Gandharan Grave Culture (c. 1700–1400 BCE)

As noted in Chapter 7, the Gandharan Grave Culture is the name that was given to what was believed to have been a distinct cultural complex that occurred in the north-west of the subcontinent (Dani Reference Dani1967) (Figure 8.4). The name ‘Gandhara’ is derived from the name given to the province of the Achaemenid or Persian Empire which is believed by many to have included much of what is now the north-west of Pakistan. The early discovery and recording of what were distinctive grave sites within an area roughly corresponding to the boundaries of this ancient province adequately explains the use of this title, although these graves and associated ‘culture’ have also been referred to as ‘Pre-Buddhist Cemeteries’ (Stacul Reference Stacul1966) (Box 8.2). The name Gandhara, as well as being used for a geographical area and an archaeological grave culture, is also the name of a school of Buddhist art within the same region, although the material culture and period are quite separate (Young Reference Ali, Khalil, Young and Zahir2009). Originally, the defining material culture was known only through the graves of its communities, particularly cist graves, where a pit was lined with large stone slabs then covered and sealed by another large capstone. Further exploration, however, uncovered related settlement sites, and this has allowed archaeologists to build up a more balanced reconstruction of both life and death on the fringes of the Integrated Era and right through to the Iron Age and Early Historic periods (Stacul Reference Stacul1987). The Gandharan Grave Culture was thought in the pioneering years of research to have been focused primarily within the valleys of Swat and Dir, part of the area now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although there was certainly a ‘core’ of known sites in these two valleys, recent explorations have demonstrated that similar graves were constructed in the Chitral Valley to the north, east across the Indus and south into the Vale of Peshawar (Ali et al. Reference Ali, Batt, Coningham and Young2002). It is likely that they also extended west across the Afghan border, but it is rather hard to confirm this hypothesis through survey and excavation at present, and there are suggestions that it extended as far east as the southern Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh (Agrawal et al. Reference Agrawal, Kharakwal, Kusumgar and Yadava1995). The Gandharan Grave Culture is in many ways a good example of how archaeological cultures are constructed, not necessarily always with reference to the material culture alone, and how interpretations can vary according to context (Young Reference Young2009; Young Reference Young2010; Zahir Reference Zahir2012).

Figure 8.4. Map of sites associated with the Gandharan Grave Culture.

More than thirty cemeteries have been assigned to the Gandharan Grave Culture by their various excavators. Many are in Swat but also in the surrounding valleys of Dir, Buner, Malakand, Chitral and down into the Vale of Peshawar to the south. Recent research on the definitions and dating of graves of a similar style across such a large geographical area has called into question many entrenched ideas about what constitutes a ‘culture’ and whether in fact many of these grave similarities result from a widespread burial ‘tradition’ which spans millennia (Ali et.al. Reference Ali, Khalil, Young and Zahir2009, Reference Ali, Hamilton, Newson, Qasim, Young and Zahir2008; Zahir Reference Zahir2012). The styles and types of burials that dominated at the cemeteries differed from period to period, but the main excavators, Stacul in Swat and Dani in Dir, have proposed a tentative three-fold grave typology (Stacul Reference Stacul1987; Dani Reference Dani, Dani and Masson1992). The first phase has been dated to between circa 1700 and 1400 BCE and was characterised by the deposition of extended, single burials with grave goods of bronze and ceramics. The burial pits comprised a large upper pit, circular, oval or even rectangular, filled with earth or stones and marked on the surface by a circle of stone boulders, with a smaller pit below containing a rectangular grave chamber, often lined with dry stones and sealed with flat stone slabs (Figure 8.5 and Figure 8.6). The second phase has been dated to between circa 1400 and 1000 BCE and was distinguished by the use of cremations alongside grave goods of bronze, gold and ceramics. They were placed in large jars, often a visage vessel, and were in turn placed within a pit, frequently circular (Figure 8.7). The final phase has been dated between 1000 and 500 BCE and included fractional and multiple burials associated with iron grave goods, and are thought to have been contemporary with the emergence of the regional urban centres of Taxila and Charsadda, which will be explored in greater depth in Chapters 10 and 11 (Figure 8.8).

Figure 8.5. Plan and section of Gandharan Grave Culture burial at Kherai, Pakistan.

Figure 8.6. Gandharan Grave Culture burial at Timargarha, Pakistan.

Figure 8.7. Anthropomorphic vessel from the Gandharan Grave Cemetery at Timargarha, Pakistan.

