Geoarchaeological insights into the location of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India
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Authors
Neogi, S
French, CAI
Durcan, JA
Singh, RN
Petrie, CA
Publication Date
2020Journal Title
Quaternary Research (United States)
ISSN
0033-5894
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Volume
94
Pages
137-155
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Neogi, S., French, C., Durcan, J., Singh, R., & Petrie, C. (2020). Geoarchaeological insights into the location of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India. Quaternary Research (United States), 94 137-155. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.70
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This article presents a geomorphological and micromorphological study of the locational context of four Indus civilisation archaeological sites—Alamgirpur, Masudpur I and VII, and Burj—all situated on the Sutlej-Yamuna interfluve in northwest India. The analysis indicates a strong correlation between settlement foundation and particular landscape positions on an extensive alluvial floodplain. Each of the analysed sites was located on sandy levees and/or riverbank deposits associated with former channels. These landscape positions would have situated settlements above the level of seasonal floodwater resulting from the Indian summer monsoon. In addition, the sandy soils on the margins of these elevated landscape positions would have been seasonally replenished with water, silt, clay, and fine organic matter, considerably enhancing their capacity for water retention and fertility and making them particularly suitable for agriculture. These former landscapes are obscured by recent modification and extensive agricultural practices. These geoarchaeological evaluations indicate that there is a hidden landscape context for each Indus settlement. This specific type of interaction between humans and their local context is an important aspect of Indus cultural adaptations to diverse, variable, and changing environments.</jats:p>
Keywords
Geoarchaeology, Micromorphology, Indus civilisation, Landscapes, Luminescence dating
Sponsorship
UKIERI
Funder references
British Academy (PM120008)
British Council in India (IND/CONT/06-07/172E)
European Research Council (648609)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/P027970/1)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.70
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/298191
Rights
All rights reserved
Licence:
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
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