THE AHAR CULTURE: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Dr. Rima Hooja

 Introduction

Like many other parts of South Asia, the modern Indian State of Rajasthan has a long history and prehistory dating back to the Palaeolithic (or 'Old Stone Age').  The Chalcolithic (i.e. copper-and-stone using) phase is represented in southeastern Rajasthan by several sites which archaeologists have classified as belonging to the 'Ahar Culture' (Sankalia et al. 1969; Sankalia 1974; Misra 1967, 1969; Hooja 1988). This copper-using 'Ahar Culture' (so-named after the first site, i.e. 'type-site', to be found, as is the archaeological convention), also features in some early literature as the 'Banas Culture', taking its name from the Banas river basin in which the earliest known sites were discovered. It has been recognized as being distinct and distinguishable from the Chalcolithic sites of the Pre-Harappan, Harappan and post-Harappan 'cultures' known from northern Rajasthan, as well as from the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura Culture complex.

 Major Known Sites of the Ahar Culture

Over ninety sites of the Ahar Culture have been noted to date. The main distribution appears to be concentrated in the river-valleys of the Banas and its tributaries in southeastern Rajasthan. Some sites with Ahar Culture levels are also known from Jawad, Mandsor, Kayatha and Dangwada in Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan, the sites have mainly been found in the districts of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Ajmer, Tonk and Bhilwara. These include Ahar, Gilund, Bansen, Keli, Balathal, Alod, Palod, Pind, Khor, Arnoda, Nangauli, Champakheri, Tarawat, Fachar, Phinodra, Joera, Darauli, Gadriawas,  Purani Marmi, Aguncha, and Ojiyana among others. (For details & a site gazetteer, see Hooja 1988, pp.163-171, 186-220).

New sites continue to be noticed, as is the case with Namana, in district Bundi, where Aharian material remains were found in the 1990's, according to the Rajasthan State Dept. of Archaeology & Museums. (One may add here that on June 5th 1998, a site with Ahar Culture pottery, saddle-querns, stone balls and other material objects was noted at a construction-site near the Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Pushkar Road, Ajmer, by a group that included this author, Shri C.N. Subbrahmaniam, Ms. Rashmi Paliwal and their colleagues from the Eklavya sansthan (Madhya Pradesh), and Dr. B.L. Bhadani of Aligarh Muslim University. The trenches at the site, which had obviously been dug for construction purposes, revealed considerable material in situ! The discovery was promptly reported to the Rajasthan Govt. Department of Archaeology & Museums, who later collected some material objects from the location, and confirmed the existence of Aharian pottery, etc. Unfortunately, even a trial-dig could not be carried out by the Dept., and a private housing colony has since come up on the site!)

 A Picture Emerges: A Summary of Excavations and Surveys etc.

Of the many recorded Ahar Culture sites, two - namely, Ahar (24⁰ 35' N; 73⁰ 44' E) and Gilund (25⁰ 01' N; 74⁰ 15' E), both in Rajasthan, were partially excavated during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Ahar was excavated by Dr. R.C. Agrawala and colleagues of the Rajasthan State Dept. of Archaeology & Museums, and a team comprising members of Deccan College Poona and Melbourne University, Australia, led by the late Professor H.D. Sankalia, and a full report was published in 1969. The excavations at Ahar, the type-site of the Ahar Culture, yielded a copper-using proto-historic period, labelled by the excavators as 'Ahar Period I', as well as an iron-using early historical phase, known as 'Ahar Period II'. A break in occupation was noted between the two periods (Sankalia et al 1969).

 The other site, Gilund was excavated by Dr. B.B. Lal and colleagues from the Archaeological Survey of India. The main findings of this excavation appeared as brief interim reports, published in issues of 'Indian Archaeology - A Review' [henceforth IAR]. The findings broadly corroborated the results from Ahar. However, a detailed excavation report on Gilund is still awaited!

 Later, R.C. Agrawala (1981) worked briefly at Ojiyana (25⁰ 53' N; 74⁰ 21' E), a site discovered during the Rajasthan State Dept. of Archaeology & Museums' surveys. The 1994 season saw the start of several seasons of excavations at the site of Balathal (24⁰ 43' N; 73⁰ 59' E) - one of the Ahar Culture sites that had been reported in IAR in the 1960's, and subsequently discussed by V.N. Misra (Misra 1967). The on-going excavation at the site of Balathal is continuing to provide much valuable information.