Figure 8.8. The Bala Hisar of Charsadda, Pakistan.

Whilst the cemetery sites are highly recognisable, settlement sites are also known from this period and have provided useful information with regard to such issues as population and cultural continuity and change within these valleys. For example, at the rock shelter of Ghaligai, Stacul (Reference Stacul1969) noted that ceramics from the later levels of Periods III and IV demonstrated clear continuity with reference to choices of decoration and form, including mat impressions on the bases of many pieces; however, it was only in Period IV that copper objects were recovered for the first time in this region. It is uncertain still, however, whether this rock shelter was permanently occupied or whether it offered seasonal shelter for pastoralists. A further element of continuity within the later ceramic types of Period IV has also been found in the very earliest layers of the Bala Hisar of Charsadda, later the site of one of the large city sites of the second urban-focused period which we will examine at in some detail in Chapters 10 and 11. A similar continuity has been found at Bir-kot-ghwandai, where what have been interpreted as pit dwellings by the excavators were succeeded by a phase of rectangular stone structures on the surface in Period IV alongside painted Black on Red Ware which showed great similarities with those from the sites of the Integration Era (Figure 8.9). The Period IV settlement of Aligrama also provided clear evidence that its inhabitants lived in rectangular structures of stone and earth floors with inset schist fireplaces and had access to limited numbers of copper objects (Stacul and Tusa Reference Stacul and Tusa1975). This pattern of rectangular stone structures superimposed on earlier pit features was also present at Kalako-deray and Loebanr III, where they have also been associated with limited finds of copper objects.

Figure 8.9. Plan and section of ‘pit-dwellings’ at Bir-kot-ghwandai, Pakistan.

Evidence of domesticated plants and animals has been recovered from most of the Gandharan Grave Culture sites in Swat and Dir, with cattle, sheep and goat, and barley, wheat, rice and lentils forming the most significant types. Interestingly, these plant remains have suggested that their inhabitants pursued both summer and winter cropping strategies (Young Reference Young2003). In contrast with the Integrated Era crop strategies at the sites of Harappa and Rojdi with a dominance of either summer or winter cropping, as suggested by Weber (Reference Weber1999), in the Localisation Era, a predominance of multi-cropping may be discerned within the northern valleys during the Localisation Era. Wild plants and animals such as deer and hackberry were also recovered, although not in as great quantities as the remains of domesticates. Trying to determine a single subsistence approach for the human populations of these northern valleys has not been possible, as there is as much variation as similarity between the sites (Young Reference Young2003). This may be due to multiple and diverse human lifeways being represented, including sedentary agriculture, summer transhumance, winter transhumance and even fully mobile pastoralism (Young Reference Young2003; Young et al. Reference Young, Coningham, Ali, Ali, Raven and Possehl2008).

Ochre Coloured Pottery Phase (c. 1750–1250 BCE)

In northern India, in particular the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, there is a relatively strong concentration of archaeological evidence resulting from concerted excavation and survey work. This area is also particularly interesting as it later became one of the key foci for the second urban-focused development during the Early Historic period. As a result, the sequence with its evidence for the emergence of incipient urban forms is of importance, just as the incipient urban forms in Baluchistan and the Indus Valley were to the emergence of an urbanised-focused system during the Integration Era. Ochre Coloured Pottery, or OCP as it is frequently referred to in the archaeological literature, was first identified during B. B. Lal’s excavations at Hastinapura (Lal Reference Lal1955: 10) and has now been found at more than ninety sites throughout the alluvium of the Doab but also into Rajasthan and the eastern Punjab through to Uttar Pradesh (Hooja and Kumar Reference Hooja, Kumar, Allchin and Allchin1997: 327). This red ware ceramic was wheel-thrown with a fine to medium fabric and was covered with a thick red slip, with some sherds decorated with black bands. When rubbed between the fingers, the slip leaves an ochre colour, thus giving the ware its name. Most scholars would agree that OCP vessel forms and decorations are closely associated with the regional assemblages of the Siswal tradition in the Punjab, and assemblages from sites such as Bara or Alamgirpur during the Localisation Era (Allchin and Allchin Reference Allchin and Allchin1982: 254). This similarity led others to contend that “The upper Doab in particular receives the stragglers of the Late Harappan culture” (Thapar Reference Thapar1985: 21). However, Shaffer has suggested that OCP is predominantly an archaeological construct and only became differentiated because of its powdery surface which he believed is due to poor preservation within high water tables post deposition rather than representing “any distinct ceramic tradition” (Shaffer Reference Shaffer and Jacobson1986: 228). As noted earlier, OCP is present in the lowest levels of occupation at a number of later important Iron Age and Early Historic cities such as Hastinapura, Atranjikhera and Kausambi. The small size of trenches in these very early levels means that little is known about the structural and cultural assemblages associated with the occupants of this Phase, although it has been broadly dated to between 1750 and 1250 BCE. Kausambi is located on the banks of the Yamuna River, and excavations there have yielded limited evidence of the OCP occupation within Period I, but it may be suggested that Kausambi covered a little more than 6 hectares with the population living within an area measuring no more than 66 metres east to west (Lal Reference Lal1955: 12). Whilst we do not know the extent of the OCP settlement at Atranjikhera, Period I was 1 metre thick and provided evidence that its inhabitants lived in wattle and daub buildings and the remains of rice, wheat and cattle indicate the focus of their subsistence (Gaur Reference Gaur1984).

