In a major development in the study of Harappan Civilisation, the researchers from Deccan College Pune and the Central Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have found that human remains unearthed at an ancient site of Rakhigarhi – a village in the Hisar district of Haryana – date back roughly 8,000 years. The finding was made during the third round of excavations conducted by the ASI in collaboration with several teams from across the country, including Deccan College Pune researchers, Hindustan Times reported.
Dr. Amarendra Nath of the Indian Archaeology Department conducted the first phase of excavations at Rakhigarhi from 1997 to 2000, during which evidence of the North Harappan culture dating back to 2500 BC was discovered. Professor Vasant Shinde of Deccan College Pune led the second round of excavations at Rakhi Garhi from 2006 to 2013, collecting evidence and conducting DNA tests to establish that this culture was possibly over 4,000 years old. The ASI and Deccan College Pune have worked together over the past two years to complete the third phase of excavations at Rakhigarhi, led by ASI joint director Sanjay Kumar Manjul and Deccan College Pune assistant professor Prabhodh Shirwalkar.
Shirwalkar told HT that the Harappan culture is divided into three parts: East Harappan, Middle Harappan, and North Harappan (Modern). The previous two excavations discovered evidence of the Middle and Modern Harappan cultures stretching back about 4,000 years. However, evidence discovered during the third round of excavations indicates that the culture dates back 7,000 to 8,000 years. “The final report of the work is being prepared by our team,” Shirwalkar said adding that the research will continue for many more months.
Shirwalkar further elaborated, “Human ‘DNA’ has remained the same for 8,000 years which we have found during our research. When human traps were found here, they were thoroughly tested. Scientists have drawn conclusions based on this. A large burial ground was found here and it had human traps as well as animal traps.”
Shirwalkar revealed that clay pots, old silver and copper ornaments were discovered alongside utensils made of various metals, including gold and silver as well and a dinner set was discovered during the excavation.
Large houses, drainage system, colourful clothes
During the excavations, a large settlement of the largest ancient houses ever was found underground. A courtyard along with a drainage system were also found in it. Moreover, there were two- to six-bedroom houses that were also available at that time. The clothing fashion of the people of that time is also known. The research team found a colourful worn piece of cloth, a shawl and a skirt.
“This research has found strong evidence that the Harappan civilisation is 7,000 to 8,000 years old. Scientists from the Department of Archaeology of India and Deccan College have worked together on the project. It is agreed that there was human habitation or civilisation in our country 8,000 years ago,” Shirwalkar asserted adding that the people back then were as advanced as they are in present times.
Back in 2019, it was reported citing a research study that the primary source of ancestry in modern South Indians is a prehistoric genetic gradient between people related to early hunter-gatherers of Iran and Southeast Asia. In a major blow to the Aryan Invasion Theory, the research found that the skeletal remains from the Rakhigarhi individual were from a population that is “the largest source of ancestry for South Asians”.
The study which involved the inspection of DNA samples of the skeletons found in Rakhigarhi, an Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) site in Haryana, found no traces of the R1a1 gene or Central Asian ‘steppe’ genes, colloquially called the ‘Aryan gene’. In 2018 as well, OpIndia reported that researchers of the DNA study of Rakhigarhi skeletal remains have stated that they found no central Asian trace.