In addition, from the late 1999-early 2000 season onwards fresh work has begun at the sites of Gilund and Ojiyana. This is being conducted at Gilund by a team from Deccan College, Pune, & Prof. Gregory Possehl and his team from the University of Pennsylvania, USA), while at Ojiyana the work is being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India.

 At Ahar, the proto-historical copper-using Ahar Period I has provided radiocarbon or 'C14' dates of between c.2580 B.C. to 1500 B.C., or even later (with MASCA  correction), while the early historical Ahar Period II has been dated from about post 1000  B.C. onwards. This contains objects made of iron, Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), and Kushan and other historical period artefacts, among other things.

 The recent few seasons of excavation at the site of Balathal have also yielded a twofold cultural sequence of Chalcolithic and Iron Age (Misra et al. 1995). The Chalcolithic Ahar Culture period at Balathal has so-far provided radiocarbon dates between c.2350-1600 B.C., and the excavators suggest that the antiquity of the site may go back to c.2600. Fresh data is awaited in this regard. The (post-Chalcolithic) Iron Age levels have been dated between 5th century B.C. and 3rd century A.D. by the excavators. The area occupied by the Iron Age people at the site is smaller and is largely confined to the central part of the mound under excavation at Balathal.

The inference drawn on the basis of the various excavations as well as the evidence from the explored sites is that a distinctive copper-using regional culture was in existence in south-eastern Rajasthan by the later half of the 3rd millennium B.C. Among the characteristic features of this copper-using Ahar Culture is a variety of pottery - including a particular kind of painted Black-and-Red pottery, copper objects, terracotta human and animal figurines - the latter often representing a bull-shape, beads of semi-precious stones (including one of Lapis Lazuli), as well as of terracotta (the latter either plain or decorated with incised designs), stone mullers and grinding-stones, other stone, shell and bone objects, and an economy based on plant cultivation, animal husbandry and limited hunting and fishing.

The typical pottery of the Copper-Bronze Age Ahar Culture is a distinctive Black-and-Red ware, often painted with geometrical designs in white pigment. The Ahar Culture also had equally distinctive brightly slipped Red Ware, a Tan Ware, as well as ceramics in Burnished Black, incised Thin Red ware, and incised and otherwise decorated Grey ware fabrics.

 Excavations at Ahar have yielded three phases in the Chalcolithic Period I, namely Ahar Period Ia, Ib and Ic (Sankalia et al 1969). There is evidence for rice (Oryza sativa) from the site of Ahar, domesticated cattle, and in much smaller quantity domesticated sheep, goat, buffalo, pig and dog, besides bones of wild animals that were hunted. Millet (Pennisetum typhoideum or bajra) was also found, but due to the disturbed nature of the levels between Period Ic and Period II, it is not certain if it was known in the Chalcolithic period, or comes from levels datable to the historical iron-using Period II.

 Copper artefacts, including flat axes or 'celts', rings, bangles, kohl sticks, and thin sheets of copper as well as copper wire and tube and slag are an important feature at Ahar. In addition, at Ahar a circular pit, measuring 1.5m in diameter and 0.6 in depth, and containing copper slag and ashes was excavated, and is believed to be linked with copper-smelting. Other remains from Ahar include stone saddle-querns, terracotta objects like beads, bangles, ear-studs and animal figurines, beads of semi-precious stones - including one of Lapis lazuli, and stone, shell and bone objects.

 Balathal is also noteworthy for the profuse use of copper. These include choppers, knives, razors, chisels, and barbed and tanged arrowheads. According to the excavators, these objects were manufactured from copper sheets beaten into the desired shapes. They further believe that some of the fire-places found within the structure complex excavated were furnaces for smelting and working copper. Beads of terracotta, carnelian agate, steatite, etc. also occur, as do many small terracotta bull figurines - which may have ritual significance. The site of Balathal has also yielded a variety of "fine" and "coarse" ceramics, including large quantities of Tan Ware (which apparently has some similarity to the Late Harappan pottery of Gujarat in fabric and shapes, according to the excavators (see Misra et al, 1995:57). In addition, pottery kilns and sherds found 'in situ' within one structure appear to indicate the continued occupation by a family of potters of one part of the site over more than one generation.

