment by evergrowing populations over last several millennia has altered the environment through deforestation and we can have little idea of what the original environments in these areas were like. We know however that the Acheulian man also lived away from river banks but near seasonal sources of water on plain ground as well as on hill slopes and tops. Thus, for instance at BARKHERA in Dt Raisen we have an exceptionally rich Acheulian site. Thousands of cleavers, handaxes, scrapers, flakes and cores lie scattered entirely in mint condition on plain ground and there is little doubt that these tools have been little disturbed since the time they were manufactured, used and discarded. Part of this site lies in a cultivated field on the e. edge of the Hoshangabad-Bhopal highway and part in a dense teak forest on the w. margin. The juxtaposition of these two parts of the site sharply illustrates the drastic change in prehistoric environment brought about by man.

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Excavations at BHIMBETKA have produced rich evidence that man lived in caves and rock-shelters on hilltops at an altitude of 600 m above sea level in dense forest. The depth of occupation in these shelters is nearly 4 m and the sequence of cultures encompasses the period from the Late Acheulian to the end of the Mesolithic. A study of cave sediments shows that there had been no appreciable change in climate and therefore in environment during the entire Stone Age. If at all the climate was slightly better at one stage during the Acheulian period and therefore the forest must have been denser. Today, in spite of deforestation, human encroachment on forest and prolonged and continuing hunting of wild life, the Bhimbetka forest contains a variety of plant foods in all seasons and also a number of species of food animals. Millennia ago when agriculture was unknown population was much smaller and human demands on natural vegetation were minimal, the forest must have been far denser and vegetable foods far more plentiful. Also when man killed animals only for food and not for pleasure or status, animal life must have been considerably rich. In such an environment food scarcity may well have been unknown, and it is not surprising that scores of shelters on a single hill were inhabited more or less continuously all through the Stone Age down to the Mesolithic.

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Though Lower Palaeolithic sites have been found in Himachal Pradesh (Lal, 1965) and Potwar plateau of Pakistan (De Terra *et al.*, 1939), the number of tools found on them is very small in comparison to those from the sites in c. and s. India. Similarly small numbers of Lower Palaeolithic artefacts have been found on the w. coast in Dt Ratnagiri and in the Garo Hills of Assam. But these sites seem very poor in comparison to those along the e. coast or inland in s. and c. India. It can therefore be safely stated that Palaeolithic populations preferred the low-rainfall and warmer regions of the peninsula and only occasionally ventured into the high-rainfall, densely forested environments of the w. coast and Assam and into the colder regions of Kashmir and Himalayan foothills.

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Middle Palaeolithic factory and possibly occupation sites are far more commonly known from places away from river banks. At Choli and Dongargaon near MAHESHWAR in Dt E. Nimar and at SOJAT in Dt Pali for example, there are many rich sites on outcrops of chert-bearing rocks. Possibly the extensive aggradation of river valleys in post-Acheulian times led to a loss of the sources of the supply of pebbles for tool-making and the people had to look for alternative sources. Though mainly such sites are workshop sites, man must have lived on them even though temporarily. Besides the Middle Palaeolithic man also continued to live along stream banks and in caves and rock shelters, as at BHIMBETKA.

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The Middle Palaeolithic man did not enlarge his habitat to any appreciable extent beyond the limits already inhabited by the Lower Palaeolithic man. But within these limits he certainly colonized local geographical environments on a more intensive scale. Thus, for example in w. Rajasthan, while there are only a few Lower Palaeolithic sites, Middle Palaeolithic sites are numerous in the valleys of the Luni and its tributaries, and a few have been found even in the interior of the desert in Dts Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Barmer [9.2]. Similarly, on the Deccan plateau Lower Palaeolithic sites are only sparsely known from the GODAVARI and PRAVARA valleys in Dts Nasik and Ahmadnagar and from Dt Chanda. The Middle Palaeolithic man on the other hand also lived on low hilltops in the interior away from major river valleys where water must have been available only during the rainy season.

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In Gujarat and w. Rajasthan conditions became considerably arid toward the end of the Lower Palaeolithic period. Extensive and thick sand-dunes were formed over the alluvial plain [9.2]. Later there was a reversion to a better climate. This is testified by the presence of extensive gravel formations in the Luni and its tributaries and by a deeply weathered soil in the dunes at Buddha Pushkar near Ajmer. The Middle Palaeolithic man appeared at this time. His tools are found both in alluvial gravels and on the weathered soil surface.

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True Upper Palaeolithic industries characterized by blade and burin tools are as yet known only from a few areas and except for s. India (Dts Chittoor, Cuddapah and Kurnool) the evidence is nowhere rich. In these Dts however extensive and rich Upper Palaeolithic sites are found. They are usually located along the foot of the hills like Velikondas and Palakondas. Fine-grained quartzite suitable for producing thin slender blades was abundantly available in these hills. Dense forest provided ample plant and animal food resources. Though the sites are away from major river courses, ample marshy environments are likely to have existed in the hill-girt valleys. Even today much of the prehistoric environment survives in these areas, and hunting-gathering communities like the Yenadis and Irukulas partly retain a prehistoric way of life.

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In Gujarat and w. Rajasthan fresh dunes had piled up over the older weathered ones during the arid climate of the late Upper Pleistocene. The Upper Palaeolithic man settled on dunes around the fresh-water lake of Buddha Pushkar as also on those away from permanent water sources as at VISADI, e. of Vadodara, and at BENARA, e. of Jaipur.

