Feeding ancient cities in South Asia: Dating the adoption of rice, millet and tropical pulses in the Indus civilisation
Publication Date
2016-12-01Journal Title
Antiquity
ISSN
0003-598X
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Volume
90
Issue
354
Pages
1489-1504
Language
English
Type
Article
This Version
AM
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Petrie, C., Bates, J., Higham, T., & Singh, R. (2016). Feeding ancient cities in South Asia: Dating the adoption of rice, millet and tropical pulses in the Indus civilisation. Antiquity, 90 (354), 1489-1504. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2016.210
Abstract
© Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016.The first direct absolute dates for the exploitation of several summer crops by Indus populations are presented here. These include rice, millets and three tropical pulse species at two settlements in the hinterland of the urban site of Rakhigarhi. The dates confirm the role of native summer domesticates in the rise of Indus cities. They demonstrate that, from their earliest phases, a range of crops and variable strategies, including multi-cropping, were used to feed different urban centres. This has important implications for understanding the development of the earliest cities in South Asia, particularly the organisation of labour and provisioning throughout the year.
Sponsorship
ECH2020 EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL (ERC) (648609)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2016.210
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/262191
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