As far as the economy is concerned, agriculture, animal-husbandry and occasional hunting-fishing-fowling is indicated. As at Ahar, at Balathal too there is clear evidence for domesticated cattle, with a small number of sheep, goat and buffalo. (A preliminary study of the faunal remains from Balathal by P.K. Thomas & P.P. Joglekar [1996:91-97], showed that nearly 73% of the bones of domesticated animals were of cattle, 19% of sheep/goat, and 3.10% of buffalo. A small number of bones of domesticated pig were also found. The break-up conforms surprisingly well with Ahar faunal analysis!) Bones of wild animals make up 5% of the total Balathal assemblage covered in the preliminary study. They include bones of the Gaur buffalo (Bos gaurus), varieties of deer and nilgai. Fishbones were also found.

Unlike Ahar, however, where though rice was found there was no evidence of wheat, Balathal has yielded evidence for the cultivation of wheat and barley, besides a variety of pulses and lentils, the common pea, 'bor' (Zizyphus jujuba) and oilseeds (Kajale 1996:98-102). According to Misra (1997:270), cereals and lentils appear to have been produced in considerable quantities and were stored in storage bins, of which several examples have been found. These cereals and lentils were ground into flour on stone-querns which have been found in large numbers. Food was cooked on U-shaped hearths ('chulhas'). Unleavened bread is assumed to have been the staple food, according to the excavators.

Data from Gilund, and surveys and surface-collections at other sites (Hooja 1988; Misra 1967) corroborates the general picture from Ahar and Balathal. To summarize this data, there is evidence for agriculture and saddle-shaped querns and grinding-stones/ mullers also occur. There is also evidence for on-site copper metallurgy based upon local sources of chalcopyrite ore, along with the occurrence of copper artefacts like axes, bangles, wire, copper-slag and ashes. A distinctive 'Aharian' pottery, beads of carnelian, terracotta, shell, schist, glass and faience also occur. A notable feature is the occurrence of the 'dish-on-stand' type of ceramic. The discovery of the Lapis lazuli bead from Ahar Period I, mentioned above, is noteworthy, as it seems to indicate long-distance interaction. Lapis lazuli has also been found during excavations at the site of Balathal (pers. comm. V.N. Misra). All this certainly has implications for understanding trade and contact between Ahar and contemporary cultures.

At the site of Gilund two mounds, labelled as 'eastern' and 'western', measuring 45 feet and 25 feet respectively above the surrounding fields in height, and covering an area of about 500 x 250 yards, were partially excavated during the 1959-60 season. The excavators remain unclear as to whether the two mounds were separate blocks from the very beginning, or the result of erosion over the millennia. Both mounds were found to have been under occupation during the Chalcolithic (Ahar Culture) period. However, only the eastern mound was occupied during the later periods. Here the lowermost portion revealed a Chalcolithic strata, the middle ones structures datable to a few centuries before and after the Christian era, and the uppermost levels early medieval structures (IAR 1959-60:41-44).

Excavation was conducted in three areas at Gilund during 1959-60, under the direction of Dr. B.B. Lal. These areas were designated, respectively, as GLD-1 (with its extension GLD-1A), GLD-2 and GLD-3. Unfortunately, since the excavations were only partial, the trenches in the upper and middle parts of the relevant excavation area (GLD-1A) on the eastern mound could not be carried down to the Chalcolithic levels, and so the picture for Gilund remains incomplete, particularly in regard to the continuity or otherwise of the occupation from the Chalcolithic period.

