Enamel isotopic data from the domesticated animals at Kotada Bhadli, Gujarat, reveals specialized animal husbandry during the Indus Civilization

Chakraborty, Kalyan; Chakraborty, Supriyo; Roux, Petrus le; Miller, Heather M.-L.; Shirvalkar, Prabodh; Rawat, Yadubirsingh

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.06.031

Cited by 13 publications

(41 citation statements)

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“…5), it appears that all the ruminant dairy fats in our assemblage were exploited from cattle, some water-buffalo, and possibly from some sheep that consumed primarily C 4 type vegetation; adipose fats were coming from both sheep/goat and cattle/water-buffalo, as well as from monogastric animals, likely pig. Unfortunately, the modern foddering pattern in this region does not replicate the foddering pattern that we observed at the site of Kotada Bhadli 54,55 , limiting our ability to develop a site-specific modern reference collection. At present, C 3 vegetation and cash crops play a major role in animal foddering as compared to C 4 type vegetation, such as millets.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…While mixing of ruminant adipose fats with C 3 plant oils can never produce Δ 13 C values similar to dairy, the simulated mixing of C 3 ruminant fats with C 4 plants was shown to be able to produce dairy Δ 13 C values 89 . This is particularly crucial www.nature.com/scientificreports/ in this present scenario when various millets that are primarily C 4 in nature were possibly consumed by both human and cattle/water-buffalo in Gujarat, whereas goats/sheep were primarily raised on C 3 type vegetation 22,54,90 . There are several lines of evidence that support that mixing of plant oils and animal fats were not responsible for the observed offsets in the Δ 13 C (C18:0-C16:0) values of dairy samples at the settlement of Kotada Bhadli.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…5) were observed in the Kotada Bhadli samples. The biogenic carbon isotope data of tooth enamel from major domesticated animals 54,55 earlier suggested that due to selective foddering practices at Kotada Bhadli, one group of domesticated animals (cattle, water-buffalo and one likely sheep) ate a considerable portion of C 4 type vegetation, whereas, the other group of domesticated animals (indistinguishable goats/sheep) ate primarily C 3 vegetation. As we hypothesized earlier, this foddering practice has influenced the variation in the observed range of δ 13 C values of C 16:0 and C 18:0 fatty acids.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, all samples indicating the presence of dairy fats have originated from animals that predominantly consumed varying degrees of C 4 type vegetation. In the case of Kotada Bhadli these would primarily be agricultural millets 54,55 , and it is highly unlikely that wild ruminant animals of that region consumed such a high proportion of agricultural vegetation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the settlement of Kotada Bhadli, the δ 13 C (enamel) values from twenty individuals suggest that cattle/water-buffalo and the only possible sheep varies from − 2.9‰ to 1.5‰ with a median value of 0‰, whereas for goat/sheep, it ranges from − 10.7‰ to − 2.3‰ with a median value of − 5.5‰ 54 . The results for biogenic isotope data of tooth enamel of cattle, water-buffalo, goat, and the one animal idenfied as likely a sheep at the site of Kotada Bhadli indicate that primarily cattle/water-buffalo and the possible sheep consumed a varied degree of agricultural fodder that followed a C 4 photosynthetic pathway, along with occasional intake of C 3 vegetation; goats/sheep primarily consumed vegetation that followed a C 3 photosynthetic pathway 54 . Similar foddering practices for cattle/water-buffalo and goat/sheep has been observed at the neighbouring settlements of Bagasra, Shikarpur and Jaidak 22,90 that were also occupied during Indus period.…”

Section: Animal Rearing At Kotada Bhadli and Its Possible Effect On Lmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Compound specific isotope analysis of lipid residues provides the earliest direct evidence of dairy product processing in South Asia

Chakraborty

Slater

Miller

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The early evidence of domesticated animals and human–animal interaction in South Asia can be traced back to the seventh millennium BCE; however, our understanding of their use is incomplete and limited to the analysis of animal bones from archaeological sites. By the third millennium BCE with the emergence of the Indus Civilization, cattle and water-buffalo became the primary domesticates and outnumbered any other animals at the majority of the Indus settlements. Based on the analysis of skeletal remains and ethnographic data, a number of studies have suggested that cattle and water-buffalo were utilized for their meat, dairy, hides, and other labor-oriented jobs. While some of these claims are backed by empirical data, others are primarily discussed as hypotheses, for example, the exploitation of dairy. In this paper, by analyzing the absorbed lipid residues from fifty-nine ceramic sherds recovered from an agro-pastoral settlement that was occupied during the peak of the Indus period around mid- to late third millennium BCE, we provide the earliest direct evidence of dairy product processing, particularly from cattle and possibly from some water-buffalo. By providing direct evidence of animal product processing, we identify the use of primary domesticated animals and other resources in the diet during the Indus Civilization.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Animal Rearing At Kotada Bhadli and Its Possible Effect On Lmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Compound specific isotope analysis of lipid residues provides the earliest direct evidence of dairy product processing in South Asia

Chakraborty

Slater

Miller

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Killing the Priest-King: Addressing Egalitarianism in the Indus Civilization

Green

2020

J Archaeol Res

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The cities of the Indus civilization were expansive and planned with large-scale architecture and sophisticated Bronze Age technologies. Despite these hallmarks of social complexity, the Indus lacks clear evidence for elaborate tombs, individual-aggrandizing monuments, large temples, and palaces. Its first excavators suggested that the Indus civilization was far more egalitarian than other early complex societies, and after nearly a century of investigation, clear evidence for a ruling class of managerial elites has yet to materialize. The conspicuous lack of political and economic inequality noted by Mohenjo-daro’s initial excavators was basically correct. This is not because the Indus civilization was not a complex society, rather, it is because there are common assumptions about distributions of wealth, hierarchies of power, specialization, and urbanism in the past that are simply incorrect. The Indus civilization reveals that a ruling class is not a prerequisite for social complexity.

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Bioavailable Sr and Pb isotope ratios of archaeological cattle bone from coastal India

Dey,

Das,

Gangopadhyay

et al. 2023

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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We present the first measurement of bioavailable strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and lead ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb, and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb) isotope ratios from five cattle bones and one soil sample from Erenda, a chalcolithic site in coastal east India. Bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of bones differ from that of the soil. A similar Pb isotope ratio of bones to the soil indicates an insignificant diagenesis and local origin of the cattle. Our result suggests a potential influence of marine Sr in modifying the bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio, although the current coastline is 30 km from the site. The finding has implications in archaeological, geological, environmental and ecological research.

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Enamel isotopic data from the domesticated animals at Kotada Bhadli, Gujarat, reveals specialized animal husbandry during the Indus Civilization

Cited by 13 publications

References 39 publications

Compound specific isotope analysis of lipid residues provides the earliest direct evidence of dairy product processing in South Asia

Compound specific isotope analysis of lipid residues provides the earliest direct evidence of dairy product processing in South Asia

Killing the Priest-King: Addressing Egalitarianism in the Indus Civilization

Bioavailable Sr and Pb isotope ratios of archaeological cattle bone from coastal India

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