An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s14.2

v1.c9.s14.2

Our knowledge of many aspects of the material culture of the Chalcolithic farmers is yet sketchy for the simple reason that all the excavations save a few have been small exploratory digs. Consequently their origin and various stages of development and decline are all yet imperfectly known to us. The KAYATHA culture (c. 2000-1800 B.C.) can be said to be a junior contemporary of the Harappa. In fact the characteristic Kayatha ceramics [11.7] such as the sturdy painted ware and the incised ware have some faint pre-Harappa elements. The people also used beads of semiprecious stones and microbeads of steatite exactly similar to those of the Harappa. Thus the Kayatha culture, though possessing a distinct identity of its own, can be said to have some pre-Harappa and mature Harappa inspiration behind it.