Balathal
Topic: Prehistory: Human Origins and Stone Age Cultures · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Balathal is a Chalcolithic site near Udaipur in Rajasthan. Chalcolithic means "copper and stone": people used copper tools alongside stone ones. Balathal belongs to the Ahar-Banas culture, a farming culture of south-east Rajasthan. The site had a strong walled (fortified) settlement, mud houses and painted pottery. It matters because it shows that farming villages in Rajasthan were well organised before iron came into use.
Example
A human skeleton found at Balathal, dated to c. 2000 BCE, shows signs of leprosy. It is one of the oldest known pieces of evidence of this disease anywhere in the world.
Don't confuse with
- Gilund: this is another Ahar-Banas site, in Rajsamand district. It is known for clay seal impressions, not for the leprosy skeleton.
- Ahar: this is the site near Udaipur that gives the Ahar-Banas culture its name. Balathal is a separate site of the same culture.