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During the Mesolithic period starting at the beginning of the Holocene [9.8.4] a phenomenal expansion of human population appears to have taken place. This increased population filled in every ecological niche in the previously colonized geographical regions. In w. Rajasthan and Gujarat almost every sand-dune bears evidence of human occupation. On the Gujarat plain such dunes usually enclosed a depression which carried water for the greater part of the year, and therefore hunting-gathering communities here may have been more sedentary than in w. Rajasthan where Mesolithic occupation also occurs on dunes away from any permanent water sources.

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In the sandstone country of c. India the natural shelter provided by rock-shelters came to be fully exploited during this period [13.1]. Although man had already discovered the use of caves and rock-shelters as early as late Acheulian times, yet throughout the Palaeolithic such occupation was confined to only a few localities and a few shelters. But now many shelters in different areas came to be inhabited. At BHIMBETKA and ADAMGARH

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Mesolithic occupation occurs in numerous shelters, and in the Mirzapur region a number of shelters were occupied for the first time.

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The same story of intensive colonization of known geographic environments and exploitation of the local ecological zones is repeated in other areas as well. In Mewar numerous microlithic assemblages occur on elevated rocky outcrops several km away from river courses. In the semi-arid environment of the Deccan plateau also microlithic industries are found on hundreds of hilltops and slopes away from any perennial water sources. [Mesolithic occupation spread to e. India as well, see BIRBHANPUR.]

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Coastal environments also came to be more intensively exploited during this period. A number of microlithic sites occur on hilltops right on the sea-shore of Bombay (cf. KANDIVLI). Others are located on islands along the w. coast. On the e. coast a number of sites are located on the coastal dunes in Dt Tirunelveli close to the sea-shore [cf. 9.5]. In both these situations it appears certain that resident communities greatly depended on marine sources for their subsistence.

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In one region however Mesolithic peoples pushed their settlement in an entirely new habitat. This is the alluvial plain of the Ganga valley. A large number of sites have been recently located in Dts Allahabad, Pratapgarh and Varanasi on the shores of living or fossil lakes created by the meanders of abandoned river courses (cf. SARAI NAHAR RAI; Sharma 1975). These people no doubt exploited fish, tortoise and other aquatic life in addition to the abundant plant and animal foods of the area. The fertile alluvium and adequate rainfall of the Ganga valley must have supported dense vegetation and rich fauna of which fragmentary vestiges still survive.

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That there was a sudden and quick spurt in population, expansion of human settlement into new regions and more intensive exploitation of known ecological zones is clearly established by the data.

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What is the explanation for this phenomenon? One reason almost certain is the introduction and adoption of the new technology of microlithic tools and the bow and arrow. This new technology proved itself to be so superior to the flake and blade tool technology of the Palaeolithic that within a short span of a few thousand years it was diffused over the entire subcontinent and completely supplanted the older technology. Adoption of the bow and arrow as a hunting tool must have greatly improved the efficiency in hunting and thereby increased food supply. Another reason was the amelioration in climate for which there is positive evidence at least in w. India [9.2.]. A third factor seems to be the increased, if not altogether new, emphasis on the exploitation of aquatic food resources for which there is evidence from BAGOR, BHIMBETKA and SARAI NAHAR RAI. Finally the evidence from BAGOR and ADAMGARH shows that the settlers had already taken to animal husbandry which would not only increase food supply but would make it more stable and assured.

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With more primary sites excavated we have also some idea of the intra-site activity patterns. At BAGOR and TILWARA people paved floors with stone slabs and pebbles on the loose sandy surface. Circular arrangements of stones suggest round wattle and daub huts or windbreaks. At SARAI NAHAR RAI rectangular floors of rammed earth and burnt clay nodules were made. Post-holes indicate timber superstructures. In a shelter at BHIMBETKA a stone wall, 6×1 m, was made possibly to partition off the shelter into separate areas. At BAGOR small floors, 40 to 70 cm across, were made by compact stone paving for butchering animal carcasses. Both on open-air sites and in rock-shelters the dead were buried within the settlement and offerings were provided in the form of bone tools and ornaments, antler pieces, stone rubbers and heamatite nodules.

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The varied evidence from a number of sites indicates that life during the Mesolithic was becoming more sedentary, food supply was more varied and secure and population was on the increase. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and herders were already moving in the direction of farming-based village way of life. How far this trend was caused by indigenous stimuli and innovation or cultural impact of regular food-producers [of the Neolithic cultures, 4.6] only future researches will reveal.

