The Middle Ganga corresponds to the eastern portion of the Upper Ganga Plain, in the eastern part of the north-central modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and the state of Bihar. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Chalcolithic (c. 3000-6001 BCE). Overall, there is not much to suggest that the transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic significantly changed the prevalent lifestyle, apart from the addition of copper technology and new forms of pottery. Larger sites found in the wider Gangetic region dating from this time have yielded evidence for agricultural activities, including animal husbandry; moreover, one site (Chirand) has also yielded evidence for large-scale production of tools made of bone and antler, as well as of items of likely domestic use, indicating some degree of craft specialisation. The political organisation of such sites remain overall unclear, though one site in a neighbouring valley, Magahara, seems to have housed a relatively egalitarian community, judging from the similarity between houses and their arrangement around a likely cattle pen, suggesting communal ownership of livestock. No population estimates could be found for the Middle Ganga specifically, but the typical community in the nearby Vindhya region would likely have numbered around 200 people, and the region as a whole likely had a population of about 1,000. [1]
[1]: (Vikrama and Chattopadhyaya 2002: 127-132) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/U4F7KRKD/.
| Year Range | Chalcolithic Middle Ganga (in_ganga_ca) was in: |
|---|---|
| (3000 BCE 601 BCE) | Middle Ganga |
levels. "Sizable settlements do not figure in the purely plain areas until the coming of the Iron Age." [1]
[1]: (Sharma 2007: 71) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NBZAVZ3U.
"Over eighty copper hoards consisting of rings, celts, hatchets, swords, harpoons, spearheads, and human-like figures have been found in a wide area ranging from West Bengal and Orissa in the east to Gujarat and Haryana in the west, and from AP in the south to UP in the north." [1]
[1]: (Sharma 2007: 71) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NBZAVZ3U.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artefacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Sources do not mention elephant remains in descriptions of relevant archaeological contexts.
Sources do not mention elephant remains in descriptions of relevant archaeological contexts.
Sources do not mention elephant remains in descriptions of relevant archaeological contexts.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artifacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artifacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artifacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.
Not mentioned by sources in lists of artifacts found at sites in the region dating to this time.