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ARCHAEOLOGY: THE AHARS
Were they cow worshippers?
The excavations reveal a large number of bull
figurines indicating the Ahar people worshipped the bull. At Marmi, a
site near Chittorgarh, these figures have been found in abundance indicating
it could be a regional shrine of the bull cult of this rural population.
Discovery of cow-like figurines in Ojiyana, the first site found on the
slope of a hill, has baffled archaeologists. Cow-worship was not a known
Ahar practice. "There are no humps and we can see small teats,''
B.R.Meena, superintendent, ASI Jaipur circle, who undertook the excavation,
says, "These are certainly cows.'' Other archaeologists suspect them
to be bull calves but insist if further studies prove these to be cows,
one could infer that the cow was a revered animal and the Hindu practice
of treating the cow as a holy animal can thus be of pre-Aryan antiquity.
There is no other evidence of idol worship or Harappan religious practices
like worship of the mother goddess. The Harappans flourished in a far
larger area, along the alluvial plains of the Indus and its tributaries,
by the Saraswati, in Baluchistan and in the relatively semi-arid environment
of Kutch and Saurashtra and the sandy south-western plains of Gujarat.
But there is evidence that the Ahar people may have had links with Gujarat's
Harappans.
Did the Harappans learn
from them?
 The
technique of decoration in pottery known as "reserved slip"
which was seen only in a few shards at the Harappan sites of Mohenjodaro
and Surkotada in 2,400 B.C. is a very common feature at Balathal. This
technique consists of putting a second slip over the earlier (lower) slip
on the pot and then removing it in thin bands before it completely dries
up. This produces various kinds of motifs like straight and wavy bands
and criss-cross patterns in two colours. Says V.S.Shinde of Deccan College:
"The Harappans apparently borrowed this technique from Balathal.''
Speculation about intense fire-modelling activity
has been supported by the discovery of kilns at Ahar sites. The coarse
pottery in the earliest levels of excavations confirms that Ahar culture
grew independently of Harappans. In later levels, fine deluxe ware of
three varieties was found. Decorated black-and-red pottery is a mark of
Ahar culture distinct from the Harappan where the interiors of vessels
was black. In Balathal, the black-and-red ware constitute only 8 per cent
of the ceramic assemblage whereas in Ahar it is 70 per cent. Balathal
apparently imported this ware from other Ahar sites. Tan ware, mainly
dishes and dishes-on-stand very similar to those of the Harappans, and
thin red ware appear only in the "fortification phase" of Ahar
civilisation and suggest contact with the Harappans of Gujarat.
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ANCIENT ARTEFACTS:
Pottery from the Ahar culture come to light after 4,500 years. The
Ahars knew advanced pottery techniques. |
An unusual discovery last year was a set of six
clay pots arranged inside a large clay jar in Balathal. Of the six pots
three are large black-and-red bowls decorated with geometric designs in
white. One of the other vessels contained steatite beads and flowers both
of which were used for stringing into necklaces. "This, to me, is
a lady's jewellery box,'' says Mishra.
Unlike other chalcolithic cultures which had
stone tools, the Aharites made copper tools such as chisels, razors and
barbed and tanged arrow heads, apparently for hunting. Probably, they
had the advantage of access to copper from the Khetri mines and in the
nearby Aravalli hills. There is evidence of copper melting too. Harappans
probably imported copper ores and even finished copper goods from Ahar
people.
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