Shalini Sharma, Rajesh Agnihotri, Anil K. Pokharia, Amish Kumar, S. K. Manjul, Ranjan Bhattacharyya
{"title":"印度西北部印度河流域聚落的农业恢复力和土地利用:从考古植物遗骸的稳定碳和氮同位素中得出的推论","authors":"Shalini Sharma, Rajesh Agnihotri, Anil K. Pokharia, Amish Kumar, S. K. Manjul, Ranjan Bhattacharyya","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-01971-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen (δ<sup>13</sup>C, δ<sup>15</sup>N) 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 δ<sup>13</sup>C values were used to retrieve hydrological status, while δ<sup>15</sup>N 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 δ<sup>13</sup>C values of barley grains (winter crop) varied in overlapping ranges for all the three phases −21.34‰ ± 1.9; −22.55‰ ± 1.6 and −22.75‰ ± 1.7 respectively (<i>n</i>=10 for each phase) indicating insignificant changes in hydrology for winter crops. For summer crops like cotton, average δ<sup>13</sup>C values for Transitional phase −23.44‰ ± 1.8 were not significantly different from those of Mature phase −22.55‰ ± 2.5. The δ<sup>15</sup>N<sub>barley</sub> values varied in wider range, however, intra-phase variability appears to have overlapping 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 δ<sup>13</sup>C of host soil organic matter (SOM) and sediment δ<sup>15</sup>N to assess regional environmental conditions. In contrast to the trends observed for archaeological grains/seeds, δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>SOM</sub> 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.</p>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains\",\"authors\":\"Shalini Sharma, Rajesh Agnihotri, Anil K. Pokharia, Amish Kumar, S. K. Manjul, Ranjan Bhattacharyya\",\"doi\":\"10.1007/s12520-024-01971-0\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p>Stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen (δ<sup>13</sup>C, δ<sup>15</sup>N) 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 δ<sup>13</sup>C values were used to retrieve hydrological status, while δ<sup>15</sup>N 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 δ<sup>13</sup>C values of barley grains (winter crop) varied in overlapping ranges for all the three phases −21.34‰ ± 1.9; −22.55‰ ± 1.6 and −22.75‰ ± 1.7 respectively (<i>n</i>=10 for each phase) indicating insignificant changes in hydrology for winter crops. For summer crops like cotton, average δ<sup>13</sup>C values for Transitional phase −23.44‰ ± 1.8 were not significantly different from those of Mature phase −22.55‰ ± 2.5. The δ<sup>15</sup>N<sub>barley</sub> values varied in wider range, however, intra-phase variability appears to have overlapping 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 δ<sup>13</sup>C of host soil organic matter (SOM) and sediment δ<sup>15</sup>N to assess regional environmental conditions. In contrast to the trends observed for archaeological grains/seeds, δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>SOM</sub> 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.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":8214,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":2.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-04-08\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"89\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01971-0\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"地球科学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"ANTHROPOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01971-0","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Agricultural resilience and land-use from an Indus settlement in north-western India: Inferences from stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotopes of archaeobotanical remains
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 overlapping 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 overlapping 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.
期刊介绍:
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences covers the full spectrum of natural scientific methods with an emphasis on the archaeological contexts and the questions being studied. It bridges the gap between archaeologists and natural scientists providing a forum to encourage the continued integration of scientific methodologies in archaeological research.
Coverage in the journal includes: archaeology, geology/geophysical prospection, geoarchaeology, geochronology, palaeoanthropology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany, genetics and other biomolecules, material analysis and conservation science.
The journal is endorsed by the German Society of Natural Scientific Archaeology and Archaeometry (GNAA), the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (HSC), the Association of Italian Archaeometrists (AIAr) and the Society of Archaeological Sciences (SAS).