Latest news with #Harappans
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Rainwater: The most underused climate solution
In India's drought-prone regions, even the size of a wheat grain tells a story. In normal times, the grain is full and firm. In dry years, it shrinks to half its size — or doesn't grow at all, forcing families to switch to millets or abandon farming altogether. School-age girls are pulled from classrooms to help fetch water as nearby wells dry up. In many villages, the land is too parched for anything but millet, and even that is becoming uncertain. But then, one rainwater harvesting check dam is constructed — and suddenly, the next crop season tells a different story. Grain quality improves. Soil regenerates. Incomes stabilise. And hope returns. Water scarcity impacts more than agriculture — it's multi-pervasive. Salinity rises. Soil degrades. Fluoride levels spike. And far beyond the field, it drives migration, weakens nutrition, restricts school attendance, and disproportionately burdens women. In the absence of water, livelihoods vanish, and the social fabric frays. Groundwater is the primary source of irrigation for over 90% of farmers in arid regions, yet it continues to decline due to over-extraction and poor recharge. Over 53% of rural income in arid regions today comes from non-farm sources — not because people want to diversify, but because farming no longer pays. This is a silent but escalating crisis. One of the most scalable solutions is also one of the oldest: rainwater harvesting. Simple structures like check dams, aquashafts, and recharge ponds can improve groundwater levels by 10–15% within two monsoons. Paired with techniques like drip irrigation and agroforestry, the impact multiplies — in soil health, yield stability, and climate resilience. Ironically, modern technology has been both a boon and a bane. Deep tube wells, powered by subsidised electricity or solar energy, have allowed farmers to dig deeper for water — accelerating the collapse of groundwater levels. Without rainwater recharge, these systems become unsustainable. That's where rainwater harvesting comes in—an ancient solution with modern urgency. More than 4,000 years ago, the Harappans of Dholavira harvested rainwater through an intricate system of stepped tanks and filtration chambers. If they could do it on an island in the Rann of Kutch, surely, we can do better today. New models are emerging across India. For instance, in states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, Rotary International's Program of Scale is working on water conservation by building over 90 check dams and more than 700 water harvesting structures over five years, along with fruit tree cultivation, micro-irrigation systems, and farmer training. As part of the initiative, a cluster of 500,000 fruit trees is being developed in Rajasthan. These will not only enhance income security but also act as carbon sinks, helping mitigate climate impact in one of the country's most vulnerable zones. As farmers begin to earn from orchard-based models, they invest further—expanding plantations, adopting new techniques, and reducing dependency on mono-cropping. This creates a cycle of resilience and ownership that is both scalable and self-sustaining. The success of such efforts lies not just in their outputs, but in what they represent: a shift from crisis response to climate adaptation. When communities, civil society, and local institutions collaborate around sustainable practices, the benefits ripple outward — touching not just yields, but dignity, education, and long-term economic stability. As we observed World Environment Day recently, the message is clear: Invest in rainwater harvesting, strengthen local agriculture, and build resilience from the ground up. India does not need to wait for high-tech miracles — the solutions are already here. This article is authored by KS Mehta, senior advisor, lead architect, Rotary International's Program of Scale, Partners for Water Access and Better Harvests in India.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Stories in Kutch shells: Hunter-gatherers who lived in Gujarat 5,000 years before the Harappans and their cities
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) who worked with experts from IIT Kanpur (IITK), Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) Delhi, and Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Ahmedabad, have reported the presence of humans in the Great Rann of Kutch at least 5,000 years before the Harappans. The conclusion is based on the dating and analysis of remains of shells that were first discovered in the late 19th century. The Anglo-Irish geologist Arthur Beavor Wynne wrote in the Geological Survey of India (GSI) memoirs in 1872 about 'a patch of large broken univalve shells' found 'all over the northern side of Kutch'. The IITGN study suggests links between the Kutch midden site – archaeological sites where large quantities of marine shells, along with bones, tools, and pottery are typically found – and those in Oman and Pakistan along the coast of the northern Arabian Sea where these pre-Harappan communities likely lived. Preliminary results were published in 2023 in Man and Environment, the biannual journal of the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies ('Evidence for the presence of prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities on Khadir island, Great Rann of Kutch, Gujarat'). A new set of archaeological remains was discovered about a kilometre from the Harappan site of Dholavira near Bambhanka, the southernmost village on Khadir Beyt (island), on the route connecting the island to the Kutch mainland. Khadir was one of the six islands in this region, where sea levels were higher until about 5,000-6,000 years ago, V N Prabhakar, associate professor at the Department of Earth Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences at IITGN, said. During a visit to the site in 2016, study co-author Shikha Rai and Vikrant Jain, professor at IITGN's Department of Earth Sciences, discovered the 'remains of house complexes' on a hillock 2.5 km to the northwest of Bambhanka. 