Domestication of animals in Harappan culture: a socio−economic study

Abstract

Domestication has played an enormous role in the development and progress of mankind and its material culture. In fact, a domesticated animal was the first pride possession of man. The fundamental distinction between domesticated animals and their wild ancestors is that the former, as a result of human perseverance and labour on them, underwent sea changes in their habits, habitats, disposition and to some extent even in physical structure so to meet the specific requirements and even whims of humans in different strata of their existence. The study of animal remains throws ample light on the antiquity of humankind by establishing different species of animals domesticated by man at different stages of his existence and as such the studies of faunal remains constitute a major discipline to the field of archeology with the slightly modified nomenclature of archaeozoology or zoo-archaeology. The discipline of archaeology, apart from identification and interpretation of food refuse and other types of animal remains from archaeological contexts, addresses issues relating to prehistoric subsistence, palaeo-environmental conditions, process of domestication of different species of animals, season(s) of occupation and the roles played by different species of animals, domesticated or wild, in the social, economic and cultural life of humans in different regions. As such, the study of animal remains has become an increasingly important part of archaeological research. Harappan civilization located in the north-western region of Indian subcontinent was the oldest and largest civilization of world. Ironically, it came to light, that too accidently while laying of a railway line between Karachi and Lahore, just about a century ago. Social, economic, cultural and other facets of Harappan life were reconstructed by scholars, initially, on the basis of seals, sealings, figurines painted motifs on pottery and other evidences recovered archaeologically from different Harappan sites, but since then faunal remains have started...