Reference should also be made to Lal Qila, where R. C. Gaur exposed an area of 630 square metres, making it one of the largest OCP sites to have been explored, as most OCP sites ranged in size between 200 and 300 square metres (Gaur Reference Gaur1995: 7). Situated on the banks of a tributary of the Ganga, four structural phases with OCP Wares were identified within a deposit of 2.45 metres thickness. The excavators have suggested that their inhabitants lived within circular structures constructed of timber posts and wattle and daub, with either clay or mud-plastered floors (Ghosh Reference Ghosh1989: 252) (Figure 8.10). A further structure enclosing a circular fireplace was exposed in Trench A6 at Lal Qila and interpreted as “a sacrificial-pit” (Gaur Reference Gaur1995: 12). Mud brick and fired brick were both recovered from Phase III contexts (Gaur Reference Gaur1995: 17). Five copper objects including one celt, bone tools and two extremely early female terracotta figurines were recovered from the site. Plant and animal remains included wheat, barley and rice, perhaps again indicating that its farmers grew two crops per year, one winter and one summer, as well as rearing domesticated cattle, sheep, goat, and pig, supplemented by deer (Gaur Reference Gaur1995: 20). The surprisingly large size of Lal Qila is reinforced by Gaur’s excavations at Daulatpur, some 15 kilometres away, where a small mound with an area of less than 240 by 190 metres yielded evidence of OCP Wares and circular structures measuring less than three metres in diameter. Gaur has suggested that Daulatpur was a regional camping location, suggesting the presence of at least a two- or three-tiered-settlement hierarchy (Gaur Reference Gaur1995: 217). One particularly interesting aspect of OCP is the presence of the painted designs on a small percentage of the overall ceramic assemblages (Gaur Reference Gaur1995: 24), and analysis suggests that the populations of different sites appear to have favoured distinctive motifs as well as different non-scriptural graffito (Reference Gauribid.).

Figure 8.10. Plan of buildings at Lal Qila, India.

Ahar-Banas Phase (c. 3000–1500 BCE)

One of the earliest and best documented sites known within Rajasthan is Ahar, which is located close to the city of Udaipur within the upper watershed of the Banas River. Close to significant copper deposits, Ahar is the type-site for the Ahar Culture and has a distinct sequence which began close to the beginning of the second millennium BCE (Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo and Ansari1969). The excavation of the 14 hectare type-site has allowed the identification of more than ninety other sites within the Banas River area on account of the shared adoption of painted, black and red or cream coloured ceramics as well as vessels with distinctive incised, appliqué and cut-and-appliqué ornamental design (Hooja Reference Hooja1988). These sites also commonly have evidence of lustrous wares from western India and Jorwe Wares from the northern Deccan (Chakrabarti Reference Chakrabarti1995: 146). Ahar itself covered an area of 500 by 275 metres and stands 12.8 metres above the adjacent drainage channels to the north and south-east (Figure 8.11). Established on silts deposited by the river, the occupants of the site’s earliest period constructed buildings defined by mud walls on schist plinths. These buildings were rectangular and cardinally oriented, and one particularly well-preserved example measured six metres by 3.3 metres and another over 10 metres long; it is assumed that they would have had subdivisions internally (Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo and Ansari1969: 11) (Figure 8.12). Querns were found inside these buildings, as well as ceramic vessels sunk in the floors, and rectangular clay fireplaces. One building contained an array of six fireplaces, prompting the excavator to suggest that the building may have hosted “community cooking” for the settlement (Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo and Ansari1969: 12). Numerous beads were recovered, and in the earliest phase, Ia, these were mainly terracotta and schist but by Phase Ib beads were being manufactured from agate, carnelian, faience, shell and steatite, suggesting that its inhabitants had access to longer-distance trade networks, which was further reinforced by lapis lazuli examples in Phase Ic contexts. Although there were some possible affinities with Harappan vessel forms, such as dish on stand, there was a notable presence of copper tools and an absence of stone blades.

