Updated: December 10, 2020 9:00:24 am
Lead author, Akshyeta Suryanarayan, at an excavation site in Hisar.
The diet of the people of the Indus Valley civilization had a predominance of meat, including extensive consumption of beef, according to a new study published Wednesday in the ‘Journal of Archaeological Science’.
The study, entitled “Lipid residues in ceramics from the Indus civilization in Northwest India” and led by Akshyeta Suryanarayan as part of his doctoral thesis at Cambridge University, analyzes the eating habit of the people of that time on the basis for Analysis of lipid residues found in ceramics from the Harappan sites in Haryana.
It finds the predominance of animal products such as pork, cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat, as well as dairy products, used in ancient ceramic pots from rural and urban settlements of the Indus Valley civilization in northwestern India, in present-day Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
A study, led by Akshyeta Suryanarayan, as part of his doctoral thesis at Cambridge University, analyzes the eating habits of the people of that time on the basis of the analysis of lipid residues found in ceramics from the Harappa sites in Haryana .
The study has been co-authored by the former Vice Chancellor of Deccan College in Pune and renowned archaeologist Prof Vasant Shinde and Prof Ravindra N Singh of BHU, as well as with Miriam Cubas, Oliver E. Craig, Carl P. Heron, Tamsin C. O Connell, Cameron A. Petrie of the University of Cambridge.
How does the study was realized
The Indus Valley civilization spread across much of modern Pakistan, northwestern and western India, and Afghanistan. The scope of this study is concentrated in five villages: Alamgirpur (Meerut, UP), two in Masudpur (Hisar, Haryana), Lohari Ragho (Hisar), Khanak (Bhiwani, Haryana), as well as the city of Farmana (in the district of Rohtak) and City of Rakhigarhi (Hisar). The analysis was carried out on 172 ceramic fragments recovered from the sites. Ceramic lipid residue analysis provides a powerful means by which the food pathways of populations can be examined and has been used in a variety of archaeological contexts around the world to extract and identify food within ancient containers, said Suryanarayan. . The study says: “Ceramics are one of the most ubiquitous artifacts recovered during archaeological excavations from proto and historic sites in South Asia. Between 2600 and 1900 a. C., five settlements of the Indus civilization became important cities, with a series of other urban settlements of medium size, small settlements with specialized artisan production and fortifications, as well as rural settlements. “The study also speaks of a diversity of plant products and regional variations in cultivation practices. Summer and winter crops were practiced. Evidences of barley, wheat, rice, different varieties of millet, a variety of winter and summer legumes, oilseeds and fruits were grown and consumed. vegetables, including eggplant, cucumber, grapes, date palm.
Suryanarayan told The Indian Express that while many studies had been done on the eating habit in the Indus Valley civilization before, these papers mainly focused on the crops being grown at the time. Suryanarayan’s PhD was on “What’s cooking in the Indus civilization? Investigating Indus Food Through Lipid Residue Analysis ”.
“Of domestic animals, bovines / buffaloes are the most abundant, with an average of between 50% and 60% of the animal bones found, and sheep / goats represent 10% of the animal remains. High ratios of cattle bones may suggest a cultural preference for beef consumption in Indus populations, supplemented with lamb / mutton consumption, ” the study says.
He says that in Harappa, 90% of the cattle were kept alive until three to three and a half years, suggesting that females were used for dairy production, while males were used for traction.
“Wild animal species such as deer, antelope, gazelle, hare, bird, and river / marine resources are also found in small proportions in the fauna assemblages of both rural and urban Indus sites, suggesting that these various resources had a place in the Indus diet, ”the study notes. “The pattern is similar at sites in northwestern India, where domestic and wild mammals, and smaller proportions of birds, reptiles, river fish and mollusks were consumed.”
“This study is unique in that it has been able to analyze the contents of the containers. Normally there would be access to seeds or plant debris. But through lipid residue analysis, we can safely determine that the consumption of beef, goat, sheep and pork was widespread, and especially beef, ” said Suryanarayan, 29, lead author of the study. who completed his PhD in February and now works with the French National Center for Scientific Research.
There is also evidence that hares and birds are eaten, although there is little evidence that chicken is part of the diet, according to the study. “Rimmed jars and large storage jars in Harappa have been linked to the storage of liquids like wine and oil,” he says.
Professor Shinde told The Indian Express: “There have been two other research papers looking at the foods of the Indus Valley civilization. The first, published in 2011-12, was Dr. Arunima Kashyap, who first established the presence of curry. He discovered the consumption of eggplant, turmeric, garlic and ginger. Then Dr. Kalyan Shekhar Chakraborty was established a couple of months ago, from researching lipid residues from ships in Gujarat, consuming goat, sheep, and making dairy products like cheese and paneer, clarified butter and yogurt.
“Akshyeta’s study takes a step forward and scientifically demonstrates that this was not only a carnivorous but also a carnivorous society.”
Shinde said: “We knew that this was probably the case due to the masses of animal bones and remains found, which could not be only due to natural causes. But the lipid residue analysis is strong scientific evidence for that. “
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