Subsistence+Practices

=Subsistence Practices of the Indus Valley Civilization: The inevitability of social complexity in an Asian river valley=

Abstract
//It's widely accepted that at a very early point in human history there occurred at least one migration; groups of humans radiating from Africa outward to parts of Europe and Asia. This is clearly evidenced by the existence of early hominid skeletal remains found in various regions of the world. Logically, over vast expanses of time, these migrating populations branched off to parts of Southwest Asia which included areas like Mesopotamia and later, the Indus Valley. With evidence provided by excavations at two Mature Harappan period sites, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, and along with my argument that the Indus River is a practical resource more than capable of supporting life in an otherwise marginal area, I hope to illustrate here that under the circumstances that the diaspora provided, social complexity would inevitably develop in the Indus Valley.//

A Brief History of Thought
It was long believed that humans did not originate from the African continent. In fact, elaborate hoaxes have been performed in the name of nationalistic pride. In the example of the notorious Piltdown fraud, where a modern human skull and an orangutan mandible were allegedly 'found' together, for a period it stood as conclusive evidence that the first humans were British. Upon its exposure, the hoax was a hard lesson that the scientific community learned during the earlier part of the twentieth century. This blemish on the reputation of viable anthropological research simply illustrates exactly how much we //didn't// know at that point in the study of human evolution and is a reminder of how much we still do not know. To be duped so easily by such an implicit manipulation of evidence is to suggest that the scientific community either couldn't tell the difference or didn't care to. Neither implies incapability, just extreme naivety. It's with this in mind that I remind the scientific community that there is plenty we still don't know about the beginnings of man, including the details relating to the origins of social complexity.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
The development of social complexity in the Indus Valley is represented in two principal areas, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Harappa is located north of Mohenjo-Daro by roughly 600 km. Both are situated directly on the Indus River in modern day Pakistan (Google Earth). At their peak, the two city-states likely acted as modern day bustling hubs do; facilitating trade between traveling foreigners, housing a collective of tens of thousands of residents each while unwittingly acting as the foundation for developing and future social complexity in the region (Kenoyer 1991: 331-85).



Although Harappa's history stretches back a bit further (3300 - 2800 BCE) than Mohenjo-Daro with its early practice of barley and wheat agriculture along with strong evidence of animal husbandry (Richards and Van Buren 2000: 93-94), my primary research focus will be the Mature Harappan (2600 - 1700 BCE) because of the high level of activity at both Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa during this time period. Because of this increased level of activity and the vast expanse of area where this activity occurred in, the volume of material culture left behind by the ancient habitants of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa is great. This material culture gives us the benefit of being able to thoroughly study their way of life, but more specifically as it pertains to my research, their ancient methods of subsistence.


 * [[image:mohenjo-daro_well.jpg width="423" height="640" align="right" caption="The well at Mohenjo-Daro (2)"]]"The Well at Mohenjo-Daro, 2500 BC" by Shuja Nawaz in** //**Journeys (1998)**//

Nothing but half-bricks and pebbles deep down in its dark cold heart, thrown by thirsty hearts to measure the water's depth, till none remains. Wet fingers grope through the soil when cleaning time comes again and the aortic surge resumes. The well stares at the sky with an unblinking Cyclopean eye. Five thousand years and a million buckets of memories poured into the souls and soil of Mohenjo-Daro whose death has built a name. The tourist wrapped in his sweat stops and looks, cold drink in hand, bends down, lifts, and lazily lobs one more stone into the well. The falling message wakens echoes that are added to the laden air.

Indus Valley Climate, 2600 BCE
In a fairly recent excavation at Harappa, soil samples were taken and analyzed. According to Amundson and Pendall (1991: 13), "Stable isotopes in pedogenic carbonates of a soil buried by early occupation offer potential insights into prehistoric environmental conditions. Although carbon isotope ratios are difficult to interpret unambiguously, they suggest either a very arid, sparsley vegetated site (matching presumed latest Pleistocene conditions) or a nearly pure C4 flora, indicative of a tropical grassland (presumed early Holocene conditions). Oxygen isotope ratios in the carbonate are also difficult to interpret due to a lack of knowledge of the isotopic composition of present precipitation. Depending on the temperature at which the carbonates formed, the oxygen isotope ratios in the carbonate could indicate that pre-Harappan conditions were either similar to the present or that a stronger monsoon may have existed."

