A History of Agriculture in India v1.c19.s11: Use of Wood and Deforestation
A History of Agriculture in India v1.c19.s11
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Use of Wood and Deforestation
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Here, a reference may be made to the use of wood by the Harappans. The oldest record of the use of wood, in the Indian region, is from Harappa proper and from the sites of Harappan culture in Gujarat. At Harappa, deodar (*Cedrus deodara*) and rosewood (*Dalbergia latifolia*) were used for coffins. Other wood remains found at Harappa were of a wooden mortar (*Ziziphus mauritiana*; syn. *Z. jujuba*) for pounding grains. The Harappans in Kutch used timber of *Tamarix*, *Albizzia*, teak, *Pterocarpus santalinus*, *Soymida febrifuga* and *Adina cordifolia*, possibly for agricultural implements, carts, axles, axe handles, oil presses, grain-pounders, turnery, tanning and dyeing and for fuel (Savithri, 1976). The choice of these woods for specific purposes shows not only the knowledge of where the trees grow but also of the characteristic qualities of the woods used. The charred timbers recovered from Lothal in Gujarat were *Acacia* sp., *Albizzia* sp., *Tectona grandis*, *Adina cordifolia* and *Soymida febrifuga*.
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According to Wheeler, one of the major factors of the decline and fall of the Harappan culture was the widespread deforestation of the surrounding region to meet the demands of firewood for baking millions of bricks used for the building of the city of Mohenjo-daro. Large-scale use of wood for baking pottery, smelting metals, and as domestic fuel further depleted the forests. The building of houses and ships also made demands on the forest reserves. The clearing of land for cultivation and grazing by domestic animals were other biotic factors which led to the destruction of vegetation. This is how man pays the price of cultural advance and civilization. Eastward shifts of the edge of the south-western monsoon has been suggested by Piggott as the cause of increasing aridity. The final blow was, in all likelihood, delivered by the energetic Aryan nomads who massacred the inhabitants. On the topmost level of the city, skeletons of men, women and children, bearing axe or sword cuts, have been discovered. Though the Harappan cities were destroyed by the invaders, the achievements of the Harappan culture, viz. the use of copper and bronze, pottery, the plough, the bullock-cart and irrigated farming were adopted by the Aryans.
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