Ancient Irrigation and Buddhist History in Central India: Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dates and Pollen Sequences from the Sanchi Dams

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a recent pilot project aimed at obtaining optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates from a group of ancient irrigation dams in central India. The dams are all situated within an area of 750 km2 around the wellknown Buddhist site of Sanchi, the latter established in c. third century B.C. and having a continuous constructional sequence up to the twelfth century A.D. They were documented during earlier seasons of the Sanchi Survey, initiated in 1998 in order to relate the site to its wider archaeological landscape. The pilot project builds upon earlier hypotheses regarding the chronology and function of the Sanchi dams and their relationship to religious and political history in Central India. The principal suggestion is that the earliest phase of dam construction coincided with the rise of urbanization and the establishment of Buddhism in central India between c. third and second centuries B.C.; and that they were connected with wet-rice cultivation as opposed to wheat, the main agricultural staple today. Similarities with intersite patterns in Sri Lanka, where monastic landlordism is attested from c. second century B.C. onward, have also led to the working hypothesis that the Sanchi dams were central to the development of exchange systems between Buddhist monks and local agricultural communities. The pilot project focused on two out of a total of 16 dam sites in the Sanchi area and involved scraping back dam sections created by modern road cuttings. This cast new light on aspects of dam construction and allowed for the collection of sediments and ceramics for OSL dating. The results confirmed the suitability of local sediments to OSL dating methods, as well as affirming our working hypothesis that the dams were constructed—along with the earliest Buddhist monuments in Central India—in the late centuries B.C. Sediment samples were also collected from cores hand drilled in the dried-up reservoir beds, for supplementary OSL dating and pollen analysis, which shed useful insights into land use.

A ‘Reflexive’ Multi-Stage Survey Methodology for Historical Landscape Research in Central India:Field-Walking, Local Knowledge, and Satellite Imagery as Archaeological Site Prospection and Mapping Tools in the Sanchi Survey Project

“…In 2002-05 (stage II), four additional field seasons sought to improve existing datasets and test earlier hypotheses using new methodologies. Particular emphasis was placed on diachronic human : non-human : environment interaction through ground-based mapping of waterresource systems, geological dating of dam and reservoir deposits, and hydrological and climate data analysis 64 , while database redesign, remapping at selected sites, and satellite remote sensing were other key foci of enquiry. The latter aided the mapping process, ameliorated the GIS data quality, and enabled ground-based site representativeness during stage I to be tested against visibility levels within a subset of different satellite imageries 41,55 .…”

Archaeologies of Buddhist propagation in ancient India: ‘ritual’ and ‘practical’ models of religious change

“…2). The working hypothesis developed in detail elsewhere (Shaw 2007;Shaw and Sutcliffe 2001, 2005Shaw et al 2007, Sutcliffe et al 2011) is that these reservoirs were built in c. the third to second century BC in order to increase agricultural output and support the increased population levels indicated by local settlement patterns.…”

“…Additional chronological markers are provided by ceramic sequences, as well as some OSL and TL markers, from both excavated and non-excavated contexts (Shaw 2007;Shaw et al 2007).…”

Rice in Thailand: The Archaeobotanical Contribution

“…Although the earliest paddy field agriculture is found in China, it is during the first millenium CE that indica together with wetland systems of cultivation may have been introduced into Southeast Asia from India as a result of exchange Rice (2011) 4:114-120networks. In India, the expansion of rice agriculture occurs during the Iron Age and is linked to labourintensive irrigated rice cultivation Shaw et al 2007). It seems likely that during the early contact period with South Asia (300 BCE onwards), Thailand already had an established rice agricultural regime primarily focused on dry cropping in low-lying areas and the rice grown was japonica.…”