Dominance of meat in the diet of people Indus Valley civilisation, says new study

A new study published on Wednesday in the ‘Journal of Archaeological Science’ says that the diet of people of Indus Valley civilisation had a dominance of meat, including extensive eating of beef.

Led by Akshyeta Suryanarayan as part of her PhD thesis at the University of Cambridge, the study, titled “Lipid residues in pottery from the Indus Civilisation in northwest India” looks at the food habits of the people of that era on the basis of lipid residue analysis found in pottery from Harappan sites in Haryana, as per a report carried by The Indian Express.

The study found dominance of animal products such as meat of pigs, cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat, as well as dairy products, used in ancient ceramic vessels from rural and urban settlements of Indus Valley civilisation in northwest India – in present-day Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

“While there have been many studies on the food habit in Indus Valley civilisation before, these papers primarily focused on crops grown then,” Suryanarayan was quoted as saying.

“Out of domestic animals, cattle/buffalo are the most abundant, averaging between 50% and 60% of the animal bones found, with sheep/goat accounting for 10% animal remains. The high proportions of cattle bones may suggest a cultural preference for beef consumption across Indus populations, supplemented by consumption of mutton/lamb,’’ says the study.

It says that at Harappa, 90% of the cattle were kept alive until they were three or three-and-a-half years, suggesting that females were used for dairying production, whereas male animals were used for traction.

“Wild animal species like deer, antelope, gazelle, hares, birds, and riverine/marine resources are also found in small proportions in the faunal assemblages of both rural and urban Indus sites suggesting that these diverse resources had a place in the Indus diet,” the study notes.

“The pattern is similar at the sites in northwest India, where domestic and wild mammals, and smaller proportions of birds, reptiles, riverine fish, and molluscs were consumed.”

“This study is unique in that it has gotten to look at the contents of the vessels. Normally there would be access to seeds or plant remains. But through the lipid residue analysis, we can confidently ascertain that consumption of beef, goat, sheep and pig was widespread, and especially of beef,’’ said Suryanarayan.

There is also evidence of hares and birds being eaten, although little evidence of chicken being a part of the diet, according to the study. “Ledge-shouldered jars and large storage jars at Harappa have been linked to storage of liquids such as wine and oil,’’ it says.