The study of ancient climate conducted at Harappa between 1986 - 1990 indicates that during the early Holocene, the Asian land mass may have been 2 to 4 degrees (Celcius) warmer than present and increased rainfall was predicted to have occurred in the southern parts of Asia during the summer months (Amundson and Pendall 1991: 14). Bryson and Swain (1981: 140) estimated that precipitation in north-western India between 10,000 and 3,500 years ago may have been roughly three times that of present day precipitation. This increase in rainfall is also illustrated through observations of alluvial beds in Mohenjo-Daro lying well above the beds in Harappa, indicating a large-scale flood of southern Indus Valley (Vita-Finzi 1978: 160). The climate studies conducted by Admunson and Pendall at Harappa suggest that the region's climate would have been slightly better suited, if not the same as present, to support life during the Harappan period.

A River is a Good Start

The Indus River is a north to south running river and is quite substantial in volume due to several tributaries contributing to it. It's fed by rivers flowing down from the Hindu Kush and Himalaya mountain ranges. Running parallel is the now-dry Ghaggar-Hakra River, a former sister river to the Indus that at one time also promoted complexity during the Harappan. This is apparent from the various ancient sites found along the dry riverbed that are dated to roughly the same time period as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

On either side of the Indus River there is an average stretch of roughly 150 km of alluvial plains that are thousands of feet thick (Amundson and Pendall 1991: 14). The river's relatively predictable floods (Vita-Finzi 1978: 160) result in the arrangement of fertile land for agriculture, grazing areas and fishing grounds (Richards and Van Buren 2000: 89-90) that early inhabitants likely would have observed and capitalized upon just as people do still today.

The excavation of Harappa indicates a gradual shift of the river's course since the ancient Indus Valley Civilization thrived, but the Indus River still continues to support life and shows no signs of drying up as its sister river, the Ghaggar-Hakra, did. I argue that because we're able to look at present day settlements and see that complex life does indeed thrive as a direct result of this important water resource, it's fair to suggest that life would just as easily have been supported on this very same river over 4,000 years ago.



Harappa was inhabited for quite some time longer than Mohenjo-Daro so it isn't surprising that evidence for Early Harappan period animal husbandry was discovered early on in the excavation (Meadow 1991: 93). Remains of cattle, sheep, and goats were found among the material culture at the site but a difference was noted, the sizes of the animals found were smaller than those found at European and Middle Eastern sites (Meadow 1991: 94). Meadow states that a decrease in animal size is common when a community first utilizes animal domestication, but for reasons still unknown, the people of the Indus Valley apparently preferred smaller breeds of fauna and this is demonstrated by the product of their husbandry practices; the skeletal remains of the animals domesticated.

Because the Harappan Civilization was supported by a major river system, it would make sense that fish resources would have been a primary food source for inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization. Belcher (1991: 107-119) outlines an intricate model of distribution within the Indus Valley fish trade. According to his research, the treatment and disposal of fish as they are caught and brought to a landing site is a complex series of steps and his account illustrates details of the Indus Valley social hierarchical establishment as it relates to the fish trade. The complex fishing industry contributed to the system which distributed the resource unevenly among the area's residents.

Crops were by all means a coveted source of nutrition for the Indus Valley Civilization. In her article, Heather Margaret-Louise Miller (1991: 121) analyzes the ethnobotanical evidence found within the Harappan context. Traces of cotton, rice, various millets, mustard, sesame, flax seed, grapes, and dates were uncovered during excavation. This discovery provides wonderful insight to the ancient domesticated agricultural industry. Wild plants were also important to the Harappan diet. For example, the ubiquitous //jujube// was likely consumed but important materials like wood and reed were probably used in construction, crafts, and fuel (Margaret-Louise Miller: 122).

Kenoyer (1991: 331-85) suggests that the integration of Harappa's regional sites (ex: Mohenjo-Daro) with its own is because of its diversified resource base such as animal husbandry, a sophisticated fishing industry and of course, agriculture.