'The surface had broken potsherds, shell remains, and flakes of carnelian and agate, while on the surface were remnants of walls built with random rubble masonry,' Dr Rai told The Indian Express. On the western edge of this hillock, a trench dug to lay a pipeline exposed a 30-40-cm-thick deposit of shell remains. 'Most of the shell remains display breakage on the central part, presumably to extract meat from them. Similar findings from the Las Bela region of Pakistan are placed between the seventh and fifth millennium BCE, which suggests the possibility of hunter-gatherer communities depending on shell remains as a food source and participating in long distance trade within inland sites,' Dr Rai said. More similar sites were subsequently discovered in and around Khadir. Clues in the mangroves The study indicates the presence of coastal hunter-gatherer communities in the Great Rann of Kutch region who adapted to the mangrove environment to which the shell species identified so far – such as Terebralia palustris, or the giant mangrove whelk – belong. 'Most sites are on river banks, some 2-2.5 km from the coast, while some are deeper inside, which suggests the inhabitants carried the sea shells inland. We could not reach the northern coast, which is a forest area, but there may be more deposits there,' Prof Prabhakar said. Currently, the only remnants of mangroves are found in the Little Rann of Kutch to the southeast of Dholavira, near Lakhpat on the coast to the west, and at an inland location known as Shravan Kavadiya to the northeast of Bhuj, which may have been the ancient shoreline. 'These humans were collecting food wherever it was available in their mangrove environment. They broke the shells and extracted the meat, which they may have even cooked – because some shells are black or grey in colour, suggesting they were heated. The shells may have been discarded at the same place for perhaps 300-400 years,' Prof Prabhakar said. These communities of humans were hunter-gatherers, not farmers, he said. 'Apart from shells, they could have consumed plants, fruits, tubers, or nuts. But there isn't enough evidence yet… Maybe if we excavate one site, we can study the soil samples and try to understand the flora of that time.' Stone tools and trade The presence of flakes at several sites like Laungwali, Kunduwari, Ganeshpar, and Janan on Khadir island suggest the use of tools by these people. 'After the discovery at Bambhanka, local people led us to the site of Lungwali, about 1 km from Dholavira, where similar remains along with stone tools were discovered. A good number of chert, jasper, and chalcedony cores were found,' Prof Prabhakar said. According to Prof Prabhakar, these hunter-gatherer communities would have used tools made of basalt, limestone, and quartzite to hunt. Some smaller stones that have been found could have served as tips of arrows. 'They may have occupied a site maybe for one season, and moved on to another location, and then to another. Had there been permanent occupation, we could have found other remains as well,' he said. Barring agate, which was available near Amarapar village in Kutch, the other stones are not available locally, which suggests the possibility of trade, according to investigators. The finding from Kutch tallies with evidence from the Karachi coast, Prof Prabhakar said. 'We think that the Oman evidence is also coinciding. There was a wider area, and people definitely could have communicated with each other. Maybe in the future, if we have more evidence we can establish this,' he said. Before the Harappan people Fifteen samples from Khadir island have been carbon dated so far. The first three samples – all from Bambhanka – were dated at PRL Ahmedabad, and the remaining 12 at IUAC Delhi. Ravi Bhushan, a former professor at PRL who is now a consultant at the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, said: 'Radiocarbon dating, which is one of the most powerful tools scientists use to determine the age of ancient artifacts, fossils, and archaeological sites, was used. However, there is a time lag of 400-500 years as these shells feed on dead carbonates… this means they could be a little older.' Carbon dating pegs the antiquity of the Dholavira site at 3,300 BC to 1,400 BCE. The Harappan period is generally considered to extend from 2,600 to 1,900 BCE. 'Both before and after the Harappans, there were people living in smaller settlements in this area. But these remains are 5,500-5000 years before the time of the Harappans,' Dr Rai said. Ten more samples from four sites on Khadir, Bela, and the Kutch mainland will be dated at IUAC Delhi soon. Thereafter, more studies will be carried out with the collaboration of IIT Kanpur.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Kutch housed hunter-gatherer communities 5,000 years before Harappans arrived: Study
