Geoarchaeological insights into the location of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India

Bibliographic Data

ID24087461
AuthorsSayantani Neogi (0000-0002-4679-629X, Durham University), C French (0000-0001-7967-3248, University of Cambridge), Charles A I French, Julie A Durcan (0000-0001-8724-8022, University of Oxford), Ravindra Singh (0000-0002-1102-4839, Banaras Hindu University), Ravindra N Singh, C A Petrie (0000-0002-2926-7230, University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume94
Pages137-155
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuaternary Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-5894 • E-ISSN: 1096-0287
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/qua.2019.70
OpenAlexW2995875392
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited70

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.

Alluvial plain · Alluvium · Archaeology · Cartography · Context (archaeology) · Floodplain · Geoarchaeology · Geography · Geomorphology · Human settlement · Hydrology (agriculture) · Indus · Levee · Physical geography · Silt · Structural basin · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Paleontology