Kunal
Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Kunal is a pre-Harappan site in Fatehabad district, Haryana, in the dried Ghaggar (Sarasvati) river basin. Some radiocarbon dates put its first settlement as early as 7000–5500 BCE. Radiocarbon dating is a scientific way to date remains. Its earliest people lived in pit dwellings, which are homes dug partly into the ground. Kunal shows how farming villages in this region slowly developed crafts that later became typical of Harappan towns.
Example
At Kunal, archaeologists found:
- silver crowns and other ornaments
- early beads, showing that bead-making had started there
- simple seals
These seals are early forerunners of the Mature Harappan seals.
Don't confuse with
- Bhirrana: Bhirrana is a nearby site with similarly early dates. People kept living there into the Mature Harappan town phase. Kunal is known mainly for its pre-Harappan finds.