An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c6.s6.4

v1.c6.s6.4

In India the earliest evidence for the domesticated horse occurs in *c.* 4500 B.C. at BAGOR. Subsequently the true horse is reported from the Neolithic levels at KODEKAL and HALLUR and the late Harappa levels at Mohenjo-daro (Sewell and Guha, 1931) and ROPAR and at Harappa, LOTHAL and numerous other sites. UJJAIN and HASTINĀPURA are among the important Iron Age sites where there is evidence of the domesticated horse at an early date, and cut-marks on the bones from HASTINĀPURA (Period II) suggest the slaughter of the animal for food. At SURKOTADA bones of *Equus caballus* occur from Periods I A to I C (2100–1700 B.C.) along with those of *Equus asinus* and *Equus hemionus* (Sharma, 1974). Some of the caballine bones are charred; possibly the older animals were killed and eaten. Further study of the bones from this site might reveal skeletal changes which would indicate whether the animal was merely used for transport or was in fact also ridden. Recently bones of *Equus caballus* have also been reported from the proto-Harappa site of MALVAN in Gujarat. However the introduction of the horse into the subcontinent has sometimes been associated with the Indo-Aryans (Allchin, 1969).