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THE HARAPPAN SCENARIO IN GUJARAT

V. H. Sonawane

INTRODUCTION

Indian culture is a living culture. It is one of the characteristic features of our culture

besides that of Spirit of Tolerance and Unity in Diversity. Each of these features explains

quite convincingly that the roots of our civilization are deeply rooted in our distant past.

We as Indians are fortunate enough to have such a long uninterrupted cultural tradition

right from the Harappan times, if not before. Harappan Civilization is one of the four

earliest Civilizations of the World, the other three being Mesopotamian, Egyptian and

Chinese. The Harappan Civilization spread over the regions of what are now Pakistan and

North-Western India, covering an area of about 680,000 square kilometers, twice the size

of Ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia (Kenoyer 1998:17). Almost more than seven hundred

years during the third and second millennium B.C. from 2600 to 1900 B.C. Indian

subcontinent was the home of Harappans, whose civilization rivaled other contemporary

civilizations of Mesopotamia and dynamic Egypt. This spectacular first urban civilization

of South Asia dazzled the contemporary world by virtue of its phenomenal growth and

prosperity of which Gujarat represents its southern most territorial zone. A cursory

glance at the Harappan studies carried out in Gujarat is enough to reveal several

interesting traits of the Harappa culture and its cultural dynamism. Now Gujarat has

emerged as one of the densely populated regions in the entire Harappan domain (Fig.1).

Extensive research carried out since 1930‟s have not only led to the discovery of more

than six hundred sites (Rajesh and Patel 2007: 90-136) showing different degree of

Harappan affiliation but also increased our understanding regarding the intellectual

legacy left by the Harappans. In this southern peripheral zone the Harappan traditions

and material culture display an integrated regional style synthesizing with the local

indigenous agricultural and pastoral counterparts and even hunting and food gathering

communities, who happened to be there much before the arrival of Harappans, offers an

interesting data to understand the cultural transformation (Sonawane 2000:143). In this

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paper an attempt is made to establish Harappan customs and traditions based on the

evidence found in Gujarat in order to understand how deep are the roots of our

Civilization?

RELIGION

Ritual use of fire among various other ritual practices formed a major part of Harappan

religious system. In this regard convincing data has been brought forth from Harappan

sites like Kalibangan (Thapar 1975: Fig.4), Banawali (Bisht 1999: Pl.5) and Lothal (Rao

1979:97-98). However the evidence of Fire altars found at Vagad added significantly on

the known practice of the contemporary society. Vagad (22°19‟ N and 71°22‟ E) is a rural

Harappan settlement situated on the right bank of Sukha Bhadar River (opposite

Rangpur) in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat state (Sonawane and Mehta, 1985). Single

period occupation of one meter deposit has been sub-divided into three phases: IA, IB and

IC. The material inventory of Vagad compares well with Rojdi Period A and B as well as

Rangpur Period IIA and IIB. The two calibrated radiocarbon dates from Vagad range from

c. 2200 to 1800 B.C. from the charcoal samples obtained from IA and IB strata.

The discovery of four circular clay lined fire pits (Fig. 2) constructed within a slightly

raised platform on the floor level of Period IA, deserves special mention here. Of these,

three tub-shaped bigger ones with saggaring base were dug into the natural soil orienting

north, south and western direction, with their diameter being 1m, 1.45m and 1.03m

respectively. They were arranged in a triangular form at an approximately distance of

about 90 cm between the two. The fourth one, cylindrical in shape with flat bottom,

having a diameter of 40 cms was found dug little inside between the southern and

western ones. All of them were internally neatly plastered with cowdung paste mixed

with clay. These pits contained ash, possibly of cowdung cakes. It appears that internal

clay-lined walls of the larger fire-pits were subjected to intense firing of a prolonged

period (Fig. 3). In the absence of bones or any kind of industrial material these fire pits

seems to have been used for some kind of ritualistic purpose. It is also quite interesting to

note that the northern and western fire pits have been provided with a square raised mud

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platform perhaps meant for Yajamana or host and officiating Purohita or priest who

performed the ritual.

Offering to the fire was well known practice in the Yajna‟s. From Vedic times the

practice of the performance of Ishtis or Yajnas is a fairly common and wide spread. The

Vedic text mentions three fires, namely Garhapatya, Ahavaniya and Dakshinatya.

