Daimabad was home to skilled agriculturalists—even before Harappans’ cultural influence

The cultural remains of Daimabad, one of the most debated locations, not only reflect Harappan influence but also demonstrate continuity with local Deccan Chalcolithic cultures.

The Daimabad archaeological site | Photo: Archaeological Survey of India

When establishing the boundaries of a culture or civilisation, it is critical to remember that those living on the fringes frequently exhibit a mix of cultural influences. This amalgamation is the result of influences spreading throughout neighbouring places. As cultures blend together, it becomes harder to identify the unique characteristics of a civilisation or cultures at the boundaries. To put it another way, a civilisation’s distinctive features become more limited as one moves farther from its centre, creating a distinctive cultural blend. This is the case with the sites that dot the margins of the Harappan Civilisation. 

The majority of the sites on the civilisation’s periphery were categorised as Late Harappan sites. They were defined by deurbanised Harappan characteristics and indicated a migration of people and traditions away from the civilisation’s core region, the larger Indus and Saraswati River basin. For decades, the archaeological site at Alamgirpur was thought to be the result of the Harappans’ eastward migration from the Ghaggar-Hakra river basin. Initially dated to 2000 BCE by YD Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the 1950s, a 2008 re-excavation by RN Singh of Banaras Hindu University revised the date to 2600-2000 BCE. Not only was the site dated to the Mature Harappan period (c. 2600-2000/1900 BCE) but it also featured Harappan ceramics along with Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) culture, a regional Chalcolithic or Copper Age culture of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab in Period IA.

Similarly, Hulas and Sinauli, initially categorised as Late Harappan sites, were found to exhibit a mixture of Harappan and local cultural traits. Excavations at Sinauli revealed that it is primarily an OCP site with Harappan influences, rather than being solely a Harappan site as previously assumed. This reversal of views reveals a lot about what was lost in tracing the similarities and the differences in material cultures were overlooked.

While the regions of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab and the Ganga valley have attracted utmost attention when it comes to the questions of Harappan migration, widely considered to be the only route of migration, sites like Manda in Jammu and Kashmir, Sutkagendor on the Makran coast, and Maharashtra’s Daimabad, which mark the northern, western and southernmost points of Harappan presence, have a similar story to tell. Notably, Daimabad, the southernmost site, like Alamgirpur, is one of the most significant and debated locations. Its cultural remains not only reflect Harappan influence but also demonstrate continuity with local Deccan Chalcolithic cultures. The site of Daimabad, therefore, suggests that the periphery of the Harappan Civilisation, including regions far from its core, played a crucial role in the localisation and evolution of cultural practices that helped shape the broader regional development.

Blended history

Located on the left bank of the Pravara river, a tributary of the Godavari, in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district, the Daimabad archaeological site was discovered by BP Bopardikar in 1958. It was followed by the site’s first excavation in 1958-1959 by MN Deshpande. Following the initial investigation, archaeologist SR Rao excavated the site again between 1974 and 1976, and the work was then continued by SA Sali in 1978-79. 

According to Deshpande, the first excavation at Daimabad revealed three cultural phases where the earliest inhabitants were Neolithic folks, the agriculturalists who lived in humble mud or thatched huts. Period II was defined as the ‘Malwa culture’, followed by ‘Jorwe culture’, both of which are terms defining regional Chalcolithic cultures. The initial excavations deciphered the regional and indigenous past of the site. However, this simple story changed in 1974 with the chance discovery of four solid bronze figurines—a chariot yoked to a pair of bullocks and driven by a man, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and a buffalo, was made at the site.

This necessitated fresh investigations to determine if Daimabad had a Harappan affinity. Rao, who discovered the bronze hoard followed by an excavation at the site, divided the deposit into three periods – Period I represented the first inhabitants, the neolithic folks, followed by Period II, characterised by Malwa ware and cream slip ware. Period III was the Jorwe culture. Rao, too, presented a similar sequence as Deshpande, with an exception of some late Harappan elements in ceramics of Period I that urged Rao to point at the Harappan movement into the Tapti and Godavari valley. However, it was SA Sali’s excavation in 1978-79 that redefined the cultural sequence of the site for the third time. In all fairness, the changes largely were based on terminologies used to describe ceramic variations.

According to Sali, Period I, which Deshpande and Rao described as Neolithic, was now termed by Sali as the ‘Salvada Culture’ – a Chalcolithic farming society, dated to c. 2300-2000 BCE and marked by a distinctive ceramic industry. Period II was termed as the Late Harappan phase where mud brick structures, apart from a plethora of pottery, were found. The discovery of two terracotta button-seals and three potsherds – all bearing Indus symbols – confirmed the Harappan affinity of the site for Sali. Period III was the buff and cream ware while Periods IV and V were the Malwa and Jorwe phases, respectively. 

For a long time, the Harappan affinity was debated by scholars. Since the famous bronze sculptures were found accidentally, their context was missing which the excavators tried to compensate for with the excavations at the spot. The initial assumption by many, including DP Agrawal and others, was that these images belonged to the historical period (Agrawal et al, 1978:45). Agrawal‘s argument was based on the negative evidence of no arsenical alloying from the Chalcolithic sites in Deccan, but the sculptures in Daimabad showing greater than 1 per cent arsenic. This argument, however, was put to rest after the excavation of the site and further analysis (both elemental and stylistic) of the bronze sculptures. The discovery of seals and graffiti on the potsherd confirmed the presence of Late Harappan elements. But the combined study of the material remains and the overview of the site showed that the people of Daimabad had a blended history.

Redefining the past 

The three excavations and subsequent studies of the region revealed that before the arrival of Harappan influence, and even after Harappan traits blended with local cultures, the people remained deeply connected to their indigenous traditions. This phase in archaeology is referred to as the ‘localisation phase’. 

From the outset of Daimabad’s history, the people were skilled agriculturalists who, despite the Harappan impact, retained their ingenuity. It took the efforts of three archaeologists to uncover the crucial piece of the puzzle. One can imagine how seamlessly cultures blended, making it difficult to spot the differences, which are often ignored by archaeologists. At Daimabad, despite differences, the cultural fabric remained the same. Harappans arrived and eventually blended with the existing local traditions in Deccan at that time. Interestingly, such was the case with Sinauli, where, despite Harappan influence, local cultures persisted, which archaeologists chose to ignore until 2018.

Disha Ahluwalia is an archaeologist and junior research fellow at the Indian Council Of Historical Research. Views are personal. She tweets @ahluwaliadisha.

(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)