Phytoliths and lithics: an alliance of convenience? Performing first comprehensive residue analysis for the artefacts of the Indus Civilisation

Abstract

Lithic tools are generally considered ́secondary artefactś when it comes to the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Harappan Civilisation. However, they were utilized for an array of different functions and formed part of day-to-day life of people. Until now, scholars have worked exhaustively to understand the technology behind manufacturing these tools, raw material acquisition patterns and their typological distributions throughout the IVC and beyond. Analyses on the functional aspects of these tools are, unfortunately, still lacking. This study aims to understand the function of lithic tools related with plant use by using phytolith analysis. Stone tools were collected from the sites of Bhando Qubo and Taloor Jee Bhitt, situated in Sindh, Pakistan, which have been recently excavated and are culturally affiliated with the Mature Harappan period (c. 2600–1900 BCE). The residues extracted from the tool edges show the presence of plant remains belonging mostly to grass leaves and stems, suggesting that they were used for cutting grasses, some possibly for harvesting winter cereals or millets. The striking differences observed in the phytolith assemblages from the two studied sites suggest differences in either the use of the analysed tools or in the underlining agricultural practices. This study is a first of its kind in South Asia and shows the potential of phytolith analysis to explore the use of lithic tools throughout the IVC.