Locality and the Diaspora

The study of early human migration has come a long way since the early part of the twentieth century. It's understood that at least one migratory wave did occur; exactly when is not necessarily relevant in this case. We observe evidence of ancient civilizations with the earliest occurring in Mesopotamia and later, in ancient Egypt. It would make sense that the Indus Valley would eventually be settled as it's (from north-eastern Africa) geographically the next in line after the Nile River in Egypt and the Tigris and Euphrates located in Mesopotamia. This is not to suggest that the settlements of these areas occurred in chronological order west to east. There are well known sites providing evidence of older occupations much farther east and west outside of the previously mentioned river valleys.

There have been discoveries of much earlier and more remote civilizations in places like Lake Mungo, Australia and Ponte Verde, Chile but I'd like to refer to the most logical and perhaps painfully obvious principle I associate with land migration: migrations take centuries because during migrations, people tend to take their time stopping in places that offer consumable vegetation and huntable fauna. After a while, groups break off and continue the migration once those resources are stretched too thin. If there is a vast resource that offers the potential for sedendary life, such as the Nile, Tigris & Euphrates Rivers and in this case, as the Indus River did and still does, over a long time people will become less mobile and as a result, populations will flourish.

Summary & Conclusion
====As an archaeologist, it's necessary to put yourself in the metaphorical shoes of the ancient people you're studying. Occam's Razor encourages minimal complexity of hypotheses and I believe that together, the relative convenience of the valley's locality and the river itself as a primary resource was the simplest formula for producing complex society in the Indus River Valley. It would only be natural, and I would even go so far as to say that it was inevitable that a migrating group of humans would retire in this region of the world. Given enough of time, anything is inevitable. Indeed, inevitability is a difficult concept to illustrate but I feel the evidence strongly suggests that all the ingredients needed to form complex society in this region of the world were in place and that life being as resilient and persistent as it tends to be would eventually prosper, as it did.====

__Bibliography__
Amundson, R. and Pendall, Elise 1991 Pedology and Late Quaternary Environments Surrounding Harappa: A Review and Synthesis. In //Harappa Excavations 1986-1990//. Pp. 13-25. Prehistory Press; Madison, WI.

Belcher, William R. 1991 Fish Resources in an Early Urban Context at Harappa. In //Harappa Excavations 1986-1990. Pp. 107-19. Prehistory Press; Madison, WI.

Bryson, R.A. and A.M. Swain 1981 Holocene Variations of Monsoon Rainfall in Rajasthan. In //Quaternary Research //16:135-45.

Hawkes, Jacquetta 1973 The First Great Civilizations: Life in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Egypt. Pp. 28-31, 54, 55, 263, 267-8, 277-9 //   Kenoyer, J.M. 1991 The Indus Tradition of Pakistan and Western India. Journal of World Prehistory 5(4):331-85. Lamberg-Karlovsky, C.C. and Sabloff, Jeremy 1979 Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica. Pp. 189-206, 209. Waveland Press; Prospect Heights, Illinois.

Ed. Lamberg-Karlovsky, C.C. 1989 Archaeological Thought in America. Pp. 209-11, 212-3, 215-7. Cambridge University Press.

Maisels, Charles Keith 1990 The Emergence of Civilization: From hunting and gathering to agriculture, cities, and the state in the Near East. Pp. 213, 302. Routledge; New York, NY.

Meadow, Richard H. 1991 Faunal Remains and Urbanism at Harappa. In //Harappa Excavations 1986-1990//. Pp. 89-103. Prehistory Press; Madison, WI.

Miller, Heather Margaret-Louise 1991 Urban Paleoethnobotany at Harappa. In //Harappa Excavations 1986-1990.// Pp. 121-6. Prehistory Press; Madison, WI.

Nawaz, Shuja 1998 The Well at Mojenjo-Daro in //Journeys//. p. 1. Oxford University Press; Oxford, England.

Ed. Richards, Janet and Van Buren, Mary 2000 Order, Legitimacy and Wealth in Ancient States. Pp. 88-90, 92-3, 95, 101-3. Cambridge University Press. Vita-Finzi, Claudio 1978 Archaeological Sites in their Setting. p. 160. Thames and Hudson Ltd, London. Yoffee, Norman 2005 Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations. Pp. 36, 45, 51-2, 194, 228. Cambridge University Press.

(1) Google Earth Image captured by Katie Corcoran on 04/20/2009
(2) "The Well at Mohenjo-Daro" [|Sewerhistory.org]

(5) "Possible Early Human Migration Route" [|cogweb.ucla.edu]
(6) "River Valley Cultures" [|Terryslibrary.com]