A Deluge? Which Deluge?: Yet Another Facet of the Problem of the Copper Hoard Culture

In: American anthropologist: AA, Volume 70, Issue 5, p. 857-863

Abstract

"Copper hoards" found in the Gaṅgā Valley over the past century and a half remain enigmatic. Some attribute them to the invading Aryans, others to the Harappan refugees, and still others to the indigenous people. Be that as it may, circumstantial evidence suggests the association of the hoards with the so‐called "Ocher Color Ware," datable to a period prior to c. 1200 b.c. However, at almost all the sites the potsherds occur sporadically, in a deposit of neat earth bereft of any signs of habitation like ash, flooring material, or the like, and with the deposit itself imperceptibly merging into the natural soil. How did the sherds find their way to the places where they are found? Could the deposits have been waterlogged? If so, it would mean that an area of over 60,000 square kilometers had gone under water at some time. Was this waterlogging due to incessant rain over a long period, or to the diversion of the waters of the Ghaggar, a tributary of the Indus, to the Gaṅgāa system, or to the bunding‐up of the latter at some stage? The matter is far from clear and requires detailed investigation.