Along with these, there is also a provision for one more circular pit, smaller in size and

located in the centre known as Utkar in the traditional Vedic Yajnashalas. Though the

authenticity of sacrificial fire altars found at Kalibangan and those of Lothal have been

questioned, the evidence from Vagad certainly shows some close resemblance with Vedic

practice of fire worship. In this context it is worth noting that the Vedic fire altars were

made of packed earth and not of bricks. Also square or quadrangular seems to be a shape

of Vedic altars while circular one is a pre-Vedic tradition. Vedic rites are performed

inside temporary structures constructed and consecrated at the beginning of the ritual

and burnt at its completion. Ritual implements are made of perishable material and are

either burnt or else submerged in water as soon as the ritual is over (Frits, 1994: 94).

Therefore, from the extant of archaeological data known thus far, it will not be farfetched

to argue that some features of Hinduism have been echoed by „Harappan finds‟ and thus

Harappan culture is likely to have contributed to the stream of „Sanatana Dharma‟ or

traditional religion of the modern Hindus. Therefore, the presence of sacrificial fire altars

at Vagad, a rural Harappan settlement in Gujarat, not only supports to the sketchy

evidence found at Harappan urban centers at Kalibangan, Banaawali and Lothal but

confirms its validity because of its non-ambiguous nature (Sonawane, 2005).

ORNAMENTS

Fascination for ornament, a natural instinct, appears to be a common phenomenon among

human being throughout the world. Amongst the wide range of material used for making

ornaments, gold has played a predominant role right from the proto historic period down

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to the present day. Harappans being the earliest community which used gold profusely

for a variety of ornaments amply demonstrated their technical expertise and the high

degree of craftsmanship, their sophisticated taste and aptitude for personal adornment.

Here, I shall restrict myself to the evidence obtain from one of the Mature Harappan sites

in Gujarat i.e. Nagwada, excavated by the M. S. University of Baroda (Hegde et al., 1998).

The most significant contribution of the Nagwada excavation was that it has brought to

light interesting features of specialized craft activities carried out at the site by the

Harappans. The archaeological data recovered from Nagwada clearly demonstrated that a

variety of stone beads and shell objects were manufactured here, processing semi-precious

stones and marine gastropods acquired by exploiting local natural resources. Owing to its

industrial craft specialization in bead making, Nagwada has also exhibited interesting

features of its jewellery craft. Four hollow hemispherical gold foils obtained together with

other gold objects are of special significance. These dome-shaped gold caps (Fig. 4) are

provided with a thin loop ring underneath the apex on the interior by skilful soldering

(Fig. 5). The diameter of these pale-yellow coloured gold caps vary from 9 to 11 mm and

the length range between 4 to 6 mm. Identical gold foils are reported from Lothal and

Mohen-jo-Daro too. Our experiment clearly demonstrated that these gold caps must have

been meant for decorating one of the ends of the semiprecious stone beads when strung

in a necklace as dangling pendants (Fig. 6). Therefore, it appears, along with master

craftsmen there must have existed true business minded jewelers also. Being fully

conversant with the liking of customers, the jewelers must have prepared attractive

jewelry particularly necklaces using colourful stone beads and gold caps. Such articulated

necklaces keeping in view the fascination prevalent among the contemporary masses

might have been supplied to various Harappan settlements, within their domain.

Besides this, the recovery of one broken gold discular bead and a hollow conical head

ornament at Nagwada (Fig. 7) speaks of variety of gold jewelry popular among the

Harappans (Sonawane, 1996). Here it is worth noting that a set of seven discular gold

beads were also recovered from the excavation carried out at Lothal (Fig. 8). Similar gold

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ornaments have been reported from quite a good number of Harappan sites besides those

of Gujarat. A fashion of wearing necklaces comprising of discular disc beads and even

hollow gold cone which keeps dangling on forehead after strand of hair passed through a

loop to keep it in position, normally adorned by the womenfolk of Gujarat particularly of

Saurashtra and Kutch, Rajasthan and Haryana even today reminds us one of the lingering

elements of Harappan tradition.

Amidst the wide range of personal ornaments, ear-ornaments were quite popular during

the Harappan times as witnessed by the discovery of ear-rings and ear-tops. Similar

ornaments are also seen on the Harappan terracotta human figurines. Pierced ear-lobes of

some of them are another indicator of their use. Among the variety of terracottas

gathered from different Harappan sites of Saurashtra and mainland region of north

Gujarat, a distinct group of pulley-shaped terracotta objects stand out in shape contrast to

other, characterized by their features of modeling and techniques of manufacture. They

fall into a homogeneous group owing to their functional significance. Majority of these

come from the Harappan sites such as Vagad, Ratanpura, Nagwada, Kanewal, Pithad,

Rangpur, Lothal, Rojdi etc (Figs. 9-11).

