Excavation of 5,200-Year-Old Harappan Civilization Settlement

• Demographic Change on Different Localities: The population may have grown in the area, thus spreading out from Locality 2 to Locality 1 or that the inhabitants selected different areas to stay at different points of time.
• Impact of Unstable Nature: While the habitation site appears to have only a few structures, the researchers said it is possible that much of the structural remains were eroded due to the unstable nature of the landscape.

About the Harappan Civilization

• It is one of the oldest in the world and has thrived along the banks of river Indus from around 5,000 BC to 1,000 BC. 
• Classification: While the 2,500-year-long period from 5,000 BC to 2,600 BC is known as the ‘pre-urban’ Harappan phase, between 2,600 BC and 1,900 BC is the ‘urban’ Harappan phase. From there on, the civilisation declines and 1,900 BC to 1,000 BC is considered the ‘post-urban’ Harappan period.

Few Important Harappan Civilization Sites in Kutch, Gujarat

• Dholavira: It is the UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest metropolises of the Harappan civilisation, is also in Kutch.
  • It is 150 kilometres away from Khatiya that’s among the western-most of the Harappan sites in India. 
  • Given the distance, researchers believe that it is unlikely that people in the urban settlements of Dholavira were buried at the Khatiya site.
• Desalpar and Khirsara, Kotda Bhadli and Nadapa: These are the other well-known Harappan sites in western Kutch. 
• • But each of them is a site of urban and post-urban periods of the Harappan civilisation and more than 50 km away from Khatiya. 
  • Being a pre-urban Harappan cemetery, there is a possibility that either there was a big settlement in Khatiya or there were smaller settlements around Khatiya and the cemetery was a common burial ground for them.

About Juna Khatiya

• It is located in Kutch district, Gujarat.
• It is one of the biggest Harappan burial sites with the possibility of 500 graves.
• The burials discovered at this site date from 3,200 BCE to 2,600 BCE, predating Dholavira and several other Harappan sites in Gujarat. 
• Significant Features:
• • The site is important because others like Dholavira have a cemetery in and around the town, but no major habitation has been discovered near Juna Khatiya.
  • The site demonstrates the transition from earth-mound burials to stone graves. 
  • The pottery from the site has features and styles similar to those excavated from early Harappan sites in Sindh and Balochistan.