Harappan subsistence
Also called: Harappan diet · Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"
Meaning
Harappan subsistence means what the Harappans ate and how they got their food. They ate wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame. People at Gujarat sites ate millets, and rice was rare. They also ate meat, fish and birds. Scientists work this out from burnt (charred) grains, which archaeo-botanists study, and from animal bones, which archaeo-zoologists study.
Example
Bones at Harappan sites show tame animals: cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo and pigs. They also show wild boar, deer and gharial (a river crocodile). We do not know whether the Harappans hunted these wild animals or got them through exchange. Food left inside pots shows dairy products, turmeric, ginger and banana.
Don't confuse with
- "Rice was a staple": This is a common exam trap. Rice was rare in Harappan sites. Wheat and barley were the main grains.
Related concepts
- Harappan agriculture
- Harappan cotton
- Rangpur
- Terracotta plough
- Cholistan
- Ploughed field at Kalibangan
- Harappan irrigation