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Allchin, B., Goudie, A., & Hegde, K.T.M., 1978, *Prehistory & Palaeography of the Great Indian Desert*, London. de Terra, H., & Paterson, T.T., 1939, *Studies on the Ice Age in India & Associated Human Remains*, Washington. Lal, B.B., 1956, in *AI*, 12, pp. 58-92 (for Beas & Banganga valleys). Misra V.N., 1973, in *World Arch.*, 5, 1, pp. 92-110; 1978, in *Australian Arch.*, 8, pp. 63-106 (for Acheulian industry of Bhimbetka). Murty, M.L.K., 1968, in *Proc. Prehistoric Soc.*, 34, pp. 83-101 (for blade-burin industry near Renigunta). Paddayya, K., 1977, in *World Arch.*, 8, 3, pp. 344-55 (for Acheulian site at Hungsi). Sankalia, H.D., 1965, *Excavations at Langhnaj 1944-63*, 3, *Arch.*, Poona; 1974, *Prehistory & Protohistory of India & Pakistan*, Poona. Sharma, G.R., 1975, Presidential Address to the Indian Prehistoric Soc., reproduced in 1975, *K.C. Chaṭṭopādhyāya Memorial Vol.*, Allahabad, pp. 1-20. For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—V.N. MISRA

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*14. 1.2 Post-Stone age.* A. Significance of settlement studies: The study of settlements, particularly those of the post-Stone Age settled communities, has two aspects. First, one may study the location of each individual settlement in relation to such factors as soil, water resources, climate, routes, etc. This type of study is useful in the following ways. (i) When the detailed locational data are available on the settlements of a particular culture it is possible to formulate hypotheses regarding the natural-environmental and other factors behind the distribution of that culture. (ii) On the basis of these data it is also possible to have an insight into the nature of land-use during this particular cultural period in the respective distribution area. (iii) Hypotheses may also be framed on the functions of individual settlements and the nature of the network of their relationship on the basis of their size and mutual distance. For these three types of study one may either take up an individual culture and study it in space or concentrate on an area and investigate issues involved in time through a locational study to settlements of various phases which may be found in that area. Secondly, emphasis may be given on the relationship between the individual structural units of an excavated settlement. The idea behind this approach is that the relationship between the individual components of a settlement is likely to provide an understanding of its social, economic and perhaps even ideological affiliation.

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The importance of the study of settlements as a unit has been realized in archaeology only in comparatively recent years. But this has already set a distinct research trend. However, in the Indian context studies of this kind are as yet rare, if not virtually non-existent. This is a point which must be realized in any general study on ancient Indian settlements.

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B. Problem of ecology: The problem of ecology is not limited to the investigation of natural-environmental factors alone. The basic idea is to understand the nature of interaction between soil and climate (habitat), the entire complex of living organisms including man himself (biome) and the phenomenon of human culture. Detailed natural-scientific and archaeological research is necessary to reach this understanding. In India research of this kind is still rare and limited to the possibility and nature of climatic changes since the past and analyses of archaeological animal and plant remains. As far as the issue of climatic change and plant remains is concerned the result of modern research has been thus summed up by Vishnu-Mittre, 1974, p. 43. 'It is of particular interest that the present and past plant life in the vicinities of the archaeological sites has remained more or less the same, and that the climate during the last five thousand years has remained unchanged in most parts of India. The fuels and timbers of which remains have been found at the archaeological sites were the result of human selection.' At the same time it should be admitted that there has been considerable biotic change due to human interference. This point may be driven home by a reference to the drying and silting up of many rivers in historical and recent periods due to deforestation leading to the erosion of soil-cover in the areas of river headwaters. The consequence of human interference with forest cover has led to distinct changes in the faunal pattern of different areas. For instance, the Chalcolithic fauna of every region shows a diversity which has indisputably shrunk in recent years (Classon, 1977, pp. 241-89). The point that may have emerged is that the basic ecological issues of ancient settlements have to be studied on the micro level.

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On the macro level the way the wide physiographical diversity of India has shaped her early settlement pattern should be a matter of detailed research and not an area of facile generalizations. For instance while it is true that the Harappans geared to the ecological setting of the Indus system could not really make themselves at home in the changed setting of the Ganga-Yamuna doab, the real point at issue is to know how precisely the Harappa technology was not particularly suitable for the doab situation. Nothing particularly tangible will emerge by overemphasizing the role of iron in the clearance of the jungles of the doab, the more so when one remembers that before the advent of iron the doab has had a reasonably long history of occupation beginning tentatively with the Harappans themselves. Unsound generalizations in the field of ecology are all too common in Indian archaeology.

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Following Spate, 1957, Subbarao, 1958, grouped the whole of the country into areas of attraction, isolation and relative isolation. Although it is true that the major agricultural areas of the country have always been major settlement zones it does not follow that all these regions simultaneously moved along the path of progress or that the relatively infertile areas were always out of the main line of the country's development. The status of 'area of isolation' may of course be attached to broken and hilly terrains, but even here it would not be logical to ignore the fact that many of the so-called isolated areas were linked to the main economic stream of the country because of their importance as a supplier of various raw materials in many cases (cf. the Chota Nagpur plateau). Subbarao's categorization of different areas does not really help in the understanding of the settlement pattern or history of India.

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The settlement history may best be understood with reference to different regions. Generalizations should come at the end.