Though such distinct objects were reported from Rangpur and Lothal earlier, the exact

purpose of such objects was not confirmed until they were reported from our Vagad

excavation in 1982. While excavating, we were surprised to see Bharvad ladies who

happened to be some of our local workers, wearing almost similar pulley-shaped silver

ear-ornaments, locally known as pokhani (Figs. 12-13). On further inquiry, we learnt that

the practice of wearing such big ear ornaments is the part of their tradition and custom.

To be able to wear such a big and heavy ear-ornament the lower ear-lobes were pierced

during the early stages of their childhood. Thereafter these holes were progressively

enlarged by constant wearing and replacing of objects of larger dimensions so that by the

time of attaining maturity the maiden could be in a position to put on an ear-ornament

which is three to four centimeters in diameter (Figs. 14-15). Surprisingly, the size of

pulley-shaped terracotta objects reported from various Harappan sites also falls within the

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same range. To confirm the practical utility of such ambiguous terracotta objects, when

requested, we were astonished to see one of the Bharvad ladies could easily wear the

Harappan object found in excavation, in her lower ear-lob (Fig. 16) as an ear-stud

(Sonawane, 1991). In this regard, apart from the contemporary ethnographic evidence, a

sculpture of Yakshi adorning herself under the celestial tree, from Amaravati, illustrates

the mode of wearing similar ear ornament called Tatamk (Sivaramamurity, 1956: pl. LXI-

2).

CRAFTS

Based on site character, the Mature Harappan settlements of Gujarat such as Lothal,

Nageshwar, Padri, Kuntasi and Bagasra situated in Saurashtra. Nagwada, Datrana and

Zekhda in North Gujarat and Dholavira, Surkotada, Pabumath, Kanmer, Junikoran and

Sikarpur in Kutch amply demonstrated that these settlements were engaged in some

specialized craft activities. Almost all these sites are associated with working of

specialized items of semi-precious stones, faience, chank shell, ivory, copper etc.

exploiting local natural resources. Within the wide range of materials used for making

ornaments, semi-precious stones and chunk shells played a predominant role as they are

relatively quite easily affordable by the common masses (Sonawane, 1992). The

specialized technologies and the organization of craft production carried out at most of

the sites provided the foundation for later craft traditions in Gujarat in particular and

other parts of the country in general.

STONE BEAD WORKING

Besides proper workshop or a particular area of industrial activity, we have come across

evidence of bead making as a local activity from stratified levels as well as from the

surface survey carried out at most of the sites mentioned above. The occurrence of

required raw material in the form of fine-grained stone nodules and the bladelets and

blades; un retouched variety of bead roughouts and blanks; stone hammers, anvils and

polishers; disposed defective beads and broken beads, perhaps while heating or

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perforating, and a large number of attractive, well polished, finished semi-precious

ornamental stone beads were the significant indicators of the specialized lapidary craft

(Figs. 17-18). Among the other positive indicators of stone bead industry (Fig. 19) are a

number of micro drill-bits of chert and tubular drills of black jasper (ernestite). It is worth

noting in this context that Gujarat was known for its rich deposits of semi-precious

stones, and this was one of the attractions for the Harappans for their southern

penetration in this province of Gujarat.

Under the influence of what is called „New Archaeology‟, there is a growing feeling

among the Indian Archaeologists to look for prima facie scientific and rational

explanations in the interpretation of their archaeological data. The awareness for better

understanding of the past craft activities carried out by the Harappans through a major

research project undertaken jointly by Kenoyer, Bhan and Vidale on „Ethnoarchaeological

study of Bead-Making in Gujarat‟, explains how such study of traditional stone-bead

industry of Khambhat can be used effectively for better understanding of the structure

and complexity of ancient ornamental stone-bead industries (Kenoyer et al., 1991). At

present, the town of Khambhat situated in Kheda district of Gujarat is one of the largest

agate working centers of the world, where variety of stone beads particularly of agate are

still manufactured more or less in traditional manner as the Harappans were doing 4 to 5

thousand years ago. Except for little modification, because of technological development,

in different stages of stone bead manufacturing right from selection of raw material to

final finished product (Figs. 20-23), the flourishing lapidary craft of Khambhat has not

changed much and still producing similar beads which the Harappans used to deck, for

their domestic as well as overseas trade (Bhan et al., 2002: 231-236).

