A History of Agriculture in India v1.c19.s5.3

v1.c19.s5.3

Out of these wild animals and birds, *nilgai*, deer of different varieties, wild boars, and parakeets must be the cause of damage to the crops of Harappans, as they do even now wherever they are found. How did the Harappans protect their crops? Terracotta sling-balls are found in all Harappan excavations. Possibly, the farmers used these sling-balls for scaring away pests. The sling is the earliest device by which force and range were given to the arm of a thrower of missiles. Slings and sling-balls are even now used by the farmers for protecting the maize crop in the submontane areas of northern India. A boy armed with a sling standing on a *machan* in the midst of a field of maize is not an uncommon sight.