New Evidence for Early Silk in the Indus Civilization

Silk is an important economic fiber, and is generally considered to have been the exclusive cultural heritage of China. Silk weaving is evident from the Shang period, though the earliest evidence for silk textiles in ancient China dates to more than a millennium earlier. New study of fibers from Harappan bronze artifacts reveals surprising early evidence for knowledge of silkworking in South Asia, the earliest evidence in the world for any silk outside China, and roughly contemporaneous with the earliest Chinese evidence for silk. This important new finding brings into question the traditional historical notion of sericulture as being an exclusively Chinese invention

Stone Beads in Oman During the 3rd to 2nd Millenia BCE: New Approaches to the Study of Trade and Technology

This paper focuses primarily on ancient stone beads found in Oman at sites dating to the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE, generally dated to the Umm an-Nar and Wadi Suq periods. Archaeological collections were documented to determine the range of variation in the finished objects and if there is evidence for local production of carnelian and other hard-stone beads. A comparative analysis with published materials from other regions was also undertaken to document the bead types in Oman that might have been obtained through trade networks that linked this region to Mesopotamia, Iran, the Indus Valley region, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Anatolia. The overall outcome of this study is a more comprehensive understanding of the types of interactions that were carried out between communities in Oman and adjacent regions during the prehistoric period

Evidence for Patterns of Selective Urban Migration in the Greater Indus Valley (2600-1900 BC): A Lead and Strontium Isotope Mortuary Analysis

Just as modern nation-states struggle to manage the cultural and economic impacts of migration, ancient civilizations dealt with similar external pressures and set policies to regulate people’s movements. In one of the earliest urban societies, the Indus Civilization, mechanisms linking city populations to hinterland groups remain enigmatic in the absence of written documents. However, isotopic data from human tooth enamel associated with Harappa Phase (2600-1900 BC) cemetery burials at Harappa (Pakistan) and Farmana (India) provide individual biogeochemical life histories of migration. Strontium and lead isotope ratios allow us to reinterpret the Indus tradition of cemetery inhumation as part of a specific and highly regulated institution of migration. Intra-individual isotopic shifts are consistent with immigration from resource-rich hinterlands during childhood. Furthermore, mortuary populations formed over hundreds of years and composed almost entirely of first-generation immigrants suggest that inhumation was the final step in a process linking certain urban Indus communities to diverse hinterland groups. Additional multi disciplinary analyses are warranted to confirm inferred patterns of Indus mobility, but the available isotopic data suggest that efforts to classify and regulate human movement in the ancient Indus region likely helped structure socioeconomic integration across an ethnically diverse landscape

Shell working Industries of the Indus Civilization : A summary

The production and use of marine shell objects during the Mature Indus Civilization (2500-1700 B.C.) is used as a framework within which to analyse developments in technology, regional variation and the stratification of socio-economic systems. Major species of marine mollusca used in the shell industry are discussed in detail and possible ancient shell source areas are identified. Variations in shell artifacts within and between various urban, rural and coastal sites are presented as evidence for specialized production, hierarchical internal trade networks and regional interaction spheres. On the basis of ethnographic continuities, general socio-ritual aspects of shell use are discussed.Production et utilisation d'objets confectionnés à partir de coquilles marines pendant la période harappéenne (2500-1700) servent ici de cadre à une analyse des développements technologiques, des variations régionales et de la stratification des systèmes socio-économiques. Les principales espèces de mollusques marins utilisés pour l'industrie sur coquillage et leurs origines possibles sont identifiées. Les variations observées sur les objets en coquillage à l'intérieur des sites urbains, ruraux ou côtiers sont autant de preuves des différences existant tant dans la production spécialisée que dans les réseaux d'échange hiérarchisés et dans l'interaction des sphères régionales. Certains aspects socio-rituels de l'utilisation des coquillages sont également discutés en prenant appui sur les données ethnographiques.Kenoyer Jonathan Mark. Shell working Industries of the Indus Civilization : A summary. In: Paléorient, 1984, vol. 10, n°1. pp. 49-63

Ornament Styles of the Indus Valley Tradition : Evidence from Recent Excavations at Harappa, Pakistan

Recent excavations at Harappa and Mehrgarh, as well as other sites in Pakistan and India have provided new opportunities to study the ornaments of the Indus Civilization. A brief discussion of the methodologies needed for the study of Indus ornaments is presented along with examples of how Indus artisans combined precious metals, stone beads, shell and faience to form elaborate ornaments. Many of these ornament styles were also copied in more easily obtained materials such as steatite or terra-cotta. The social and ritual implications of specific ornaments are examined through their archaeological context and comparisons with the function of specific ornaments are recorded in the ancient texts and folk traditions of South Asia.Les fouilles récentes effectuées à Harappa, à Mehrgarh, et sur d'autres sites au Pakistan et en Inde offrent des possibilités nouvelles pour l'étude des parures de la Civilisation de l'Indus. Les méthodes utilisées pour l'élude des parures de la tradition Indus sont présentées et commentées rapidement, ainsi que le sont quelques exemples de parures spécifiques, produit élaboré du travail des artisans de l 'Indus qui allient les matériaux précieux, la pierre, les coquillages et la faïence. On copiait aussi ces parures dans des matériaux d'obtention plus facile tels que la steatite ou la terre cuite. Grâce au contexte archéologique, mais aussi à des comparaisons avec la fonction de parures spécifiques décrites dans les textes anciens et les traditions populaires de l'Asie du sud, sont étudiées aussi les implications sociales et rituelles de parures spécifiques.Kenoyer Jonathan Mark. Ornament Styles of the Indus Valley Tradition : Evidence from Recent Excavations at Harappa, Pakistan. In: Paléorient, 1991, vol. 17, n°2. pp. 79-98

Shell fish-hook production at Ras al-Hadd HD-5, Sultanate of Oman (fourth millennium BC): preliminary archaeological and experimental studies

The paper presents the preliminary archaeological study of around 200 artefacts related to the production of shell fish-hooks made from Pinctada sp. discovered at the Neolithic coastal site of Ras al-Hadd HD-5 in 2014. The site occupation dates to the fourth millennium BC and finished shell hooks and manufacturing debris were recovered from stratigraphic contexts that included primary floors and workshop dumps. The artefacts include complete shells that were probably collected from the nearby lagoon, hammer stones and rasps made of sandstone, and all stages of the shell-hook manufacturing processes. After comprehensive documentation and study of the artefacts, experimental replications were carried out to gain a better understanding of the stages of production and factors that contributed to breakage and discard. Future studies will include the use of experimental hooks to determine their strength and durability. Excavations were conducted by a team from the University of Bologna under the auspices of the Department of Excavations and Archaeological Studies, Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sultanate of Oman