A new chronology based on OSL and radiocarbon dating for the archaeological settlements of Vadnagar (western India) along with magnetic and isotopic imprints of cultural sediments

Agnihotri, Rajesh; Patel, Nikhil; Srivastava, Pradeep; Ambekar, Abhijit; Arif, M.; Kumar, Anil; Phartiyal, Binita; Kumar, Alok

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103045

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Samples of host soil-sediments, however, were pre-treated i.e. subjected to decalci cation to measure the δ 13 C SOM values (Agnihotri et al, 2021). For this, ~ 1-2 grams of dried/homogenized sediment aliquots (without sieving to avoid biasness) were treated with 5% Hydrochloric acid and kept for ~ 8-10 hours (overnight) at room temperature.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the study site is a rural settlement and it can be well expected that archaeological/ habitational soil-sediment recovered from different cultural layers would have come from nearby arable land. Combined usage of C and N isotopes of crops vis-à-vis host soil-sediments of the studied archaeological sites was aimed to provide integrated information of cropping pattern and agro-hydrological status in arable Harappan agri-elds (Agnihotri et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2008). Where macro-botanical grains are expected to provide information about past crop-hydrological status, C and N isotopic data (along with their contents viz.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

Sharma,

Agnihotri,

Pokharia

et al. 2024

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) of archaeological grains/seeds recovered from different cultural layers of an Indus archaeological site 4MSR (29°12'87.2"N; 73°9'421"E; Binjor, western Rajasthan, India) provide insights into the Harappan agriculture between ~ 2900 to ~ 1800 BCE. While δ 13 C values were used to retrieve hydrological status, δ 15 N values were used to gauge agricultural intensi cation. Isotopic data of grains/seeds were generated representing three Indus phases (i) early phase (~ 2900 − 2600 BCE), (ii) transitional phase (~ 2600 − 2500 BCE) and (iii) mature phase (~ 2500 − 1800 BCE). We nd δ 13 C values of barley grains (winter crop) varied in overlapping ranges for all the three phases − 21.3‰±1.9; −22.9‰±1.6 and − 22.7‰±1.7 respectively (n = 10 for each phase) indicating insigni cant changes in hydrology for winter crops. For summer crops cotton also, average δ 13 C values for transitional phase − 23.7‰±1.8 were not signi cantly different from those of mature phase − 22.5‰±2.4. δ 15 N barley values also varied in wider ranges, however, intra-phase variability appears to have progressively increased from early (8.0‰±1.7) to transitional phase (7.3‰±2.5) and then mature phase (9.2‰±7.2) indicating a plausible agricultural intensi cation. We also measured δ 13 C of host soil organic matter (SOM) and sediment δ 15 N to assess regional environmental conditions. In contrast to the trends observed for archaeological grains, δ 13 C SOM values showed a statistically signi cant enriching trend from early (−23.6‰±1.4) to mature phase (−20.3‰±1.9) hinting a growing aridity in the region. We surmise that Harappan farmers of western Rajasthan region might be managing arable hydrological conditions in their elds through agricultural interventions to continue agriculture practices despite growing aridity in the vicinity.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

Sharma,

Agnihotri,

Pokharia

et al. 2024

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Assessment of Geoheritage and Geotoursim Potential of the Geoarchaeosites from the Mainland Gujarat, Western India

et al. 2022

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Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

Sharma

Agnihotri²,

Pokharia³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C, δ15N) of archaeological grains/seeds recovered from different cultural layers of an Indus archaeological site 4MSR (29°12'87.2"N; 73°9'421"E; Binjor, western Rajasthan, India) provide insights into the Harappan agriculture between ~ 2900 to ~ 1800 BCE. While δ13C values were used to retrieve hydrological status, δ15N values were used to gauge agricultural intensification. Isotopic data of grains/seeds were generated representing three Indus phases (i) early phase (~ 2900 − 2600 BCE), (ii) transitional phase (~ 2600 − 2500 BCE) and (iii) mature phase (~ 2500 − 1800 BCE). We find δ13C values of barley grains (winter crop) varied in overlapping ranges for all the three phases − 21.3‰±1.9; −22.9‰±1.6 and − 22.7‰±1.7 respectively (n = 10 for each phase) indicating insignificant changes in hydrology for winter crops. For summer crops cotton also, average δ13C values for transitional phase − 23.7‰±1.8 were not significantly different from those of mature phase − 22.5‰±2.4. δ15Nbarley values also varied in wider ranges, however, intra-phase variability appears to have progressively increased from early (8.0‰±1.7) to transitional phase (7.3‰±2.5) and then mature phase (9.2‰±7.2) indicating a plausible agricultural intensification. We also measured δ13C of host soil organic matter (SOM) and sediment δ15N to assess regional environmental conditions. In contrast to the trends observed for archaeological grains, δ13CSOM values showed a statistically significant enriching trend from early (−23.6‰±1.4) to mature phase (−20.3‰±1.9) hinting a growing aridity in the region. We surmise that Harappan farmers of western Rajasthan region might be managing arable hydrological conditions in their fields through agricultural interventions to continue agriculture practices despite growing aridity in the vicinity.

show abstract

A new chronology based on OSL and radiocarbon dating for the archaeological settlements of Vadnagar (western India) along with magnetic and isotopic imprints of cultural sediments

Cited by 3 publications

References 31 publications

Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

Assessment of Geoheritage and Geotoursim Potential of the Geoarchaeosites from the Mainland Gujarat, Western India

Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

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