Recreate neolithic villages to greet guests
ARTISTS AND students descending on the Allahabad University (AU) campus for the four-day cultural extravaganza— Kala Kumbh all set to kick off at AU Delegacy from December 20— would get a rare chance to admire a true-copy model of the ancient villages belonging to the Neolithic Age. The villages' model is painstakingly being recreated by varsity students under the guidance of AU's history and archaeology experts.
These villages, excavated by AU archaeologists almost two decades back in the Belan Ghati situated in Koraon tehsil of Allahabad, had created quite a stir by scientifically establishing for the very first time that cultivation of grains and domestication of animals was in vogue even as back as 6000 BC challenging the established beliefs of majority of Indian historians.
"AU team led by Prof D Mandal and under the guidance of the then head of the Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology department had excavated two important sites in the Belan Ghati: One located on the left side of the Belan river and the other on the right side known as Koldihwa and Mahagara in 1977-78. We are now creating models of these villages keeping all details in mind," informed Dr Prakash Sinha of AU's Ancient History department who has carried out a research on the subject and is today helping AU students recreate the villages under guidance of Prof D Mandal.
He said that the excavations revealed that the site belonged to the Neolithic Age. "We found that the people of these villages had started cultivation of grains as well as domestication of animals. These findings were based on scientific investigations carried out by Archaeo-Botanist regarding grains and Archaeo-Zoologists for the bones recovered from the sites. The scientists identified the grains of rice to be 'Orizasatavia' and the bones as that of domesticated cattle sheep and goats," he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the excavations revealed that the site belonged to the Neolithic Age. "We found that the people of these villages had started cultivation of grains as well as domestication of animals. These findings were based on scientific investigations carried out by Archaeo-Botanist regarding grains and Archaeo-Zoologists for the bones recovered from the sites. The scientists identified the grains of rice to be 'Orizasatavia' and the bones as that of domesticated cattle sheep and goats," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Sinha said that excavation at Mahagara also exposed an area between the hut floors that has been identified as cattle-pen because of the fact that a number of hoof impressions of cattle sheep and goats were present in the area encircled by post holes.
"Here houses consisting of two-three hut floors (rooms) were identified in contrast to earlier period of Mesolithic culture where huts were built very close to each other. Moreover, in this period hearths were found inside the hut but rather in between the huts suggesting their common use," he said.
Dr Sinha said that when the carbon samples recovered from the Mahagara and Koldihwa were analysed by C-14 labs they suggested that antiquity of the Neolithic village to be around 6000 BC. "This is one of the earliest dates in Indian context regarding cultivation and domestication of animals and obviously of Neolithic culture because from other parts of India even today we are getting dates of only up to a maximum of 4000 BC," he added.
Dr Sinha said that the aim of the model of the ancient villages is to inform visitors about the cultural development of the villages with the cultural material and to demonstrate how archaeologists reconstruct life styles of our ancestors and the challenges they face in the mission.