Both burnt-brick and mud-brick structures were found in the Chalcolithic context of Gilund. One of the earliest structural complexes that was partially unearthed from GLD-2 covered an area of 100 feet x 80 feet. It comprised four parallel north-south walls, joining, at the southern end, an east-west wall. Parallel to the latter were two more walls, from which, in turn, emerged another set of three parallel north-south walls. Made of mud-brick (the average size being 13 x 5 x 4 inches) laid with mud-mortar in alternate courses of headers and stretchers, the walls ranged in thickness from 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet. The space between the parallel walls was filled with sand, while the inner face of the innermost wall and outer face of one of the cross-walls were plastered with mud mixed with lime. The extent and alignment of these walls indicated some massive building complex, but given the small scale of the excavation, its exact nature could not be determined.

An equally interesting complex, this time ascribed to the "middle levels", was exposed in the GLD-3 excavated area. As far as excavated, this consists of a main wall, running west to east and then turning north-north-w-east, with a cross-wall on the inner side and a parallel wall, following the alignment of the main wall, on the exterior. Made from kiln-baked bricks (their dimensions being 14 x 6 x 5 inches), over a stone-rubble foundation, and having a width of 1 foot 10 inches, the main wall, including the 'return', was traced to a length of 36 feet without reaching the ends on either side. It had a reddish plaster, about an inch in thickness, consisting of sand and clay mixed with lime. The outer wall, running parallel to the main wall at a distance of 4 feet 6 inches, was marked by two openings. One of these, measuring 3 feet in width, marked a probable entrance into the complex in the form of a downward earthen ramp consolidated by rubble pitching. The outer opening, which was not fully excavated, seemed to follow the general pattern of the former. Charred remains of wooden posts were noted at three places along the main wall. Other associated deposits found also point to some kind of fire within the complex.

Trench GLD-1 on the eastern mound also yielded a structural complex, including a platform made of kiln-burnt bricks. This came from the lowermost sub-period of the excavated trench. Another sub-period was marked by a structure made from dressed stones, roughly circular in shape and about eight feet in diameter. Yet another sub-period revealed several rooms, oriented roughly east-west and north-south, with walls made of mud-bricks (brick-size being 16 x 9 x 2 3/4 inches) over stone-rubble foundations. Clay-lined circular or U-shaped ovens were noted in two of the rooms. (It may be noted that U-shaped ovens or hearths have also been found at Balathal).

Besides this, mud-brick houses, clay-lined storage pits, ovens, different floor-levels, and roofing materials were noted from different excavated sub-period levels at Gilund. Other finds included terracotta  animal figurines and 'gamesmen' with a variety of heads - including one resembling a ram, beads of terracotta, agate, chalcedony, steatite etc., pottery, fragments of copper, spherical stone balls, saddle-querns and microliths.

At the site of Ahar, excavations yielded fifteen structural phases during the Chalcolithic Period I, with remains of rectangular stone and mud structures, built on foundations of locally available undressed blocks of schist. The walls were reinforced by either a bamboo screen or by the addition of quartz pieces in clay - a practice still current in the region. The floors were, variously, either of hard burnt clay, or black clay mixed with yellow silt, and were sometimes also paved with a bedding of blocks of cemented gravel from the nearby river. The structures measured 9.15m x 4.60m on an average, although longer walls running to a length of 13.70m, and divided into rooms by mud or mud-brick walls, indicated larger buildings. The houses generally had north-south as their longer, and east-west as their shorter axis.

Timber appears to have been used sparingly for the central upright pillars, and was probably also used for the long horizontal beams that supported the roof. Roofs were sloping and, at Ahar were, thatched with bamboo, grass and leaves (Sankalia et al 1969). Most buildings contained large-sized hearths (or chulhas) with two and more cooking-positions or 'mouths'. The data indicates that the Aharians lived in settlements with rectangular houses, with the structural remains pointing to the existence of sizeable buildings.

The more recent work at Balathal has also brought to light large, multi-roomed rectangular or squarish mud, mud-brick and stone structures. An intriguing discovery is that of a massive stone-revetment and mud-filled fortified structure belonging to the Chalcolithic period. This fortified enclosure appears to be roughly rectangular in shape, and consists of four ramparts or walls made of rammed mud and revetted with semidressed stones both on the inner and outer faces, which enclose a large space of about 500sq. metres within them. The enclosing walls range in width from 4.80m to over 5 metres.

