An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c6.s3: 1.3 Camelidae

v1.c6.s3.1

It is generally believed that a wild ancestor of the domestic one-humped camel, *Camelus dromedarius*, existed in the deserts of Sind and Rajasthan and it might have been locally domesticated from *Camelus sivalensis* of the Siwaliks. Excavated camel bones from Mohenjodaro and Harappa have been questioned as being a late intrusion (Zeuner, 1963). KALIBANGAN and PRABHAS PATAN are the only Indian sites where a large number of camel bones are found and when fully studied may help to elucidate the problem of its indigenous or foreign domestication. In n.-w. India the camel was, and still is, an important beast of burden.