An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c37.108

v2.c37.108

*Chronology*. For fixing the tentative chronology of the site the following points have to be taken into consideration: (1) The absence of iron and the NBPW in the graves and the habitation site on the one hand and the occurrence of microliths exhibiting the employment of crested-ridge technique, copper objects and the nature of the pottery on the other give a Chalcolithic character to the Megalithic culture of Kakoria. (2) some of the pottery types have close parallels in the Chalcolithic sites of c. India and the Deccan; they are: the bowl with everted rim; carinated bowl; jar with high neck; globular vase with concave neck and beaded-out rim; shallow dish with internally rolled rim; and vase with tapering sides. Some of the incised designs and applied patterns are also present in the Chalcolithic pottery assemblage of c. India, e.g. NAVDATOLI. (3) A few shapes like the beaker, cup-on-stand, button-based goblet, high-necked vase and sherds with ripple marks are available in the late Harappa pottery assemblage [11.4] of Haryana and w. Uttar Pradesh. (4) Kakoria has also yielded some sherds of the OCW fabric and shapes such as: the vase with high concave neck; vase with beaded-out rim; cup-on-stand or pedestalled cup; beaker; goblet; bowl with everted or clubbed rim; basin with externally clubbed or collared rim; clubbed rim; and shallow bowl or cover with featureless rim. Like Kakoria some sites of the region such as BARA, ATRANJIKHERA, LAL QILA, NOH and SAIPAI have also yielded incised sherds bearing dots, strokes, zigzags, wavy lines and criss-cross designs. (5) Nearer home, in the c. and e. Ganga valley, sites like PRAHALADPUR, SONPUR and CHIRAND also offer some analogous shapes, viz. the pedestalled cup, convex-sided dish, bowl with everted rim and basin. The Black-and-red Ware, black-slipped ware, red ware and microliths also occur at these sites. (6) Excavation at KOLDIHWA in the BELAN VALLEY has produced material almost identical with that of Kakoria, such as pottery comprising the Black-and-red Ware and black-slipped and red wares, microliths including crested-ridge specimens, copper objects, various types of beads of terracotta and semiprecious stones, mullers and sling balls. The Chalcolithic culture of KOLDIHWA which has also yielded a ¹⁴C date of 1440 ± 120 B.C. (for the lower Chalcolithic horizon) seems to be slightly younger than the Chalcolithic-Megalithic culture of Kakoria on account of its superior pottery on the one hand and paucity of microliths on the other.