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C. Regional study: (i) Kashmir, Jammu, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. Apart from being a hill-girt, high-altitude valley, Kashmir is linked by n. mountain passes across Gilgit and Hunza to C. Asia and through Ladakh to Tibet again to C. Asia. The date of the first food-producing settlements in Kashmir falls in the second half of the 3rd millennium B C [4.6.1] and if the suggested Chinese analogy for some of its features is correct, there could be a movement across the n. passes as early as this period. The sequence in the valley is continuous after that but has two major problems. First, although there is clear evidence of megalithism in the valley in the post-Neolithic period [4.17.1] the date and nature of corresponding settlements are unknown. Secondly, although the literary source of the *Rājataraṅgiṇī* associates Aśoka and at least three Kushan kings with the history of the valley and a few sites are traditionally associated with them the archaeological evidence of its earliest historical occupation does not seem to be earlier than the Buddhist remains at HARWAN on 3rd-4th century A.D. The Kashmir valley crystallized into a distinct political unit by the early medieval period but again, apart from the temple ruins at places like Avantipur and Martand, there is not much of archaeology dating from this period. In the adjacent Ladakh, an extension of the Tibetan plateau, nothing is virtually reported except undated megaliths [4.17.1] and Buddhist monasteries, hardly proved to have any worth-mentioning antiquity. Jammu, a strip of plain jutting out in the direction of the Kashmir valley, is reported to have yielded some stray neoliths [4.6.2] but no associated settlement, and perhaps the first clearly defined occupation in the areas is found at MANDA with its Harappa pottery [11.3]. The succeeding settlement history of the area is not clear but may perhaps be assumed to be continuous. The adjacent Himachal Pradesh is not yet known to have revealed any Neolithic settlement although neoliths are known to occur [4.6.2], and most of the known archaeological sites in the area are not likely to antedate the medieval period when a rather insecure political condition in the plains drove some Hindu kings into the Himachal hills where they not merely carved out territorial units but occasionally (as at Chamba) initiated distinct architectural styles as well.

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(ii) Punjab and Haryana. These two areas constitute the major part of the Indo-Ganga divide which lies between the Siwaliks on the n. and the GHAGGAR course in Rajasthan on the s. and between the Sutlej on the w. and the Aravalli ridge touching Delhi on the e. This is an area where historical and cultural impulses both from farther w. and from farther e. have been active throughout the course of known history. This is also an area where river changes have been most active: the YAMUNA is supposed to have oscillated between the Indus and the Ganga [9.10.2; SARASVATĪ] and if the Yamuna behaved like this there would have been tremendous instability in the behaviour of the lesser river courses in the area. It should be possible to work out the history of these river changes if the distribution of settlements of all periods along old drainage channels is carefully plotted and studied; but apart from some excellent but limited surveys nothing much has been done in this field of enquiry. The sequence begins with the pre-Harappans [4.8], isolated at SISWAL and BANAWALI. In the next phase consisting of the mature and late Harappas [4.9, 10] there is a wide proliferation of sites: ROPAR, BANAWALI and DAULATPUR are the most important excavated Harappa sites in the area. Among the late Harappa sites the excavated ones of BARA, MITATHAL, BHAGAWANPURA, DADHERI and KATPALON deserve notice; the number of unexcavated late Harappa sites in the areas seems to be impressive from exploration reports. At BHAGWANPURA, DADHERI and KATPALON the late Harappa deposits are found interlocked with the succeeding PGW culture [4.15], but the pattern is not repeated at other excavated sites (such as ROPAR), thus suggesting difference in the nature of interaction between the late Harappa and the succeeding non-Harappa elements in different parts of this region. In analysis of these settlements in Haryana it has been pointed out that while the earlier settlements are found away from the perennial rivers, the settlements of the PGW culture phase are located right in the flood-plain of the SARASVATĪ and the YAMUNA. (Suraj Bhan, 1977). A level not yet clearly understood in the area is that of the OCW [4.12]: sites are not particularly frequent but they are known to occur. The archaeological evidence of the beginning of history in the area is still meagre, The excavated sites are still virtually ROPAR and SUGH, but the whole of the area is full of historical mounds most of which are not listed or explored in the proper way.

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(iii) W. Uttar Pradesh. The w. part of Uttar Pradesh or the upper Ganga valley must be considered a separate entity in terms of archaeological sequence from the e. part, which properly is bracketed with the middle Ganga valley. Nothing earlier than the Harappa is found in the region. ALAMGIRPUR is the only excavated site, but at sites like BARGAON there is apparently some kind of stratigraphic continuity between the Harappa and the OCW cultures. The latter culture is noticed at many sites including the excavated ones of HASTINĀPURA, ATRANJIKHERA, LAL QILA and SAIPAI. At SAIPAI this pottery is found associated with the Ganga valley Copper Hoards [4.11]. At sites like ATRANJIKHERA a black-and-red ware deposit [4.13] intervenes between the OCW and the PGW, and at places like JAKHERA this constitutes a phase immediately preceding the PGW [4.15]. The latter, the stratigraphic and cultural context of which is still best understood at HASTINĀPURA, and ATRANJIKHERA, continues into the early historical level [4.18.1] characterized by the NBPW [11.16]. The nature of the subsequent historical levels can be appreciated at HASTINĀPURA, PURANA QILA, MATHURA, SANKISA, KANAUJ, AHICCHATRĀ, AYODHYĀ and KAUŚĀMBĪ, but many more settlements lie unmapped and unexplored.

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(iv) E. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The base-line of post-Stone Age occupation in the middle Ganges valley is provided by the excavated Neolithic settlement [4.6.4] at CHIRAND and the succeeding Chalcolithic occupation [4.14.3] has been traced not merely at CHIRAND but also at SONPUR, among others. The Chalcolithic stage is followed by an early Iron Age stage, clearly evidenced again at CHIRAND. Among the early historical sites mention may be made of RĀJGĪR, PĀTALIPUTRA, CAMPĀ, BUXAR, VAIŚĀLĪ, BALIRĀJGARH, PIPRAHWA (GANWARIA), ŚRĀVASTĪ and Kuśinagara. Innumerable contemporary sites must be lying unexplored in this region.

