A closer look of Inamgaon

Inamgaon is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. It is a megalithic site. It was occupied between 3600 and 2700 years ago. Here,adults were generally buried in the ground, laid out straight, with the head towards the north. Sometimes burials were within the houses. Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with the dead.

Archaeologists have found seeds of wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, peas and sesame. Bones of a number of animals, many bearing cut marks that show they may have been used as food, have also been found. These include cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, horse, ass, pig, sambhar, spotted deer, blackbuck, antelope, hare, and mongoose, besides birds, crocodile, turtle, crab and fish. There is evidence that fruits such as ber, amla, jamun, dates and a variety of berries were collected.

Some Important Dates in Ancient Indian History

Some Important Dates in Ancient Indian History

• Cotton cultivation at Mehrgarh (about 7000 years ago)
• Beginning of cities (about 4700 years ago)
• Beginning of the end of these cities (about 3900 years ago)
• The emergence of other cities (about 2500 years ago)

• Beginning of the composition of the Vedas (about 3500 years ago)
• Beginning of the building of megaliths (about 3000 years ago)
• Settlement at Inamgaon (between 3600 and 2700 years ago)
• Charaka (about 2000 years ago)

• New kinds of rajas (about 3000 years ago) 
• Mahajanapadas (about 2500 years ago)
• Alexander’s invasion, composition of the Digha Nikaya (about 2300 years ago)
• End of the ganas or sanghas (about 1500 years ago)

• Upanishadic thinkers, the Jaina teacher Mahavira and the
  Buddha (about 2500 years ago).
• Writing down of the Jaina texts (about 1500 years ago)
• Beginning of the Mauryan empire (more than 2300 years ago)
• Beginning of the use of iron in the subcontinent (about 3000 years ago)
• Increase in the use of iron, cities, punch marked coins (about 2500 years ago)
• Beginning of the composition of Sangam literature (about 2300 years ago)
• Settlement in Arikamedu (between 2200 and 1900 years ago)
  
  
  
   

Harappan towns in Gujarat

Harappan cities of Gujarat, India

City of Dholavira : located on Khadir Beyt in the Rann of Kutch. Dholavira was divided into three parts, and each part was surrounded with massive stone walls. There was also a large open area in the settlement. Large letters of the Harappan script that were carved out of white stone and perhaps inlaid in wood were found.

City of Lothal : stood beside a tributary of the Sabarmati, in Gujarat, close to the Gulf of Khambat. It was situated near areas where raw materials such as semi-precious stones were easily available. This was an important centre for
making objects out of stone, shell and metal. There was also a store house in the city. Many seals and sealings (the impression of seals on clay) were found in this storehouse. A dockyard was excavated at Lothal. This huge tank may have been used as a dockyard, where boats and ships came in from the sea and through the river channel. Goods were probably loaded and unloaded here.

The Earliest cities in subcontinent

The Earliest cities in subcontinent

These cities were found in the Punjab and Sind in Pakistan, and in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and the Punjab in India. Archaeologists have found a set of unique objects in almost all these cities: red pottery painted with designs in black, stone weights, seals, special beads, copper tools, and long stone blades.

A closer look of Mehrgarh

Beginning of settlement at Mehrgarh (about 8000 years ago). This site is located in a fertile plain, near the Bolan Pass, which is one of the most important routes into Iran. Mehrgarh was probably one of the places where women and men learnt to grow barley and wheat, and rear sheep and goats for the first time in this area. It is one of the earliest villages that we know about.

Archaeologists who excavated the site found evidence of many kinds of animal bones from the earliest levels. These included bones of wild animals such as the deer and pig. In later levels, they found more bones of sheep and goat, and in still later levels, cattle bones are most common, suggesting that this was the animal that was generally kept by the people.

Other finds at Mehrgarh include remains of square or rectangular houses. Each house had four or more compartments, some of which may have been used for storage. Several burial sites have been found at Mehrgarh. In one instance, the dead person was buried with goats, which were probably meant to serve as food in the next world.