Figure 8.11. Plan of the site of Ahar, India.

Figure 8.12. Plan of buildings in Trenches F and G at Ahar, India.

Further evidence of shared complexity during this phase has been recovered from joint excavations between Deccan College, Pune and the University of Pennsylvania (Shinde et al. Reference Shinde, Raczek and Possehl2014). Earlier excavations at the 25 hectare site of Gilund provided evidence for the use of mud brick as a building material as well as a complex of intersecting and parallel walls covering an area of 30 by 24 metres. Surviving to a height of two metres, the original excavators identified the building as a “very important structural complex of public utility” (Ghosh Reference Ghosh1989: 150). Further explored between 1999 and 2005, the discovery of a clay silo containing more than 100 seal impressions within a storage magazine indicates the centralising role of the population of this important settlement as well as potential trans-regional linkages as far as Baluchistan and eastern Iran, including ones with Integrated Era settlements to the west (Shinde Reference Shinde2008). Topographic maps of the site indicate that there are currently two mounds, both of which have surviving elements of ‘circumvallation’. Its excavators have reflected that should subsequent fieldwork find both these mounds independent, like Mohenjo-daro, it would “suggest fairly close interaction between the peoples of Sindh and Mewar in the second half of the 3rd millennium (2500–1900 BC)” (Shinde et al. Reference Shinde, Possehl, Ameri, Franke-Vogt and Weisshaar2005: 162). Parallel research at the site of Balathal has provided evidence for the presence of a large central complex covering 600 square metres alongside a defined street and lane within a residential quarter, as well as evidence for copper working and ceramic kilns, all of which indicated the presence of incipient planning (Misra Reference Misra2001: 513). Dating evidence from Balathal suggests that it was already established before the Integration Era but that it offered a continuity of occupation through into the Era of Localisation.

Kayatha Phase (c. 2000–1700 BCE)

Later in date than the initial phases of the Ahar-Banas to the north, the chronology of the Kayatha Phase of the Malwa plateau also suggests that the communities which adopted its distinct ceramics were contemporaries of the Integration Era of the Indus Valley Tradition but that they survived the demise of the latter’s city populations. Although more than forty associated sites have been identified, the publication report of the excavation at the type-site in the 1960s continues to be one of the most useful sources for this archaeological phase (Ansari and Dhavalikar Reference Ansari and Dhavalikar1975). Located 25 kilometres east of Ujjain, Kayatha shared a common location with many of the settlements of Central India on black cotton soil and close to a water source; in the case of Kayatha, a tributary of the Chambal River. The sequence at the site was 12 metres deep, and Period I has been termed the Kayatha Culture, although it may be more useful to consider this as a phase rather than a culture. Unfortunately, no plans were published for this early phase, although structures appear to have comprised wattle and daub walls built around timber posts with floors of silt (Ansari and Dhavalikar Reference Ansari and Dhavalikar1975: 4). Although no evidence for the involvement of its inhabitants with manufacturing was found, this phase produced copper axes and bangles alongside a stone blade industry and beads of shell, carnelian, and agate, and over 40,000 steatite micro-beads. Three ceramic wares predominated at the site: vessels with dark-brown slip with purple-painted designs; red painted buff ware; and comb-incised patterns. Although the site was abandoned at the end of the phase, the excavators have identified the presence of Ahar-Banas material in Period II and then Malwa Phase material in Period III (Ansari and Dhavalikar Reference Ansari and Dhavalikar1975: 7).