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(v) W. Bengal, Assam and the n.-e. hills. Chalcolithic sites have been found extensively distributed in the w. part of W. Bengal [4.14.4], although the major excavated sites are still only a few—PĀṆḌU RĀJĀR DHĪBĪ, MAHISDAL and BHARATPUR. The sequence in this area extends up to the historical period through the early Iron Age, and there is no doubt that the Rāḍha tract has always been of considerable significance in Bengal's history. Among the later sites the most important excavated one is Karṇasuvarṇa (RANGAMATI, RAJBADIDANGA) essentially of the Gupta and post-Gupta period. The lower Bhagirathi delta is full of early historical sites [4.18.5]: unpublished information suggests about 45 places from where early historical antiquities have been discovered, although a good number of these places may not be classified as settlements. Antiquities are discovered at a number of places in the fresh exposure of river-cliff sections, and it is possible that they have been carried by the river from upstream. Some work has been done at the two sites of CHANDRAKETUGARH and TAMLUK. In the old alluvium of Dts Dinajpur and Malda there are early historical sites such as BANGARH and Mahasthangarh, the latter just across the border in Bangladesh. There is no evidence of any significant historical penetration in W. Bengal *terai* before the Gupta and post-Gupta periods.

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There is no firm evidence of any historical settlement before the same period in Assam [except AMBARI]. Incidentally, no proper Neolithic settlement has yet been reported from Assam, although there is no dearth of neoliths [4.6.6]. When the n.-e. hills, including Tripura, were opened up is anybody's guess but the process might have begun in the medieval period.

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(vi) Rajasthan. The first settled communities of Rajasthan showed preference for certain regions: the stretch along the ancient SARASVATĪ and DṚṢADVATĪ, the area of Udaipur and the adjacent Dts- in the s.-e , the strip between Bharatpur and Agra, which is essentially a continuation of the upper Ganga valley, and the Aravalli shadow in and around the copper mines of Khetri. Settlements beginning with the pre-Harappa and continuing right up to the medieval period, with the Harappa, PGW and the Kushan Rang Mahal phase [4.18.2] in between, are prolific along the Sarasvatī-Dṛṣadvatī course, and even when the rivers were out of their perennial flow by the 4th-5th centuries A.D. the remaining green strip across the desert provided the straightest route from Sind to the gates of Delhi and accounts for the medieval forts still standing along the way. Apart from the explored sites of NOHAR and SOTHI, the most important excavated pre-Harappa (and Harappa) settlement is KALIBANGAN, although some controlled digging was done at the Harappa settlement of TARKHANEWALA-DERA. Remains of a still earlier complex called the Hakra complex have recently been hinted at on the other side of the border, and it might be interesting to know if any horizon like this exists on the Indian side of the border too. PGW sites abound (and possibly some OCW sites as well, as these have been reported from the same area in Pakistan) in the region, but apart from investigating its stratigraphic relationship at CHAK 86 nothing has been done on the settlements of the period. The most prominent and excavated historical settlement of this area is RANG MAHAL. In the Aravalli shadow of e. Rajasthan certain sites came to develop in the Khetri mining belt, and settlements like NANDALALPURA, JODHPURA and KULHADE-KA-JOHAD, all with OCW association (the last site has a seemingly Indus association too) and apparently plentiful copper implements may be interpreted as copper-smelting and implement-manufacturing sites. In the strip between Bharatpur and Agra the most important excavated settlement is NOH where the occupation begins with the OCW. In s.-e. Rajasthan the dominant early complex is stratified at the excavated sites of AHAR² and GILUND. Among the historical settlements in e. Rajasthan as a whole mention should be made of BAIRAT, RAIRH, SAMBHAR and NAGARI, all rather haphazardly explored and excavated. The post-Stone Age settlements in w. Rajasthan beyond the Ghaggar system is little known or even understood, and in any future exploration the caravan routes across the desert which later on gave rise to places like Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner should be duly considered for revealing earlier settlements along them.

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(vii) Gujarat. The mainland of Gujarat is essentially the Tapti-Narmada mouth under the shadow of the W. Ghats and the Aravallis while in the peninsulas of Kutch and Kathiawar the c. part is a hilly knob with a radial drainage pattern and a strip of alluvium around the coast. Settlements are well-defined with the Harappans, and excavations have been carried out at such sites as LOTHAL, RANGPUR, PRABHAS PATAN, AMRA, LAKHABAWAL, ROJDI, BHAGATRAV, MALWAN, DESALPUR and SURKOTADA, all of which elaborate the nature of Harappa and post-Harappa occupation in Gujarat. The post-Harappa cultural situation seems to be a fragmented one, characterized by diverse ceramic complexes including the distinctive Lustrous Red Ware [11.9]. The early historical NBPW [11.16] appears in the upper levels of a black-and-red ware phase at sites like BROACH, NAGAL, PRABHAS PATAN, etc. The nature of early historical occupation in Gujarat [4.18.2] is only briefly understood, and whatever evidence is available is obtained from BROACH, SHAMALAJI, DWARAKA, etc. Gujarat was firmly within the Mauryan hegemony and had lured most of the important succeeding political powers because of its position in India's w.

