Chalcolithic Cultures of India

In the Indian context, the chalcolithic period includes broadly three copper-using cultures —

1) The Harappan Culture, located chiefly along the river Indus and its tributaries;

2) The Chalcolithic Cultures situated outside the Harappan zone, covering a vast area extending from the western to the eastern part of India and the Deccan; and,

3) The Copper Hoard Cultures, so named as most of the finds have been recovered in hoards, primarily from the regions in western Uttar Pradesh.

While the Harappan Culture was urban in nature and was based on surplus agriculture, specialized crafts, inter-regional trade, fortified towns, the art of writing, etc., the other two cultures were represented by farming communities and rural settlements.

These non-Harappan Chalcolithic Cultures were marked by limited use of copper implements (except at Ahar in Rajasthan) and an abundance of stone tools. The economies of these cultures were more akin to non-metal-using Neolithic people and are, therefore, sometimes termed as Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cultures.

It is argued that the non-urban nature of these cultures was partly because of geographical constraints. Whereas Malwa and Maharashtra in western India lay in the semi-arid region containing sticky black soil, Uttar Pradesh and other regions in the east had monsoonal forests and kankar-ridden soil. Both these regions could not be cultivated effectively with the meager and primitive copper implements that the Chalcolithic people possessed. These people were, therefore, forced to confine themselves to the narrow alluvial strips of the rivers. It naturally imposed a restraint on their ability to produce surplus or to create a situation for the growth of trade and towns.

These cultures are, however, significant as they represent the early farming communities in non-Harappan India. They serve as a base for the growth of surplus agriculture and urbanism later in the sixth century BC when, in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, iron tools became an important means of agricultural production.

Cultures outside the Harappan Zone

Ever since the chance discovery of a Chalcolithic site at Jorwe (Distt. Ahmednagar, Maharashtra), a large number of sites belonging to Chalcolithic Cultures have been reported from the upper half of India from Gujarat to Assam and the Deccan. These cultures are named after their key sites or the region to which they belonged and reveal broadly a basic uniformity in their settlement and subsistence patterns. The prominent non-Harappan Chalcolithic Cultures in the western part of India are as follows:

(i) Banas Culture (c. 2600 BC – 1900 BC, calibrated)

It flourished in the valley of river Banas in southeast Rajasthan. As its key site is Ahar, on the outskirt of Udaipur, it is also known as Ahar culture. Ahar, known as Tambavati (the city of copper) in ancient times, lies close to the Khetri copper mines and has yielded the largest number of copper artifacts in the form of axes, bangles, and rings. Its nearby site Gilund has reported a good amount of stone tools made on chalcedony.

(ii) Kayatha Culture (c. 2400 BC – 2000 BC, calibrated)

It is named after its key-site Kayatha located on the River Kali Sindh, a tributary of the river Chambal in Madhya Pradesh. It has reported a large number of stone blade tools but more significantly, two fine examples of copper axes with sharp cutting edges. These were cast in molds in sharp contrast to those from other Chalcolithic sites where they were made by hammering into a desired shape and indicating a “notable” technological advancement. Another important characteristic of Kayatha culture is the “combed ware.” This ware is so called because it contains patterns in the form of wavy or zigzag lines in groups of four or sometimes five executed by means of a comb-like instrument.

(iii) Malwa Culture (c. 1700 BC – 1400 BC)

It is represented by a number of sites including Eran, Nagda, and Navdatoli in western Madhya Pradesh. Among these Navdatoli, literally meaning a “village of the boatmen,” situated on the southern bank of the River Narmada, is the most important and it has yielded evidence of the cultivation of different types of crops.

(iv) Jorwe Culture (c. 1400 BC – 700 BC)

Its representative sites are Inamgaon, Sonegaon, Chandoli (Distt. Pune), Prakash (Distt. Dhulia), and Jorwe and Nevasa (Distt. Ahmednagar) — all in the state of Maharashtra. Inamgaon located on the terrace of a stream called Ghod, eighty km east of Pune, has yielded more information about the Chalcolithic way of life than any other site in India.

Among other Cultures, reference may be made to Prabhas Culture on the Saurashtra Coast (c.1800 BC – 1200 BC), Rangpur Culture also known as Lustrous Red Ware Culture in the mainland of Saurashtra (1700 BC – 1200 BC), and Savalda Culture in the Tapti Valley, extending up to the River Godavari.

In the northern and eastern parts of India, the important sites which have yielded evidence of Chalcolithic Culture are Narhan and Sohgaura (both in district Gorakhpur), Imlidih (near Narhan), Kharadih (Distt. Balia) — in eastern Uttar Pradesh; Chirand (district Saran), Taradih (Bodhgaya), Senuwar (Distt. Rohtas) — in Bihar; Pandu Rajar Dhibi and Mangalkot (both in Distt. Burdwan), Mahisdal in the Ajay river valley of West Bengal and, Golbai Sasan (Distt. Puri) in Orissa. The site of Napchik in Manipur has also yielded some Chalcolithic material but its sequence is not clear.