Malwa Phase (c. 1700–1500 BCE)

The Malwa phase has been recognised at more than 100 sites within the watersheds of the Chambal, Narmada and Betwa rivers and into Maharashtra. Its communities were characterised by their use of distinctive Malwa Ware ceramics, which comprised a thick fabric strengthened with chopped husk, slipped in orange or buff, and painted with more than 600 motifs in black or red, plus cream-slipped ware. Although the sites of Eran, Nagda, Kayatha, Maheshwar and Navdatoli have all been excavated, the evidence from the latter has been most fully published. Navdatoli is located on the southern bank of the Narmada River, opposite the contemporary site of Maheshwar, and covered an area of roughly 400 by 400 metres. The occupation of the site has been divided into four phases which included Malwa Ware and painted Black and Red Ware in Phase I, the earliest phase; the disappearance of painted Black and Red Ware in Phase II; the appearance of Jorwe Ware and lustrous red ware in Phase III, accompanied by a fire; and in Phase IV, storage jars with appliqué decoration (Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo and Ansari1971: 38) (Figure 8.13). A total of more than 7,000 fragments of broken chalcedony blades and rejects were recovered from most structures, allowing an interpretation that its inhabitants were self-sufficient or apparently lacked centralisation or differentiation. Little copper was recovered, although three of the more complete celts had deliberate individually distinguishing marks or symbols formed by circles. The presence of a fragment of a copper sword or dagger with a midrib on both sides has raised interesting analogies with Western Asia, and postulates the presence of far-reaching trading networks as well as a demand for individualising exotic items (Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo and Ansari1971: 393).

Figure 8.13. Plan of buildings at Navdatoli, India.

The horizontal excavations on Mound IV at Navdatoli exposed a number of the structures from Phase I and these included five one-roomed square or rectangular buildings defined by wooden posts, the largest of which measured six by 4.5 metres. A further eleven circular posted buildings measuring between 2.4 and 3.6 metres in diameter were excavated and identified as stores. Additionally, the excavators recorded a series of pits, lime floors and a number of cardinally oriented burnt floors, one of which measured 6.7 square metres and appeared to have contained a rectangular firepit (Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo and Ansari1971: 54). The second phase comprised a further eight circular and eight rectangular structures, with the largest rectangular structure measuring 12 by 6 metres, with a double thickness post interior wall dividing it. Some of these structures also had rectangular fireplaces inside them. There also seemed to have been a large, unoccupied space within the settlement, offering a community focus for its inhabitants.

Although Navdatoli does not appear to have been walled by its inhabitants, there is evidence for wall construction at the sites of Eran and Nagda. The former is located on the bend of a tributary of the River Betwa, which enclosed its north, east and west sides, and the site has a sequence of almost nine metres depth. The ‘Chalcolithic’ phases appear to have included Kayatha Ware in the earliest levels and Malwa Ware in its later occupation. During the Malwa Phase, the exposed southern side of the settlement was enclosed by a mud rampart, measuring 30 metres wide and surviving to a height of 6.41 metres, and a moat, measuring 36.6 metres long and 5.5 metres wide (Ghosh Reference Ghosh1989: 135). Unfortunately, no information about possible internal layout and structural size is known. Whilst there is debate as to whether this wall represented a defence against humans or floods, the presence of what may be a mud and mud-brick rampart bastion at the site of Nagda has also been recorded (Ghosh Reference Ghosh1989: 303). These monuments mark major communal investment and would have differentiated their walled populations from the surrounding villages.

As noted earlier, Malwa Phase sites are also known within Maharashtra and have been excavated at Daimabad, Chandoli, Inamgaon and Malvan, providing a broad range of more than 150 contemporary site types and locations. The largest of these sites is Daimabad with five metres of archaeological material, located on black cotton soil on the left bank of a tributary of the Godaveri River. Although occupied during the Malwa Phase, there is also clear evidence for three preceding phases at the site, including I, which has been attributed to the Savalda Culture (c. 2300 BC); II, which is thought to have had Late Harappan affinities (c. 2300–1800 BCE) and III, which was associated with buff and cream ware (Sali Reference Sali1986). The settlement of Phase IV, the Malwa, formed a major population agglomeration and covered an area of 20 hectares. Its inhabitants lived in rectangular structures and the site also provided evidence for a copper workshop and sixteen urn and pit burials. The presence of a central “religious complex”, comprising a residential block with a large mud platform with drain and soakpit, a variety of different shaped altars and an apsidal structure further contributes to the identification of this site as a primate regional ‘anchor’ (Ghosh Reference Ghosh1989: 114).

