An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s6.13

v1.c9.s6.13

The third site which provides evidence for the transition from intensified or specialized food-gathering to food-producing is BURZAHOM; two phases of the Neolithic culture have been identified at this site: during the earlier phase, the subsistence economy of the people, as attested by the finds, seems to have been specialized food-gathering, including fishing. The bone tools included awls, points, harpoons, scrapers and needles, while the stone tools consisted of axes, adzes, wedges, digging sticks, drills, etc. The inhabitants lived in underground dwelling pits [14.13], but their cultural equipment including tools does not show any evidence pointing to the domestication of plants or animals. Their pottery was entirely handmade, showing mat impressions on the underside, and was used perhaps for holding liquids. Perhaps there must have been some emphasis on the collection of vegetal products which would explain the occurrence of ground stone tools for pounding and milling—tools which later became necessary for processing domesticated grains. For such an intensified food-gathering the use of the bow and arrow has also been attested by the find of a stone slab showing an engraving of a hunting scene (Pande, 1973), although no microliths or blades, normally used as composite tools after being hafted, have been found at this site. The arrow-tips of the Burzahom industry therefore would obviously be of bone fragments sharpened to a point. Possibly this choice was dictated by the non-availability of siliceous stone within easy reach. The animal most frequently hunted was the deer.