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Early Neolithic agriculture (2700–2000 bc) and Kushan period developments (ad 100–300): macrobotanical evidence from Kanispur in Kashmir, India

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Abstract

Here we report the results of an archaeobotanical study carried out on Ceramic Neolithic (2700–2000 bc) and Kushan period (ad 100–300) deposits at Kanispur, Kashmir, northern India. Botanical evidence from the Ceramic Neolithic phase reflects a nascent agriculture based on cold-tolerant crops (barley, wheats, lentil, field pea and grass pea) related to farming patterns of adjacent cultures and possibly evidence for the earliest cultivation in the valley. The Kushan period is characterized by a double-cropping pattern, suggesting a change in agricultural practices associated with a population recovery following a post-Neolithic decline. Finds of Juglans regia, and Prunus cf. amygdalus shells in ceramic Neolithic levels, and Vitis cf. vinifera, Emblica officinalis and Ziziphus cf. nummularia in addition to J. regia, and P. cf. amygdalus during Kushan times suggest that horticulture and foraging played an important role in the diet of the occupants. The present dataset provides new absolute dates for the subsistence economy of the Ceramic Neolithic population in the Kashmir Valley. We also present the oldest directly dated wheat and barley in Kashmir.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Director, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow for providing permission and facilities to accomplish this work. AKP is grateful to K. S. Saraswat, Scientist “F” (Retd.), BSIP, Lucknow for passing on the Early Historical floated samples received from B.R. Mani, ADG, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi for investigation. We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer and Editor Yan Zhao for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University Road, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226 007, India

    Anil K. Pokharia

  2. Archaeological Survey of India, Janpath, New Delhi, 110 011, India

    B. R. Mani

  3. Department of Archaeology, School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, University of Sydney, City Road, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Michael Spate & Alison Betts

  4. Department of Botany, DG (PG) College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 208 001, India

    Alka Srivastava

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  1. Anil K. Pokharia
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Correspondence to Anil K. Pokharia.

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Communicated by Y. Zhao.

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Pokharia, A.K., Mani, B.R., Spate, M. et al. Early Neolithic agriculture (2700–2000 bc) and Kushan period developments (ad 100–300): macrobotanical evidence from Kanispur in Kashmir, India. Veget Hist Archaeobot 27, 477–491 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-017-0645-8

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