विस्तारः (द्रष्टुं नोद्यम्)
Vijay Kumar, editor of the Indian Journal of Archaeology compares the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) and the Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) culture to - the Athenians and Spartans. OCP sites were small, mobile and heavily militarized - weapons, weapons & weapons
Indian Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 7, No 2, (2022), Pages 207-305
Militarized OCP settlement:
When we compare OCP culture with Harappans, we find a great difference in material culture. The Harappans cities were large & prosperous settlements with brick houses and places of worship. This was a trading economy also. In contrast to this OCP settlements are village settlements with wattle and daub huts spread over a large area. The Harappan prosperity is not visible here.
This situation is parallel to the Athens with monumental structures and sign of great prosperity and frugal Spartans who dwelt in huts, did not make cities like Athens and didn’t built monumental structures Acropolis. The Athenians were a trading urban society where as the Spartans were purely agricultural society but both shared a common religion, language & culture. In warfare, Spartans were more than a match to Athenians.
The checking the spread of mature Harappan influence beyond upper Ganga-Yamuna doab suggests that the armed North-Indians (OCPians) were more than a match to the people belonging to Mature Harappan Empire which reached its peak between 2500 B.C.-2000 B.C.
2.1: How did OCP people choose the location of a settlement? :
The author identified 7 settlements concentrated along G.T. road and spread over a distance of 22 kms. The 6 villages of this clusters are located near oxbow lakes or near depressions which received water from certain catchment area. A little rain would have saturated the funnel of the lakes/ depressions and would have rendered the low lying area adjacent to the settlements suitable for the agricultural operations. Only 1 settlement is located near a very small stream which is only a Nala joining a small river Kali running along roughly north-west & south-east axis. The 7 habitation sites & their surroundings at micro level will be examined and parameters which influenced the OCP settlement pattern will be workout.
2.2: Oxbow lakes, shallow depressions & small rivers were favorite locations for OCP settlements: The 6 settlements shown in the fig, clearly shows that depressions and shallow sides of oxbow lakes were favorite of the OCP people. Malawan OCP site is located on the eastern side of Malawan Lake, Birahimpur Sakeet OCP site is located near the northern tip of crescent shaped lake located on the eastern side of the village Birahimpur Sakeet. Ganeshpur, Hatau & Bharatpur are located near the broad depressions which must have been good sites for agriculture. Panwah OPC settlement is located north of a circular depression.