In one of the structural phases a mud-brick northern wall over a foundation of stones, running in an east-west direction, and measuring 9.45m in length and 90cm in breadth, was noted. Yet another building, classified as Structure 9, consists of a large rectangular area in the northeastern part of which two circular silos, plastered with clay and cow dung, have been exposed. The most complete and complex structure exposed in the Chalcolithic levels to date has been designated as Structure 10, of which six rooms have been exposed so far.

 Besides the above, other structures at Balathal have been described in detail by the excavators (see Misra et al 1995; Misra 1997). Many storage bin platforms, fire places, querns, pottery and animal bones were noted in situ in some of the rooms excavated here. One of the rooms within Structure 10A contains a well preserved domestic hearth, consisting of an U-shaped oven made of mud-bricks, with its eastern arm preserved to a length of 80cm and a width of 20cm. The western arm is 1m in length and 20cm wide. The width of the surface of the oven is 1.10m. The sides and bottom of the hearth are burnt dark red, indicating prolonged use (ibid:65). Another patch of burnt earth to the north possibly represents another oven. The excavators have therefore concluded that this room was used either as a kitchen or a copper-working place. Similar evidence has been reported from Ahar and Gilund. In Structural Phase III of Balathal a rectangular building labelled as Structure No.5 has revealed evidence of intense burning activity, pottery kilns, ash and potsherds, leading to the structure's tentative identification as the residence of a potter.

 The floors of structures excavated at Balathal are made of a bedding of stone chips above which alternate layers of black clay and brown silt were laid, before being plastered with mud and cow-dung. The excavations at Gilund in the 1960's also brought to light evidence for roofing consisting of reed matting plastered with clay or mud. The current spell of work that has begun at Gilund and Ojiyana should provide further important information in this regard.

 Though a very few fragmentary human bone remains were found from Ahar (Period Ib & Ic) and the on-going work at sites like Balathal, Gilund and Ojiyana may reveal additional human remains, at present there is no information available regarding the disposal of the dead from any site categorized as belonging to the Ahar Culture in Rajasthan. This is a lacuna that future work may be able to fill. The current/ ongoing work at Balathal, Gilund and Ojiyana should, similarly, throw further light on a myriad of other issues and questions - including the inter-relationship of the Ahar Culture with contemporaneous 'cultures' of South Asia, which continue to remain of vital importance for archaeology.

 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:-

 Agrawala, R.C. 1981. Recent explorations in Rajasthan. Man and Environment, 5, 1981, pp.59-63.

Archaeological Survey of India. 'Indian Archaeology - A Review' (IAR), 1959-60.

Hooja, R. 1988 The Ahar Culture and Beyond, B.A.R., Oxford.

Kajale, M.D. 1996. 'Palaeobotanical Investigations at Balathal: Preliminary Results', Man & Environment XXI (1), pp.98-102.

Misra, V.N. 1967. Pre- and Protohistory of the Berach Basin, South Rajasthan. Deccan College, Poona.

Misra, V.N. 1969. Early village communities of the Banas basin, Rajasthan. In M.C. Pradhan, R.D.Singh, P.K.Misra & D.B.Sastry (eds). Anthropology and Archaeology: Essays in memory of Verrier Elwin, Oxford University Press, pp. 296-310.

Misra, V.N., V.Shinde, R.K.Mohanty, K.Dalal, A.Mishra, L.Pandey and J.Kharakwal 1995. Excavations at Balathal: their contribution to the chalcolithic and iron age cultures of Mewar, Rajasthan, Man and Environment, 20(1), 1995, pp.57-80.

Misra, V.N. 1997. 'Balathal: A Chalcolithic Settlement in Mewar, Rajasthan, India: Results of the First Three Seasons' Excavations', South Asian Studies 13, 1997, pp.251-273.

Sankalia, H.D., Deo, S.B. and Ansari, Z.D. 1969. Excavations at Ahar (Tambavati): 1961-1962. Deccan College, Poona.

Sankalia, H.D. 1974. Prehistory and Protohistory of India and Pakistan. Deccan College, Poona.

Thomas, P.K. & P.P. Joglekar. 1996. 'Faunal Remains from Balathal, Rajasthan: A preliminary analysis', in Man & Environment XXI (1), 1996, pp.91-97