Share the story of what Open Access means to you
![a graphic of a lock that is open, the universal logo for open access](/assets/oa-lock-logo-lg-a95dd8d9f9fe5e21ab4499ffd0c8661e55f7d788ae0a03f19a6749eb82e3e899.png)
University of Michigan needs your feedback to better understand how readers are using openly available ebooks. You can help by taking a short, privacy-friendly survey.
Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives of Prehistoric Settlement Patterns of South-Central Ganga Valley
Shahida Ansari
Despite the early beginnings of agriculture in the Ganga plains and the Belan valley, the hunting-gathering way of life has not completely disappeared from the region. Communities like the Musahars live almost entirely by small-game hunting and gathering, whereas others like the Kols combine hunting-gathering with some agriculture, and the Mallah with fishing and agriculture. All three of these communities live a partly nomadic and partly sedentary life and raise several kinds of settlements ranging from temporary ones lasting only a few weeks to permanent ones lasting for many years. In the present study the author reconstructs the lifeways of the past inhabitants of this region though the study of the settlements of the three contemporary simple communities. The author places a particular emphasis on the relationship between subsistence practices, economic activities and mode of the disposal of the dead. The inhabited and abandoned residences and other structures of these three communities have been studied in detail; topics such as form, function, construction materials and techniques, disposal of cultural refuse, and location of burial and cremation grounds, are investigated. The author compares the contemporary settlements with the excavated settlements of Mesolithic and Neolithic-Chalcolithic cultures of the Ganga valley and identifies considerable similarities. The author argues that the settlements of the living communities provide useful insights for reconstructing past settlements.
-
Front Cover
-
Title Page
-
Copyright
-
Series Foreword
-
Preface
-
Table of Contents
-
List of Figures
-
List of Plates
-
List of Tables
-
Chapter 1: Introduction
-
Chapter 2: Geographical Setting
-
Chapter 3: Archaeological Evidence
-
Chapter 4: Ethnographic Present
-
Chapter 5: Settlement Patterns of the Simple Communities
-
Chapter 6: Economy, Technology, and Material Culture
-
Chapter 7: Implications of Ethnography for Understanding Prehistoric Living Patterns
-
Chapter 8: Discussion and Conclusion
-
Appendix I
-
Appendix II
-
Appendix III
-
Appendix IV
-
References
-
South Asian Archaeology Series
![](/image-service/ks65hf00r1585578208/full/full/0/default.png)
Citable Link
Published: 2011
Publisher: BAR Publishing
- 9781407337975 (ebook)
- 9781407308067 (paperback)
BAR Number: S2242