In contrast with the very large settlement at Daimabad, Inamgaon only covered an area of five hectares, but open area excavations at the site have exposed the layout and structures of this small site rather more clearly. A total of thirty-two individual houses belonging to the Malwa Phase, the earliest at Inamgaon, were uncovered (Figure 8.14). Of these, twenty-eight were rectangular, one circular and three had been constructed with pit foundations. Dhavalikar has identified evidence for planning at the site, as the individual structures appear to have been laid out in rows with roads or lanes between them, but there was a notable absence of the significant structures found in the following (Jorwe) phase discussed later (Dhavalikar et al. Reference Dhavalikar, Sankalia and Ansari1988: 1002). As in other contemporary sites, intramural double urn burials for children were identified within the houses (Figure 8.15 and Figure 8.16). Evidence for the site occupants’ access to copper and stone tools as well as beads of terracotta, jasper, ivory and carnelian, shell, steatite, faience and gold are interesting as Inamgaon is an inland site. Similar cultural assemblages have also been identified at the sites of Chandoli and Nevasa, both of which are also located on black cotton soils close to river courses (Deo and Ansari Reference Deo and Ansari1965; Sankalia et al. Reference Sankalia, Deo, Ansari and Ehrhardt1960).

Figure 8.14. Plan of buildings at Inamgaon, India, during the Malwa Phase.

Figure 8.15. Intramural urn burial at Inamgaon, India (i).

Figure 8.16. Intramural urn burial at Inamgaon, India (ii).

Jorwe Phase (c. 1500–900 BCE)

The succeeding Jorwe Phase has been found throughout Maharashtra and its communities were characterised by their use of Jorwe Ware, a ceramic ware with a well-fired fine body with an orange or red matt surface painted with black geometric designs. There was an overall rise in site numbers to more than 200, which represents an expansion of farming populations across the black cotton soils, but it also witnessed the emergence of a three-tiered settlement hierarchy (Coningham Reference Coningham and Allchin1995a: 61). The apex of the hierarchy appears to have been the ‘anchor’ settlement at Daimabad, which expanded in Phase V to 30 hectares and has provided evidence of rectangular and circular structures, complete with forty-eight urn burials within houses, as well as a distinct road and lane layout (Figure 8.17). The earliest levels of this phase also included ceramic kilns, an apsidal shrine, and altars and firepits along with the presence of a notable ochre covered terracotta of four figures (Ghosh Reference Ghosh1989: 114). Reference has also been made to the presence of a wall and bastions around the site, clearly indicative of the organising abilities of its population. The sites forming a second tier of settlement between five and 10 hectares included Prakash and Inamgaon. During the Jorwe phase, Inamgaon, which was surrounded on three sides by a meander of the River Ghod, was also enclosed on the fourth side by a wall and ditch measuring 195 metres long and 20 metreswide (Dhavalikar et al. Reference Dhavalikar, Sankalia and Ansari1988: 237). Internally, the settlement appears to have been planned with rows of rectangular structures separated by cardinally oriented roads, and the excavators have suggested that the chief lived in the centre surrounded by wealthy farmers, with artisans to the west (Dhavalikar et al. Reference Dhavalikar, Sankalia and Ansari1988: 1002). The excavators also identified a public temple and central granary beside the chief’s residence, complete with storage bins, pit silos and a firepit within a 100 square metre complex, dwarfing the average residences, which were 15 square metres in size (Dhavalikar et al. Reference Dhavalikar, Sankalia and Ansari1988: 193).

Figure 8.17. Plan of buildings at Daimabad, India, during the Jorwe Phase.

The settlement’s inhabitants were clearly engaged in manufacturing and probably supplied completed objects to the third tier of small agricultural settlements (between one and three hectares). This suggestion has been based on evidence of workshops present within nine of the sixty-nine excavated structures at Inamgaon, including ceramic kilns and material consistent with smithing, and bone and stone blade working. There was evidence for trade over long distances in the form of gold and ivory, probably obtained from Karnataka, as well as shell from the Saurashtra coast. Ceramics manufactured at both Daimabad and Inamgaon appear to have been traded to the inhabitants of smaller Jorwe sites, and one Jorwe vessel has been recovered from Navdatoliin Central India and others from late Neolithic and ‘Chalcolithic’ levels within Peninsular India (Paddayya Reference Paddayya1973: 84). The period from 1200 to 900 BCE is considered a Late Jorwe Phase, and at Inamgaon there was a reduction in agriculture and an increase in hunting and, whilst the site continued to be occupied until circa 700 BCE, many other Jorwe sites in the northern Deccan were abandoned.