Meat provisioning and the integration of the Indus Civilization: A perspective from Gujarat (India)

During the Integration Era of the Indus Civilization ( ca. 2600-1900 BC), it is widely believed that colonists from the core areas of the Indus Valley proper established a series of small settlements in resource rich areas such as Gujarat. I explore this model by examining the changing nature of meat provisioning at the site of Gola Dhoro, a small Indus settlement located on the southern coast of the Little Rann of Kutch. Using data generated from the study of over 30,000 bone fragments sampled from this small settlement, I evaluate several hypotheses related to socio-economic organization and subsistence organization derived from models of colonial expansion and world-systems theory.; Following its initial establishment, a massive walled enclosure accessible by a small gateway was constructed at Gola Dhoro. People living within the walled area of the site used distinctively Harappan style ceramics and unicorn seals and were intensely involved in the manufacture of Harappan craft goods, most notably shell bangles, for intra- and inter-regional trade. My research has shown that these residents were distinguished from their neighbors outside of the walls by their food preferences and preparation techniques. This demonstration of social difference is consistent with a colonial model. Contrary to the predictions of world-systems theory, however, the construction of the walled enclosure and the initiation of intensive crafting and trading activities at the site are not associated with any major reorganizations of the pastoral economy at the site.; These findings are consistent with reconstructions of other Indus craft technologies, which suggest that interregional interactions during the Integration Era were mediated through the activities of communities of craftspeople and traders largely independent of the centralized political and economic networks characteristic of life in the largest urban centers. This interpretation contributes significantly to current understandings of the organizational dynamics of South Asia's first urban society and to the further development of a broadly comparative perspective on the integration of early urban societies.