An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c6.s2.t2.1

v1.c6.s2.t2.1

Although a great variety of bones of the domestic buffalo is found at most excavated sites, their number suggests that only small herds were kept and bred. The earliest domestic buffalo remains come from ADAMGARH, *c.* 5500 B.C. At NAGARJUNAKONDA bones of wild and domestic species occur together in the historical levels, and this might throw light on the possibility of local domestication. Buffalo bones from some sites, e.g. ROPAR, HASTINĀPURA, bear cut-marks, perhaps indicating that the animal was eaten. Clason, 1977, suggests that larger and smaller varieties (cf. Navdatoli) were cross-bred to increase the milk yield. Bulls were used for traction. At INAMGAON the measurements of buffalo metacarpals are the same as those of the wild breed. The metapodia of the buffalo are wider than those of the cattle—an adaptation which facilitates walking on mud. Although buffaloes appear only in the upper levels at Mohenjo-daro, their occurrence on seals has been considered evidence for their domestication in Sind by this period.