Shell scatters, deposits, middens, stone tools. Researchers have found rare evidence of human settlement in Kutch. As they dug deeper, they found that Kutch was home to prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities way before the Harappan era. A recent study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has offered new insights into Kutch's cultural evolution. The study by IITGN researchers, in collaboration with experts from IIT Kanpur (IITK), Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) Delhi, and Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Ahmedabad, has uncovered archaeological evidence that pushes back the human presence in this region by at least 5,000 years prior to the arrival of Harappans. These communities inhabited a mangrove-dominated landscape, relied on shell species (both bivalves like oysters and gastropods), and naturally adapted to such environments. 'While British surveyors had previously noted shell accumulations in the area, these were not recognised as shell-midden sites, the heaps of discarded shells from human consumption,' explained Prof V N Prabhakar, an Associate Professor at the Archaeological Science Centre in the department of Earth Sciences at IITGN and lead investigator of the study. 'Our study is the first to identify these sites, confirm their cultural significance, and establish a chronological context,' he added. These newly identified sites are the first of their kind to be documented in the Kutch region, with a defined cultural and chronological context. According to the researchers, the findings also show similarities with coastal archaeological sites in the Las Bela and Makran regions of Pakistan and the Oman Peninsula, suggesting that early coastal communities across this broader region may have developed comparable strategies for food collection and survival. 'The shell samples collected from Khadir and nearby islands were analysed at PRL Ahmedabad, with support from Prof Ravi Bhushan and J S Ray, and at IUAC, Delhi, with help from Dr Pankaj Kumar,' mentioned Prof Prabhakar. To determine the age of these sites, the researchers used Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), a precise method for measuring the radioactive isotope values of Carbon-14 (C-14) from the shell remains, which is absorbed by all living organisms. After death, C-14 begins to decay and is reduced by half every 5,730 years. Measuring the remaining amount in the shell samples allows scientists to estimate how long ago the organism died. As atmospheric C-14 levels have varied over time, the results were calibrated using tree ring data. Trees form one ring per year, and these tree ring sequences can be matched and extended back over thousands of years, allowing scientists to construct an accurate reference timeline of atmospheric C-14. The team discovered a variety of stone tools used for cutting, scraping, and splitting. Used cores from which the tools were manufactured were also found. 'The presence of these tools and associated raw materials suggests that the communities engaged in the prolific manufacture of implements for daily tasks,' said Dr Shikha Rai, a postdoctoral researcher at IITGN and co-author of the study. The raw materials may have been sourced from Khadir Island, now known for housing the Harappan city of Dholavira. The study challenges the commonly held view that urbanism in Kutch developed primarily under the influence of the Sindh region. 'Instead of abrupt external influence, what we see here is a gradual, locally rooted process of adaptation and cultural development,' said Prof Prabhakar. 'This accumulated knowledge of local geology, water resources, and navigation may have later helped the Harappans plan their settlements more effectively and engage in long-distance trade.' The researchers also believe that the shell middens and scatters will be important in palaeoclimate studies. Since climate change unfolds gradually over millennia and cannot be directly observed in the short term, natural materials like shells preserve signals that help reconstruct past environments. Previous studies at IITGN have already mapped the palaeoclimate of Khadir Island over the past 11,500 years. Further analysis of the recently discovered shell middens may contribute critical new insights into the climate conditions in which early humans lived. 'Humans in the past adapted to different climatic zones and environmental challenges without the aid of modern technologies,' explained Dr Rai, adding: 'Their ability to observe, respond to, and live within their ecological limits is something worth learning from today, especially in the context of global climate change.' The team now aims at mapping cultural developments in Gujarat, from prehistoric to historical periods, to build a broader understanding of how human adaptation has evolved. The findings from this study were presented at the 17th Annual Workshop on South Asian Archaeology (Hartwick College and University of Chicago), the Seminar Series on the Archaeology of the Indo-Iranian Borderlands (Sorbonne University, Paris), and the 50th Annual Conference of the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies (ISPQS), Raipur — all in 2025. The research team includes Prof Vikrant Jain of the Earth Sciences Department, IITGN; Prof Javed Malik and Debajyoti Paul of IITK; Pankaj Kumar of IUAC, Delhi and Mahendrasinh Gadhavi of LD College, Ahmedabad.
