It was through the trade matrix of Harappans that the world received the gift of cotton. It had a long journey, spanning around 8,000 years. Archaeological records trace the beginning of India’s sacred connection with cotton to around the 7th-6th millennium BCE.
Iraq, Greece, the Persian Gulf and North Africa all received the gift of cotton, which was earlier thought to be thousands of years after its first use in the Indian subcontinent. But a paper published in Israel in 2022 from the Tel Tsaf site shows that cotton originated in the Indian subcontinent around 5200 BCE (7,200 years ago).
This humble beginning around 8,000 years ago paved the way for domesticating cotton, which was then spun and woven into beautifully designed textiles used domestically and exported to contemporary civilisations.
Old world cotton
The story of cotton begins in the arid mountainous region of Balochistan at an archaeological site in Mehrgrah. It is an index site that mirrors a complete and continuous evolution of cultures from the Early Food Producing Era till the end of the Bronze Age (8th millennium BCE to 2nd millennium BCE) in the subcontinent. Here, the French archaeologist JF Jarrige and his team, while excavating a Neolithic funerary chamber dated to the first half of the 6th millennium BCE, recovered the remains of two people – one adult male and at his feet, a one to two-year-old child. Next to the adult’s left wrist, Jarrige and his team found a set of eight copper beads.
The metallurgical analysis of a copper bead from the assemblage yielded evidence of mineralised thread fibre. Upon characterisation and scanning with a reflected light microscope and an electron microscope, scientist Christophe Moulherat and his team found that this thread was made of cotton, becoming the earliest known example of cotton in the Old World.
In the Old World, four species of Gossypium (cotton) – G arboreum L, G herbaceum L, G hirsutum L, and G barbadense L – were domesticated in different regions at different times. G arboreum was domesticated in the Indian subcontinent, eventually spreading to Africa and other parts of Asia, whereas G herbaceum was first cultivated in Arabia and Syria.
In the case of Mehrgarh samples, the species of the fibre is not yet known. The study suggests that the Neolithic settlers in Balochistan were skilled in using semi-ripe cotton even before the crop was domesticated. While it is unclear if they were using a wild species of cotton during the 6th millennium BCE, this experiment by early settlers surely allowed full-fledged cultivation of G arboretum, which reached its zenith under the mighty Harappans.
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The Harappans and their bond with cotton
In the 1930s, during the excavation of Mohenjo-Daro, cotton fibres were found preserved in a corroded silver jar. (John Marshall 1931, Vol. 1:20, 218-219). This first conclusive evidence of cotton was reported in the archaeological data supported by many recent archaeo-botanical studies. Although the dates of this context were not as early as the one from Mehrgarh, the evidence of cotton in the 1930s helped archaeologists piece together fragmentary evidence from historical sites.
Following this study, evidence from a few other Harappan sites concluded that just like us and the Neolithic settlers, Harappans were also using cotton. But the production method was still unknown. Were they using the famous charkha (spinning wheel) or something else? Scholars like Jonathan Mark Kenoyer argue that although it is hard to find evidence of an intact spinning wheel, fragmentary evidence and objects can help answer these pertinent questions.
At the excavation of Harappa (1998-2000), Kenoyer tried to do just that. From the Ravi phase (c 3300-2800 BCE) at Harappa Mound AB, a floor was unearthed at the bottom of the trench. It had a hearth with a handi (cooking vessel) next to it, as well as a spindle whorl and bone tools. These findings made the excavator call it a unit of textile production. Similar evidence has also emerged from Balakot, dating back to c.2500 BCE.
At Harappa and many other sites associated with the culture, the excavators and archaeologists took the help of objects like terracotta spindle whorl, bone points and bone needles to determine the presence of spinning and weaving. The mere presence of spindle whorls can testify to the presence of production units. Countless potsherds with cloth impressions that have been found in large numbers at many Harappan sites are also great indicators of the presence of fabric during the Harappan period. On this note, one can’t help but remember the famous ‘Priest King’ sculpture with a piece of cloth wrapped around his left shoulder, patterned with a trefoil design. Countless more figurines with elaborate headgear, trousers, and skirts (both patterned and plain) speak volumes about Harappan-era fashion.
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The spread of cotton
It was earlier thought that cotton did not spread out of the Indian subcontinent until thousands of years after the first instance of its domestication. For example, the cotton fabric found at Nimrud in Iraq dates back to the 8th -7th centuries BCE, and the one at Kerameikos in Greece dates to around 5th century BCE. Moreover, first instances of cotton cultivation were also seen in the Persian Gulf at Qal’at al Bahrain (c.600-400 BCE) and in North Africa at Qasr Ibrim, Kellis and Al Zerqa between the 1st and 4th century BCE. What is fascinating is that cotton reaches China around c. 200 BCE.
These dates from sites spread far and wide support the migration and spread of cotton, which began sometime around 7,200 years ago. Besides this, the evidence from Tel Tsaf is crucial as it indicates the onset of early exchange, especially before the civilisation’s urban phase. The presence of cotton fibre from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, where the crop is not grown natively, is an important example of the Harappan trade matrix during the 3rd millennium BCE.
This evidence, followed by an unbroken chain of data from many sites beyond the Harappan timeline (such as Nevasa) shows that the skills to cultivate cotton and the technique of manufacturing cotton were not restricted to the Indus Valley and Harappans alone. Historical texts and many traveller’s records mention the use and production of cotton in the subcontinent. Archaeological data also shows an increase in textile production, a phenomenon that continues to this day.
Disha Ahluwalia is an archaeologist and junior research fellow at the Indian Council Of Historical Research. She tweets @ahluwaliadisha. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)