SHELL WORKING

Shell artifacts form an important assemblage of the Harappan material culture. The

popularity of shell objects among the Harappans was reflected through their wide

distribution throughout the Harappan domain. Since the source areas for such suitable

marine shells are restricted to a few shallow coasts and inlets, the enterprising Harappans

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used a wide trade network to search for suitable raw materials. Among the three major

source regions of marine gastropods exploited by the Harappans the Gulf of Kutch and

Gulf of Khambhat (the eastern coast-Gujarat) form most important and distinct area

besides that of Somani bay (the west coast of KarachPakistan) and the Oman coast.

Although many different species of marine and fresh water mollusca have been reported

from most of the Harappan sites, only few species such as Turbinella pyrum, Chicoreus

ramosus, Fesciolaria trapezium, Lambis truncata, Tivela damaoides etc. were actually used

for manufacture of shell objects like bangles, ladles, inlays, beads, pendants, rings,

figurines etc (Fig. 23). Apart from variety of utilitarian shell commodities a large amount

of shell industry waste comprising of Columellae, lip margins and micro fractions

recovered from several Harappan sites suggest prominent role played by this particular

marine wealth in the life of the Harappans. Recovery of whetstone, tapering cylindrical

stones and copper saw blades, though rare, suggested their association in different stages

of manufacturing process of shell objects. Based on the archaeological data gathered from

sites like Lothal, Rangpur, Surkotada, Kuntasi, Nageshwar, Nagwada, Bagasra, Sikarpur

and Dholavira particularly of Gujarat, it can be inferred that these settlements were

involved in processing of shell objects as specialized craft activity centres or workshops.

Some of these settlements particularly sites like Nageshwar and Bagasra (Figs. 24-25),

located on the Gulf of Kutch, seem to have been geared towards the supply of raw

material and finished products for trade to intra-regional and inter-regional markets

(Bhan and Gowda, 2003; Sonawane, 2004).

There are ample archaeological and historical evidences to show continuity for the use

and manufacture of shell ornaments during the subsequent cultural periods of Indian

history. However, at present, the tradition of producing bangles and other ornaments

from Turbinella pyrum is found surviving in the Bengali speaking regions of Eastern India

only. This situation provides a unique glimpse of what apparently was a more widespread

custom during the Early Historic and Medieval periods. At present the tribal women of

Santhal and Bhil communities wear conch bangles for their protective qualities and they

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can be worn by even unmarried girls. Hindu women, however, only wear these bangles

after marriage (Figs. 26-27). These bangles are known as shakapola. Wearing shell bangles

is considered as one of the Saubhagya Lakshana. The practice of wearing shell ornaments

is not only confined to women but men often wear a simple conch shell finger ring or tie

an amulate of shell around their arm (Kenoyer, 1983: 306-399). Thus the custom of

wearing shell ornaments retained the ancient traditions in keeping the shell industry

alive in Bengal.

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

Process on incipient urbanization suggests that Harappan cities or towns grew out of

earlier rural or village settlements that had existed in the same locality. They grew in size

and density to become larger settlements of the region but remain surrounded by

numerous contemporary rural or village settlements. The most predominant and common

feature of these rural settlements was their domestic architecture. The excavations carried

out particularly in Gujarat at some of these rural sites like Vagad (Fig. 28), Zekda,

Kanewal, Ratanpura (Fig. 29), Nesadi (Valabhi) and for that matter the last stage

residential huts of Dholavira (Fig. 30) revealed remains of small huts, circular in plan.

These circular huts were found usually in clusters of three or four. The vast majority of

them had a diameter of 2.5 m to 3.5 m. They all had floors made of rammed clay mixed

with kankar and yellow silt. A number of poles, supporting superstructure of grass and

reed, were marked along the perimeter of the artificially raised mud floors. The recovered

burnt mud chunks with grass and reed impressions indicate that the screen walls of these

huts must have been plastered both internally as well as externally. The evidence of

central post hole found in bigger hut suggests the pattern of thatched sloping roof as a

common practice. Such practice of construction of circular huts using wattle and doab

method did continue during the post Harappan Chalcolithic cultures of western and

central India also.

