Was Gujarat the cradle of an independent civilisation, contemporary of the classical Harappan civilisation around the Indus Valley? This view is gaining academic credence in the community of archaeologists specialising on the subject across the country. The Sorath (present Saurashtra) region civilisation, dating back to 3700 BC at some places, was distinct from the classical Harappan as it developed in the Indus Valley, say researchers in the field.
‘‘It maintained its separate identity in many ways even as a cultural, economic and technological exchange took place between the two,’’ said Professor Vasant Shinde of the Pune-based Deccan College Research Institute, while addressing a seminar on ‘Harappan Civilisation and Gujarat: Problems and Perspectives’.
Vast differences have been found in the two after excavations of 1more than 450 such sites in the State. The Sorath civilisation was mainly rural as against mainly urban Harappan, people here ate millet and sorghum against wheat and barley of Harappa, the pottery is vastly different with 90 per cent made of bowls against ‘dish on stand’ of Harappa.
‘‘Not more than 30 per cent of the 500-odd sites of that period excavated in Gujarat, show some similarity with the classical Harappa. This makes us believe that it’s more likely that this part had its own culture and identity. Studies conducted by our Institute on Gujarat shows that there is almost complete absence of weights and seals typical of classical Harappan sites,’’ Shinde informed.
The view is given credence by scholars of M S University of Baroda, too. Says Professor K K Bhan, head of the Archaeology and Ancient History department: ‘‘If we have to conclude, we would say that more and more research is showing that a culture existed in Gujarat prior to coming of Harappans, that drew heavily from them, and, at the same time gave them things like semi-precious stones industry and pasture lands.’’
There were some dissenting voices, too. Professor P Ajithprasad of MSU was of the opinion that instead of giving it a status of a parallel civilisation, it was perhaps safer to call Sorath, a manifestation of Harappan technology in early Chalcolithic cultures of Gujarat.
Even as it imbibed some developmental aspects of classical Harappa, the Gujarat culture also maintained its independent identity and contributed immensely to the evolution of urban Harappa in terms of green pastures, crafts and gem technology.
And now the archaeologists are reaching a conclusion that the Gujarat culture predated Harappa by at least 1,000 years. According to Ajithprasad, the antecedents of Sorath go back to the early Chalcolithic settlements of 3700 BC, though it manifested properly in Rojdi around 2600 BC. The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) existed between 2500 BC to 1900 BC.
‘‘A typical Sorath site lacks the town plan of Harappa. There are no citadels. There are no s-shaped jars, toll perforated jars or goblets typical of Harappa. What we have instead are bowls of different shapes,’’ explains Ajithprasad.
According to Bhan, the existence of this culture also nullifies the theory of mass migration of Harappans to Gujarat. In its spread the culture was coterminus with the present Saurashtra. Having both coastal and inland sites, more than 250 places in Saurashtra have been identified with the Sorath civilisation.
The two-day seminar would also discuss other problems associated with IVC that have been disturbing scholars the world over. Namely the absence of any clear view on who were the authors of the culture and the reasons behind its extinction.
Bhan is of the view that nomenclatures on IVC are very limiting when it comes to regions outside classical IVC area of Indus Valley, much of which now lies in Pakistan.