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Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains

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Abstract

Stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C, δ15N) of archaeological grains/seeds recovered from different cultural layers of an Indus (Harappan) archaeological site 4MSR (29°12'87.2"N; 73°9'421"E; Binjor, western Rajasthan, India) provide insights into the Harappan agriculture between ~2900 to ~1800 BCE. The δ13C values were used to retrieve hydrological status, while δ15N values were used to gauge agricultural intensification. Isotopic data of grains/seeds were generated representing three Indus phases (i) Early phase (~2900−2600 BCE), (ii) Transitional phase (~2600−2500 BCE), and (iii) Mature phase (~2500−1800 BCE). We find δ13C values of barley grains (winter crop) varied in overlap** ranges for all the three phases −21.34‰ ± 1.9; −22.55‰ ± 1.6 and −22.75‰ ± 1.7 respectively (n=10 for each phase) indicating insignificant changes in hydrology for winter crops. For summer crops like cotton, average δ13C values for Transitional phase −23.44‰ ± 1.8 were not significantly different from those of Mature phase −22.55‰ ± 2.5. The δ15Nbarley values varied in wider range, however, intra-phase variability appears to have overlap** values but showing overall increase from Early (7.72‰ ± 1.8) to Mature phase (11.17‰±7.2) indicating a plausible agricultural intensification. We also measured δ13C of host soil organic matter (SOM) and sediment δ15N to assess regional environmental conditions. In contrast to the trends observed for archaeological grains/seeds, δ13CSOM values showed a statistically significant enriching trend from Early (−23.54‰ ± 1.4) to Mature phase (−20.40‰ ± 1.9) hinting a growing aridity in the region. We surmise that Harappan farmers of western Rajasthan region might be managing arable hydrological conditions in their fields through agricultural interventions to continue agriculture practices despite growing aridity in the vicinity. The high proportion of water-demanding crop cotton during the Mature phase despite of changing environmental conditions, also corroborate our interpretation, possibly grown for the trade purposes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Director General, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi for permission and encouragement to collaborate for scientific analysis of archaeological material. We also thank Directors of BSIP Lucknow for facilities. S.S. is grateful to Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi for providing Senior Research Fellowship and funds for AMS dating under SERB-DST Project No. EMR/2015/000881. This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Rajesh Agnihotri.

Funding

This research work supported by the SERB-Department of Science and Technology, India [grant no. EMR/2015/000881].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Bei**g, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Shalini Sharma

  2. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Uttar Pradesh, 53 University Road, Lucknow, 226007, India

    Shalini Sharma, Rajesh Agnihotri & Anil K. Pokharia

  3. Ramjas College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Amish Kumar

  4. Archaeological Survey of India, 24 Tilak Marg, New Delhi, 110001, India

    S. K. Manjul

  5. Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa Campus, New Delhi - 110012, India

    Ranjan Bhattacharyya

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  1. Shalini Sharma
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  2. Rajesh Agnihotri
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  4. Amish Kumar
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Contributions

Conceptualization: SS, RA. Data curation: SS, RA. Investigation (data collection and analysis): SS, RA, AKP, AK. Writing–original draft: SS, RA. Writing — review & editing: SS, RA, AKP, AK, RB. SKM performed excavation.

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Correspondence to Shalini Sharma or Amish Kumar.

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Sharma, S., Agnihotri, R., Pokharia, A.K. et al. Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 16, 68 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01971-0

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