It is noteworthy that such round huts known as Kubas or Dangas can be still seen in

Saurashtra and Kutch built by the rural communities particularly by the Bharvads and

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Rabaris (Fig. 31). Now a day it has become a trend for the tourist to spend few days in

such traditional Kubas or Dangas when they go to any popular tourist destinations. This

trend also reflected on the liking and continuity of circular huts, as an age old rural

Harappan tradition.

FOLK TALES

Prof. B. B. Lal has aptly commented in his book on „The Sarasvati flows on….‟, while

citing the examples of folk tales. He writes - it is most unbelievable yet seems to be true

that some of our folk tales had their origin going back to the Harappan times. In support

of his view he refers to two popular tales- one is of the Thirsty Crow and the other of

Cunning Fox, the scenes illustrated on the painted pots reported from the Mature

Harappan levels at Lothal (Lal, 2002: 114-116).

This reminded me one such equally fascinating grandmother‟s bedtime tale, taking me to

my playful childhood. My loving grandmother use to tell me on my request, one among

several stories, of the old lady and her axe. The story goes as follows; once upon a time

there was an old lady who lived all alone in a little hut. Each day she used to go to the

nearby jungle to collect firewood to earn her living. The only assured source of her

earning was her axe. One day, as usual, after collecting sizable bundle of firewood, she

stopped near the well to rest for a while. Suddenly she heard a loud noise and realized

that her axe fell into the well. She was very upset and began to wonder what to do now.

She asked herself how am I going to collect firewood tomorrow without an axe. In this

helpless situation she began to sob and prayed God for help. May be because of her

prayer, she heard a deep voice, “Is this, what you are looking for?” She looked in that

direction and was astonished to see someone holding a shining golden axe. However,

though she was in utter distress, the old lady replied, “It is not my axe.” Again after some

time she heard the same voice asking same question, but this time it was silver axe. Since

it was not her axe which fell in to the well, she refused to accept it. Third time the

stranger showed her a copper axe but this time also her reaction was the same. Finally the

stranger showed her an iron axe and asked “Is this, what you are looking for?”The old

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lady was very happy to see her own iron axe, stopped sobbing and cried out “yes, it is my

axe”. Pleased with the honesty of the lady God appeared before her and gave all the four

axes to her. The old lady thanked God and went home happily carrying all 4 axes. In

short the moral of the story is that God rewards honest people.

Anyway, I use to enjoy the story but never realized the hidden truth behind it, till I

entered into the discipline of archaeology. For a layman it is just a story and they might

react saying, “how is it possible to have a axe other than of iron”. If we use this folk tale as

a source of information for understanding history, there is a little truth to it, hinting at

the fact that people did use copper axes during the Harappan and subsequent Chalcolithic

cultures (Fig. 32), which were replaced later on by iron axes. There is a long list of Mature

Harappan sites of Gujarat from where copper celts have been found in regular stratified

context. The important among these are Dholavira, Lothal, Surkotada, Nagawada,

Bagasra, Kuntasi etc.

Apart from various traditions and customs related to ritual practices, ornaments, crafts,

domestic architecture and folk tales discussed above, there are yet many more things

which can be regarded as Harappan legacy practiced in the region of Gujarat in particular

and other parts of the Indian subcontinent in general.

CONCLUSION

Until recently, it was believed that the Harappan civilization along with its spectacular

achievements evolved quite mysteriously and then disappeared suddenly leaving little or

no legacy for the later cultures. However, as new sites have been discovered and

reanalysis of archaeological data of previously excavated sites revealed that the Harappan

culture disintegrated gradually, leaving the field open for the development of subsequent

protohistoric and historic cultures. In fact, there are significant continuities in subsistent

activities, arts and crafts, architecture, technologies and even socio-ritual practices.

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Among the many things that the Harappans left behind nothing is more evocative than

the imprints of their cultural traditions in our mind. From Harappan times until today the

process of cultural evolution has persisted in our country and each age and region has

reflected its own special contribution. Therefore, it has been rightly observed that many

ancient custom and traditions are still surviving amongst the rural folks particularly in an

unadulterated form in a country like ours where traditions and customs die hard.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am extremely thankful to Professor K. K. Bhan and Professor K. Krishnan of the

Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, The M.S. University of Baroda and Dr.

R. S. Bisht, former Joint Director of Archaeological Survey of India for allowing me to use

the photographs incorporated in this article.

