CONTEXT

• New archaeological discoveries in Khadir Island, Great Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
• Findings predate the Harappan civilization by around 5,000 years.
• Collaborative study by IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Kanpur, PRL Ahmedabad, and IUAC Delhi.
• Use of radiocarbon dating to establish antiquity of human presence.

CONCEPT

• Hunter-Gatherer Communities:
  • Not agricultural settlers but mobile food collectors.
  • Depended on marine molluscs, plants, and wild resources.
  • Evidence of shell meat extraction and fire-heating.
• Shell Midden Sites:
  • Large deposits of broken Terebralia palustris (mangrove whelk) shells.
  • Similarities with sites in Oman and Las Bela (Pakistan) imply coastal trade links.
  • Locations on hillocks, inland riverbanks, suggest seasonal occupation.
• Stone Tools & Trade:
  • Tools made of chert, jasper, chalcedony, basalt, and quartzite.
  • Discovery of flakes, cores, and smaller arrow-tip stones.
  • Stones not locally available (except agate), indicating early inter-regional trade.
• House Complexes:
  • Rubble masonry walls, pottery shards, and tools found at Bambhanka and Lungwali.
  • Suggest temporary shelters or seasonal base camps.
• Ecological Context:
  • Presence of mangrove forests in the past; currently receded.
  • Sites point to strategic use of coastal-marine ecosystems.

CURRENT SIGNIFICANCE

• Pushes back human occupation in Kutch to 7th–5th millennium BCE.
• Indicates cultural continuity in Gujarat region before Indus Valley cities like Dholavira.
• Strengthens Arabian Sea coastal interaction theory for early human movement.
• Highlights India’s pre-Harappan prehistory and role in early trade networks.
• Points to the need for further excavation and environmental reconstruction using soil/flora analysis.