A History of Agriculture in India v1.c23.s2: Bihar
A History of Agriculture in India v1.c23.s2
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Bihar
v1.c23.s2.1
Chirand: District Saran. In eastern India, the lower layers of Chirand, District Saran, a site about 8 kilometres east of Chapra and situated near the confluence of the Ghagra and the Ganga, has given a truly Neolithic assemblage. The discovery only underlines the importance of the earlier but mixed assemblages from Sonpur (District Gaya), Uriup (District Bhagalpur) and a few other sites. Three things are noteworthy at Chirand. First, the earliest settlement rests under a thick debris of the Early Historic town and is 3.5 metres thick. Secondly, it is situated in the plain over the old reddish silt. Thirdly, ground or polished tools are few but there is an abundance and variety of bone tools. A ¹⁴C determination from the topmost level of the Neolithic had given a date of 1650 B.C.
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but there is an earlier date 1755 ± 155 B.C. It is, therefore, expected that the lowest deposit might go back to c. 2500 B.C.
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The houses were circular, about 2 metres in diameter. The floors were paved and the walls were made of clay or mud, plastered over a bamboo screen from outside and inside. It is also thought that there were roofed "pit houses". The roofs were presumably conical and thatched. Villages with such circular huts may even now be seen on the way to Chirand.
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The inhabitants used pots and pans. Though the details are not yet available, it seems there were four main fabrics: red, pale and deep grey, black and black-and-red. These are either hand-made or made with the help of a turntable.
v1.c23.s2.5
It is said that the microliths made on chert, chalcedony and siliceous stones obtained from the Son were used by the Neolithic people.
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A distinguishing feature is the repertory of tools made from bone and antler. These include picks, chisels with broad and narrow end, hammer, dagger, bar celt, shaft straightener, side- and end-scrapers, needle, bodkin, awl and drill.
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There are also arrowheads, both tanged and socketed.
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For cutting stalks of wild grasses, these Neolithic men employed microliths, set in bone, wood or clay hafts or used the larger parallel-sided blades.
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Terracotta figurines, showing humped bulls, birds and toy-cart wheels, were also recovered. The ceramics associated with this culture included hand-made red, grey-black and black-and-red wares. The occurrence of mat impressions on a sherd indicate the knowledge of the technique of preparing mats out of reeds.
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So far, no harpoons or fish-hooks have been found, though certain objects have been recognized as net-knitting tools. The only effective weapons of offence were bows and arrows, tipped with stone and bone points and terracotta sling balls.
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The site has also yielded a number of ground stone artefact including hammerstones and rubberstones.²
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² Sankalia, H.D. *The Prehistory and Protohistory of India and Pakistan*, pp. 304-307.
v1.c23.s2.13
It appears that the earliest Chirandians were not merely hunter-gatherers. They also cultivated foodgrains. Among the debris occur charred grains of rice, paddy husk, wheat, barley, pea and green-gram. Paddy-husk impressions on some of the pieces of burnt clay as also some grains of charred rice indicate the use of that cereal by the inhabitants. The rice grains belong to both the cultivated and wild *Oryza sativa* and *O. rufipogon*. The assemblage, as a whole, indicates an advanced stage of neolithic economy.