REFERENCES

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With Special Reference to Shell Industries of the Harappan Tradition in

Gujarat, Man and Environment XXVIII(2): 51-80

Bhan, K.K., M.Vidale and J.M.Keynor: 2002. Some Important Aspects of the Harappan

Technological Tradition, in Indian Archaeology in Retrospect: Protohistory,

Archaeology of the Harappan Civilization (Vol. II), Eds. S. Settar and Ravi

Korisettar, New Delhi: ICHR and Manohar publication: 223-271.

Bhist, R.S: 1999. Dholavira and Banawali: Two Different Paradigms of the Harappan

Urbis Forma, Puratattva 19: 14-37. Pl 5.

Frits, Stall. 1994: Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar. Vol.1, New Delhi, Motilal

Banarasi Das.

Hedge, K.T.M, V.H.Sonawne, D.R. Shah, Kuldeep K.Bhan, P. Ajithprasad, K. Krishnan

and S.Prathapchandran 1998: Excavation at Nagwada, 1986 and 1987: A

Preliminary Report. Man and Environment XII: 56-66.

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Kenoyer, J.M. 1983: Shell Working Industries of the Indus Civilization: An

Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspective. Ph.D Thesis submitted to the

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Kenoyer, J.M. 1998: Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, Karachi; Oxford

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Khambhat, India: Patterns of Craft Specialization and Organization of

Production as Reflected in the Archaeological Record. World Archaeology 23

(1): 44-63.

Lal, B.B. 2002: The Sarasvati Flows On: The Continuity of Indian Culture. New Delhi,

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Rajesh, S.V. and Ambika Patel 2007: A Gazetteer of Pre and Protohistoric sites in Gujarat,

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Rao, S.R. 1979: A Harappan Port Town: 1955-62, Memories of the Archaeological Survey

of India 78 (1).

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Sonawane, V.H. 2005: Harappan Sacrificial Fire Altars from Vagad, in Rasik-Bharti-

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Expedition 17 (2): 19-32.

Fig. 1. Map Showing Major Excavated Harappan Sites in Gujarat

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Fig. 2. General View of Excavated Fire Altars at Vagad

Fig. 3. Close up of One of the Fire Altars at Vagad

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Fig. 4. Excavated Harappan Gold Caps from Nagwada, Top View

Fig. 5. Excavated Harappan Gold Caps from Nagwada, Inner View

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Fig. 6. Reconstructed Necklace Using Original Harappan Beads and Gold Caps Recovered

from Nagwada

Fig. 7. Harappan Gold Ornaments from Nagwada Showing Broken Circular Bead, Head

Ornament and Caps

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Fig. 8. Harappan Gold Necklace from Lothal

Fig. 9. Harappan Pulley Shaped Terracotta Ear Studs, Side View

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Fig. 10. Harappan Pulley Shaped Terracotta Ear Studs, Top View

Fig. 11. Harappan Painted Pulley Shaped Terracotta Ear Studs

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Fig. 12. Pulley Shaped Terracotta (Harappan) and Silver (Modern) Ear Studs, Side View

Fig. 13. Pulley Shaped Terracotta (Harappan) and Silver (Modern) Ear Studs, Top View

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Fig. 14. Bharwad Lady Showing Enlarged Lower Ear Lobe

Fig. 15. Bharwad Lady Wearing Silver Ear Ornament Known as Pokhani

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Fig. 16. Bharwad Lady Wearing Harappan Pulley Shaped Terracotta Ear Ornament

Fig. 17. Harappan Stone Beads Found in a Pot from Nagwada

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Fig. 18. Harappan Stone Bead Manufacturing Evidence from Dholavira

Fig. 19. Harappan Drill Bits

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Fig. 20. Present Day Stone Chipping Activities at Khambhat

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Fig. 21. Present Day Stone Bead Polishing at Khambhat

Fig. 22. Present Day Craftsman Engaged in Drilling Stone Bead, Khambhat

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Fig. 23. Harappan Shell Objects from Nagwada

Fig. 24. Excavated Harappan Shell Workshop from Bagasra

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Fig. 25. Harappan Shell Circlets of T. pyrum

Fig. 26. Modern Shell Bangle Shop in Bengal

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Fig. 27. Bengali Bride Wearing Shell Bangle Known as Shakapola

Fig. 28. Cluster of Harappan Circular Huts at Vagad

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Fig. 29. Cluster of Harappan Circular Huts at Ratanpura

Fig. 30. Harappan Circular Huts at Dholavira

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Fig. 31. Modern Circular Hut in Kutch Known as Kuba

Fig. 32. Harappan Copper Axe from Nagwada