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(viii) C. India. The first clearly defined focus of settlements is on Malwa, a fertile expanse of river-drained alluvium by itself, but also with the added importance of being on the direct route from the Ganga valley to the Deccan. Excavated settlements of this first phase are KAYATHA, NAGDA, NAVDATOLI, BESNAGAR, ERAN and TRIPURĪ, making explicit the nature and sequence of Chalcolithic [4.14.5] and early Iron Age [4.18.6] occupation in the region. The main historical settlements have been located at BESNAGAR (ancient Vidiśā), PAWAYA (ancient Padmāvatī) and UJJAIN, but many more must be lying unlisted and unexplored. Beyond Malwa c. India is mostly broken and hilly, and it is possible that its hilly terrain was not properly settled on before the early medieval period when temples came up at places like Amarkantak. Another area which should be considered is the Chattisgarh plain which, apart from having post-Gupta and early medieval temple complex at SIRPUR and other places, has revealed traces of early historical occupation near Raigarh which lies in the e. fringe of this plain.

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(ix) Maharashtra. S. of the Tapti, the Maharashtra plateau is a land of flat-topped hills intergraded with rolling plains drained by the upper reaches of the Godavari and its tributaries. The evidence of the Chalcolithic in this region [4.14.6] is made clear at sites like NEVASA, NASIK, JORWE, DAIMABAD, CHANDOLI, SONGAON and INAMGAON. The major excavated Megalithic settlements [4.17.6] are JUNAPANI, MAHURJHARI and KHAPA in Vidarbha or Berar where the evidence of early historical occupation is typified at the Buddhist *stūpa* site of PAUNI. The trade routes of Maharashtra were quite significant in the late centuries B.C., and early centuries A.D., and the Buddhist remains along these routes suggest a considerable expansion of settlements in Maharashtra in this period. In the Tapti valley two important excavated settlements are BAHAL and PRAKASH.

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(x) Orissa. In the coastal strip of Orissa there is still no Neolithic or Chalcolithic settlement, and among the excavated early historical sites only SISUPALGARH and JAUGADA are important. There are many reported Neolithic finds [4.6.7] in n. Orissa hills but there are no corresponding settlements except those reported at KUCHAI and BAIDYAPUR, both around Mayurbhanj. The remains of historical archaeology, mostly monasteries and temples, are abundant in Orissa but no proper investigation has been done of the associated settlements, except at SISUPALGARH.

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(xi) Andhra. In the Krishna-Godavari delta and its adjacent uplands there are Neolithic settlements [4.6.8] like UTNUR and NAGARJUNAKONDA. The evidence of Chalcolithic occupation [4.14.7] is clear at SINGANAPALLI. The early historical archaeology is dominated by Buddhist settlements and *stūpas* like AMARAVATI, Goli, Jagayyapeta and SALIHUNDAM. NAGARJUNAKONDA happens to be the most important excavated city site but mention should also be made of YELLESWARAM, DHARANIKOTA near Amaravati and KONDAPUR, all of these have been briefly excavated.

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(xii) Karnataka. In Karnataka the Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlers [4.6.9; 4.14.8] abounded both on flat-topped hills and valleys below: TEKKALAKOTA, T. NARSIPUR, HALLUR, PIKLIHAL, HEMMIGE, BRAHMAGIRI, SANGANAKOLLU, etc., have revealed evidence of this period. In the next stage a considerable expansion of settlements is suggested by the Megalithic graves [4.17.9], although corresponding settlements have not been satisfactorily identified. The early historical period begins with the Aśokan inscriptions of the 3rd century B.C. At BRAHMAGIRI occupation continues up to the early centuries A.D. At Vijadrog or BANAVASI (Vijayapurī of a Karle inscription) occupation has been traced to the 3rd century B.C., and at a place called Udayvara near modern Udipi there is evidence of an early historical fortification.

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(xiii) Tamil Nadu. The first evidence of post-Stone Age settlement in Tamil Nadu is limited mostly to Megalithic graves [4.17.10], some of them perhaps early. The evidence of an earlier Neolithic settlement [4.6.10] is obtained at PAYAMPALLI. Excavated historical settlements [4.18.11] are still few in number: URAIYUR, ARIKAMEDU, KANCHIPURAM, KAVERIPATTINAM and KORKAI. The flourishing period of these settlements corresponds to the period of the Indo-Roman trade in the peninsula. Settlements are continuous after that, but no detailed listing in the light of modern discoveries has yet been done.

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(xiv) Kerala. Although the coastal strip of Kerala has played an important role in early Indian maritime commerce, the corresponding archaeological evidence is remarkably scanty. In fact apart from undated Megalithic graves and rock-cut tombs [4.17.11] Kerala does not possess a single archaeological settlement which may be regarded as being early.

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The foregoing cursory survey is aimed at only underlining the general pattern of the growth of post-Stone Age settlements in different parts of the country, with special reference to major excavated or explored settlements. The working out of the detailed pattern in different periods and areas depends on future research specifically oriented to this goal.

