Fig 1.
Panel (A) Map of Gujarat showing Khirsara and other Harappan sites discussed in the text. Panel (B, C) General layout of trenches for excavation and excavated trench showing exposed structures and floor level. Panel (D) shows kitchen area with hearth and earthen girdle. Panel (E) shows water well exposed at the site.
Fig 2.
Archaeological artifacts recovered from Khirsara (A) Mature Harappan ceramics (painted and plain) (B) Red Ware Harappan pot (C) Gold beads (D) Fish hook made of copper (E) Copper objects (F) Beads of semiprecious stones (G) Seal with bison (H) Seal bearing Harappan characters. These antiquities have been stored at the office of Excavation Branch-V, ASI, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
Fig 3.
Macroscopic plants remains of cultivars, weeds and wild taxa (1) Hordeum vulgare (2) Triticum aestivum/durum (3) T. cf. dicoccum (4) T. cf. sphaerococcum (5) Pennisetum glaucum (6) Sorghum cf. bicolor (7) cf. Eleusine coracana (8) Panicum cf. miliaceum (9) Setaria cf. italica (10) Pisum cf. arvense (11) Lathyrus sativus (12) Cicer cf. arietinum (13) Vigna cf. radiata (14) Macrotyloma uniflorum (15) cf. Luffa sp. (16) Linum cf. usitatissimum (17) Sesamum indicum (18) Gossypium arboreum/herbaceum (19) Setaria sp.(20) Celosia sp. (21) Sida sp. (22) Trianthema cf. triquetra (23) Indigofera sp. (24) Indigofera cf. hirsuta (25) Trigonella cf. occulta (26) Cyperus sp. (27) Scirpus sp. (28) Rumex sp. (29) Polygonum sp. (30)Asphodelus sp. (31) Abutilon sp. (32) Ipomoea sp. (33) Scleria sp. (34) Solanum sp. (35) Ziziphus cf. nummularia. All the macrobotanical remains are stored in the Museum of Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, U.P., India (BSIP St. no. 1439).
Table 1.
Abundance, ubiquity and diversity index of charred remains from occupational phases at Khirsara (4600–3900 yrs BP).
Table 2.
14C dates of wood-charcoal measured by conventional beta counting method at BSIP.
Table 3.
AMS measured 14C dates of soil-sediment from the trench AF-35.
The first sample* was dated with conventional Beta counting method at BSIP.
Table 4.
AMS measured 14C dates of agricultural grains (Barley and Wheat respectively) from the trench Z-38.
Fig 4.
Left panels show pie-charts displaying relative abundance of crop plants and right panels show corresponding histograms for three distinct phases of overall subsistence changes in the archaeological site Khirsara.
Fig 5.
Photograph of trench AF-35 from where samples were taken for C isotope analysis.
Right panel shows stratigraphic appearances with finds of archaeological artefacts. Depth-profiles of TOC (wt.%) and δ13CTOC of the trench AF-35 is shown in lower panels. Calibrated 14C age based chronological constraints are shown as + symbols.