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A technical report on the 1986-1990 excavations at Harrapa, February 7, 2006
This review is from: Harappa Excavations 1986-1990 : A Multidisciplinary Approach to Third Millennium Urbanism (Monographs in World Archaeology, No 3) (Paperback)
This is the second of three books which I recently bought with the objective of obtaining a better understanding of the Harappan civilization. I have to say up front that it was not what I expected, since it is a very technical report on the excavations of the site at Harappa carried out in 1986-1990 under the direction of the eminent professor George F Dales of the University of California-Berkeley. Since I am not an archaeologist (or a professional historian for that matter), some of what I read was a bit above my head, but it did, however, give me an understanding of the organization of a major archaeological excavation, and some of the interdisciplinary techniques used in modern archaeology which was a useful lesson in itself.
This book contains reports from 13 scholars who worked on the excavations at Harappa, and the following is a brief summary of the each of the major reports
Chapter 3: Pedology and Late Quaternary Environments Surrounding Harappa:
A review of the climate of the Punjab, the geology and geomorphology of the River Ravi, and soils and geomorphology surrounding Harappa. The conclusions are that conditions at Harappan were similar to the present with the possibility of a stronger monsoon period
Chapter 4: Urban process in the Indus Tradition A Preliminary Model from Harappa
A review of the earlier excavations at Harappa, the objectives for the 1986-1990 excavations, a review of the results of carbon dating of 33 carbon samples, and a discussion of the deposits during each of the five periods of habitation at Harappa from the Kot Diji Early Harappan phase to the final occupation of the Late Harappan phase.
Chapter 5: Some specialized Ceramic Studies at Harappa
A review of pottery, figurines, stoneware bangles, and faience discovered during the 1986-1990 excavations
Chapter 6: Patterns of Technology and the Organization of Production at Harappa
A review of the technical features of pottery production at Harappa
Chapter 7: Faunal Remains and Urbanism at Harappa
A technical review of the results of measurements of bones of mammals (mainly cattle, sheep, and goats) found at Harappa, as compared with those found at other Harappan sites such as Mehrgarh and Nausharo
Chapter 8: Fish Resources in an Early Urban Context at Harappa
A review of the collection, preparation, marketing aspects of the fish trade during the Harappan period, and a comparison with the fish remains at Harappa compared with those at the coastal Harappan site of Balakot
Chapter 9: Urban Palaeoethnobotany at Harappa
A review of major questions to be asked in future studies of macrobotanical remains from urban sites like Harappa
Chapter 10: Complementary Approaches to Late Harappan Subsistence: An example from Oriyo Timbo
A review of crop processing during the late Harappan period and the analysis of crop remains found at the site of Oriyo Timbo (Gujarat)
Chapter 11: Biological Adaptations and Affinities of Bronze Age Harappans
A review of the methods and analysis of human skeletal remains (primarily dental and cranial) recovered from Cemetery R37 at Harappa to address the question of progressive agricultural intensification and biological continuity
Chapter 13: Summaries of Five Seasons of Research at Harappa 1986-1990
A review of the objectives and work accomplished including excavations, paleoenvironmental studies, site conservation, and training program for each of the five seasons during this period
The reports contain numerous detailed maps, tables, illustrations, and charts, which are absolutely necessary to gain even a rudimentary understanding of the reports. My overall impression of the findings of these excavations is that much work still needs to be done, since many of the conclusions reached were at best very tentative. As a result of reading this book, I was tempted to search the "Net" for further information about ongoing excavations of Harappan sites, and found an impressive site at http://www.harappa.com which amongst other things provides many beautiful photographs and interesting essays on the Harappan sites and aspects of the Harappan civilization.
In summary, I am happy to have read the book, in spite of the problems I had with understanding some of the details of the technology. I achieved my objective in learning more about the discoveries at the site of Harappa, as well as the difficulties of drawing definitive conclusions from them, and I also learnt many significant things about archaeological techniques which up to now I have rather taken for granted.
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