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Clason, A.T., 1977, in *E. Anthropologist*, 30, pp. 241-89 (for wild and domestic animals in prehistoric and early historical India). Spate, O.H.K., 1957, *India & Pakistan—a Regional Geography*, London. Subbarao, B., 1958, *Personality of India*, Baroda. Suraj Bhan, 1977, in *Indus Civilization: Problems & Issues* (unpublished); Simla (for prehistoric settlement pattern in Haryana). Vishnu-Mittre, 1974, in *Symposium on Late Quaternary Vegetational Developments in Extra European Area* (for palaeobotany and palynology in India). For sites and river valleys see respective entries in vol. II.—D.K. CHAKRABARTI

14.2 Amphitheatres

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Though there are detailed descriptions of theatres in Bharata's *Nāṭya-śāstra* and scholars have identified a few extant monuments like the Jogimara cave, Dt Sarguja, as a theatre, the only archaeological evidence of an open-air theatre or amphitheatre has come to light in the excavation at NAGARJUNAKONDA. It was a brick-built structure thoroughly encased with Cuddapah slabs and had at least 16 tiers arrayed on all the four sides. Some of the slabs bore masons' marks either in the form of *tri-ratna*, *ḍamaru* or 'bow-and arrow' accompanied by a circle (or *tha* or *tha* in the Brāhmī alphabet); interestingly one stone bench had the short inscription *Kāmasara*. A central flight of steps divided the gallery on the w. side into two halves, while the main entrance was from the w. The tiered gallery, with seating room for about 1000 spectators, enclosed a rectangular area of 16·46 × 13·72 m. A drain for letting out water was provided below the gallery towards the s.

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Ascribable to the 3rd century, it was perhaps built in the fashion of some Greek or Roman amphitheatre. The fact that it had some acoustic properties in that any sound produced in the pit could be heard elsewhere may indicate that it was meant for musical or dramatic performances. Yet as several sculptural representations of wrestling scenes occur in the art of Nagarjunakonda it could have been used for similar sports as well.

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Sarkar, H., and Misra, B.N., 1972, *Nagarjunakonda*, New Delhi.—H. SARKAR

14.3 Ash Mounds

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Ash mounds are huge imposing mounds of scoriaceous, slaggy ash of irregular plan, usually located within or in the vicinity of an ancient site with Neolithic, Megalithic or early historical remains or only those of the first two. They have been noticed in the region of the Krishna-Tungabhadra valleys comprising parts of Dts Belgaum, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bellary, Mahbubnagar and Anantapur. Local legends associate them variously with the burning of Bali, Hiḍambāsura or other personages of the *Rāmāyaṇa* and the *Mahābhārata*. Newbold was the first to excavate one such mound at KUPGAL to ascertain the nature, antiquity and causes of the formation of the mounds and observed that they were probably due to funerary burnings. Subsequently Foote (1872-84), Fawcett and Knox, Sewell (1899), Longhurst (1916), Modi (1927), Munn (1928-36) and Yazdani (1936) investigated them and variously opined that they were due to the burning of cow-dung on a large scale at a high temperature in the Neolithic period, to funerary holocaust of probably the Vijayanagara period, to Iranian burial activities indicating, by the way, contacts between s. India and Iran, or to gold- or iron-smelting activities.

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Since 1948 considerable work on the problems of the ash mounds on systematic lines has been carried out notably by Allchin, 1963, Mujumdar-Rajaguru, 1966, Sundara, 1971, Rami Reddy, 1972, and Paddayya, 1973. Till now 64 localities (48 in Karnataka, 13 in Dt Anantapur, and three in Dt Mahbubnagar, both in Andhra Pradesh), are known to have remains of ash mounds, a few of them having two mounds each, for example KUDACHI, Dt Belgaum, BUDIHAL, Dt Gulbarga etc. The excavations by the first two and the last two, respectively at UTNUR, KUPGAL, PALAVOY, and KODEKAL reveal that they consist of two thick layers of scoriaceous ash and alternately one or two layers of 'white-flecked make-up with hard burnt surface' or dark-brown soil or variegated banded ashy layer as floor containing stray Neolithic [11.1.5] and Megalithic [11.15.3] pottery, together overlying sometimes on a prepared ashy floor or Neolithic [4.6.9] habitational debris. In the upper Krishna region there appears to be only one layer of scoriaceous slaggy ash overlying the Chalcolithic [4.14.8] habitational debris.

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Allchin's excavation of the ash-mound at UTNUR and study of the other ash mounds and of the place-names implying or meaning ash on the one hand and of festivals like Holi involving burning of cow-dung, etc., led him to infer that probably the sites were cattle-pens of the Neolithic cattle-keepers; periodically the accumulated cow-dung in the pens was ritualistically burnt resulting in the formation of the mounds; that the activity appeared to have indeed continued till the beginning of the Iron Age; and that the festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Pongal seem to be the survival of such activity. Further field studies including excavation of the mound at KODEKAL by Paddayya supported Allchin's findings. But an altogether different inference was drawn by Rami Reddy from his study of the ash mounds and excavation of the mound at PALAVOY: he thought that they were due to iron-smelting activities of the post-Neolithic period. Similarly excavations at KUPGAL and subsequent laboratory examinations of the samples by Mujumdar and Rajaguru indicated without doubt that they were due to the burning of cow-dung at 900 to 1250° C. not in connection with any industrial activities such as iron-smelting, gold-extraction, glass-making, etc., and that the sites were not cattle-pens.

