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

Datos Bibliográficos

ID24087461
AutoresSayantani 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, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen94
Páginas137-155
Fecha de publicación2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaQuaternary Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0033-5894 • E-ISSN: 1096-0287
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/qua.2019.70
OpenAlexW2995875392
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas70

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