Diet of Indus Civilization: Reinterpretations from Multi–Site Stable Isotopic Mortuary Analysis

Abstract

Several insights on the identification and mobility of the Indus Civilization were provided by previous researchers based on the results limited towards archaeological context. In this study, several such published data of Mortuary samples from the major urban centre of Harappa, the eastern frontier town of Farmana, and the post–urban necropolis at Sanauli are re–evaluated in context with the modern dental samples. The results are compared to the compositional signatures found within teeth from modern humans from the USA, East Asia, Mexico and Bulgaria, which is expected to show variance in their isotopic signature depending upon regional level precipitation and diet. The results from δ18O signatures from the Indus Valley point towards dependence on riverine water for drinking.