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In view of the recent discoveries of ash mounds along the upper KRISHNA valley by the author and of their absence in the middle-upper Bhima, in the MALAPRABHA and in the upper Tungabhadra, it is suggested by him that the tradition leading to the formation of such ash mounds was probably diffused along the Krishna valley into the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab. Further n. Karnataka and three different Chalcolithic and a Neolithic cultural strains diffusing towards the doab: the Chalcolithic culture of the type of MASKI Pd I along the Krishna valley, the Chalcolithic culture characterized by the SAVALDA pottery [11.12] in the upper Krishna area, the Chalcolithic culture of the JORWE type [4.14.6] along the Bhima and the Neolithic culture from the s. [4.6.10]. Of these the users of the SAVALDA pottery or perhaps the builders of the Megalithic passage chambers in the upper Krishna valley [4.17.9] appear to be responsible for the ash mounds in the light of their distribution pattern and their circumstantial and stratigraphic evidences. Studies of the stratigraphy of the ash mounds, the characteristics of the layers and their relative positions and the contours of some of the sites on the one hand and particularly of the occurrence of sparse Megalithic pottery and iron objects in the mounds and of the proximity of areas bearing iron ore on the other perhaps indicate that the mounds were due to the dumping of scoriaceous ash from the neighbouring ironsmelting sites of the megalith-builders.

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Excepting that the scoriaceous slaggy ash was due to the burning of cow-dung on a large scale at a high temperature, the other problems such as the causes, the antiquity and the authors still remain therefore unsolved.

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Allchin, F.R., 1963, *Neolithic Cattle-keepers of s. India*, Cambridge. Mujumdar, G G., & Rajaguru, S.N., 1966, *Ashmound Excavations at Kupgal*, Pune. Paddayya, K., 1973, *Investigations into the Neolithic Culture of the Shorapur Doab*, Leiden. Rami Reddy, V., 1972, in *Jour. Karnataka Univ. (Social Sciences)*, pp. 125-36. Sundara, A., 1970, in *Jour. Karnataka Univ. (Social Sciences)*, pp. 1-13, 1971, *ibid.*, 8, pp 1-8; 1971b, in *Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri Felicitation Vol.*, Madras, pp. 308-15; 1975, in *Purātattva*, 8 (to be published).—A. SUNDARA

14.4 Asura Sites

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Attention to the so-called Asura sites in Dt Ranchi was prominently drawn by Ray, (1915, 1920) according to whom the Mundas, the present-day inhabitants of large parts of the Dt, regard the Asurs or Asuras as having preceded them in the region. Such antiquities as do not belong to the Mundas have been ascribed to these Asuras irrespective of their nature and age. They range from Palaeolithic tools, copper and iron objects, coins, architectural fragments of temples, graveyards, ruins of baked-brick houses, dried-up tanks and so on. Surely such a motely of disparate objects cannot belong to a single people, far less to a reasonable chronological range. Nevertheless Ray's exploration had the merit of bringing to light a large number of sites, particularly in Khunti Subdivision. Subsequent investigations have produced Palaeolithic [4.2.4], Microlithic [4.5] and Neolithic [4.6.5] tools in the whole of the Chota Nagpur region. Megalithic monuments, largely in the form of menhirs [4.17.4], are many, but as megalithism is still a living tradition in the region they cannot be related to any one of the established Megalithic groups of India, either structurally or chronologically.

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In 1944 the author on behalf of the ASI undertook an exploration of large parts of Khunti Subdivision and revisited many of the sites reported on by Ray. His enquiries showed that the Mundas had no tradition of the sites as belonging to the Asuras; even if they had such a tradition they had forgotten it in course of time. What appeared to be most striking was the existence of ruins of brick-built houses in the midst of Munda surroundings which have no use of bricks. He excavated a site called KUNJLA not far form Khunti—a site already known to Roy—and found the shell of a modest house. Later on a larger site SARADKEL was excavated by S.C. Ray of the ASI. The common features of all these sites are the existence of baked bricks, a coarse pottery with quartz grits in the clay, a distinctive shape being the bowl-cum-lid with an internally flanged rim, Kushan coins and considerable quantities of iron slag [16.9.4]. The last two would indicate that the houses belonged to a comparatively sophisticated people who came to the region in the early centuries of the Christian era to exploit the local iron ores. Ray also excavated a burial site at KHUNTITOLI.

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If the term ‘Asura site’ must be retained in the archaeological vocabulary of India, it should be restricted, for the sake of terminological precision, to these habitation sites.

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Ray, S.C., 1915, in *Jour. Bihar & Orissa Res. Soc.*, I, pp. 229-53; 1920, 6, *ibid.*, pp. 393-423. For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—A. GHOSH

14.5 Baths and Privies

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These two structural units of domestic architecture are linked with advanced urbanism. Their remains have accordingly been found at various Harappa sites such as LOTHAL, RANGPUR, KALIBANGAN and BANAWALI, in addition to Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.

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At the Indian sites bath-rooms have been located at LOTHAL, RANGPUR and BANAWALI. They usually measure 2 m × 2 m and are provided with burnt-brick flooring with an outlet to drain off water into the street drain. In another type the sullage water falls in soakage jars fixed outside the house in the street. At KALIBANGAN however, open-air bathing platforms have been found.

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