An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c20.s1.t3.44

v1.c20.s1.t3.44

(a) Adamgarh: The assemblages from ADAMGARH have been studied by Bhola Nath, 1967, who has identified 13 species consisting of both domestic and wild animals occurring in equal proportions. The domestic animals include: *Canis familiaris* Linn. (domestic dog); *Bos indicus* Linn. (zebu or the one-humped cattle); *Bubalus bubalis* Linn. (buffalo); *Capra hircus aegagrus* Erxl. (goat); *Ovis orientalis vignei* Blyth (sheep); *Equus* sp. (ass or horse); and *Sus scrofa cristatus* Wagner (pig). The wild animals are represented by: *Varanus grisius* Daud (monitor lizard); *Hystrix cristata* Linn. (crested porcupine); *Cervus duvauceli* Cuvier (barasingha); *Cervus unicolor* Kerr (sambar); *Axis axis* Erxl. (*chital*); and *Lepus nigricollis* Cuvier (Indian hare). In most cases the bones are fragmentary and fragile and hence unsuitable for measurements. The remains are represented in general by vertebrae, isolated teeth, maxillae and mandibles, long bones of fore and hind limbs, metatarsals, metacarpals, astragali, parts of pelvic and pectoral girdles and antlers. Most of the bones belong to adult individuals. Some, e.g. those of *Bos indicus*, *Sus scrofa cristatus*, *Axis axis*, are charred suggesting that they might have been roasted in open fire. The bones of *Bos indicus*, *Sus scrofa cristatus* and *Ovis orientalis vignel* have definite cut marks indicating their probable use as food. The remains of the cattle resemble the smaller-humped, short-horned variety from Harappa and HASTINĀPURA. The osteological parts of other animals also bear a close similarity with their counterparts found at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, HASTINĀPURA, MASKI and RANGPUR. Some of the buffalo bones seem to belong to the wild variety, being stouter and having strong muscular ridges. A smaller number indicates that the inhabitants maintained small herds of these animals. The remains of the sheep are smaller in number compared with those of the goat. The crested porcupine (*Hystrix cristata*) is found at very few prehistoric sites in India and Adamgarh is one of them. The presence of both wild and domestic animals suggests that the inhabitants practised both hunting and stock-raising. There is no evidence of local domestication. The full-fledged domestication of animals may be due to foreign influence especially from w. Asia where these animals were domesticated at a very early date.