The Early Indus Period

The late fourth and early third millennia saw the spread of the gaming communities into the Indus Basin and eventually as far as the upper Ganges- Yamuna doab.

Permanent settlements were established both in areas that had previously only been visited seasonally by pastoralists and in new areas. Some communities shifted their home location from m upland to plain, although the pastoral sector still traveled seasonally between regions. This move should reflect the development among highland communities of the technology, knowledge and confidence to exploit the new environment zones offered by the Indus basin and to overcome limitations. This was part of an enduring  process whereby pastoralists seeking  seasonal  grazing gained  familiarity with new regions that later enabled their kin or other members of the community to move in and colonize  these regions  with permanent agricultural  settlements.

In arid Baluchistan, dry farming was possible only in river valley bottoms, and water conservation was vital for high agricultural productivity. The inhabitants of many settlements built simple dams (bunds and gabarbands) to impound or divert water that flowed off the surroundings higher ground in the spring when the melting of highland snow filled generally dry streams with seasonal torrents.  This water could then be used for irrigation later in the year when temperatures rose and the ground became parched.  As population increased ,  this technological  expertise aided the settlement  of new regions , made necessary  by competition  for the limited  land suitable  for farming  in the arid highland region.  The economic importance of cattle, the dominant domestic animal, also put pressure on arable land use because they need to graze or obtain fodder from land suitable for cultivation, unlike sheep and goats, which can find adequate grazing in the scrub vegetation on uncultivated land.  It is possible that these economic pressures were increased by climatic factors, since some global data suggest that the fourth millennium was more arid than previous millennia and that this aridity peaked in the period around 3200 to 3000 BCE.

Questionnaire:

• Explain about the Early Indus Period.