View source for Early Agricultural Communities in Bengal

'''Early Agricultural Communities in Bengal''' were a group of [[Chalcolithic]] farmers of Bengal, who first developed agriculture in Bengal. No archaeological evidence of large-scale agriculture in Bengal during the [[Neolithic]] period preceding the Chalcolithic or Copper Age.<ref name="banglapedia">{{cite web |title=Agricultural Communities, Early Period - Banglapedia |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Agricultural_Communities,_Early_Period |website=en.banglapedia.org}}</ref>

Early agricultural communities are not found in the whole region of Bengal ([[West Bengal]] and [[Bangladesh]]), they are found only in the south-western part of Bengal (West Bengal).

==Overview==
Early agricultural communities were settled in the vast plain from the foothills of the [[Chota Nagpur Plateau]] to the [[Bhāgirathi-Hooghly|Bhagirathi-Hooghly]] river. Evidence of paddy (rice) cultivation has been found in this region. As one moves eastward from the foothills of the plateau, there is evidence of more involvement of the communities in agriculture. The first agricultural communities of Bengal developed around 1500 BC<ref>{{cite web |title=Ancient site and remains of Pandu-Raja Dhibi |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Ancient_site_and_remains_of_King_Pandu%27s_Mound_at_Panduk_in_Purba_Bardhaman_district_03.jpg |website=commons.wikimedia.org |access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref> in this region mainly along the [[Mayurakshi River|Mayurakshi]], [[Ajay River|Ajay]], [[Damodar River|Damodar]], [[Kangsabati River|Kangsabati]] and [[Rupnarayan River|Rupnarayan]] rivers. Initially, they were confined to the area of the ''Lalgarh Formation'', but later moved east and southeast.<ref name="banglapedia"/>

==Settlement==
Bengal's Early agricultural communities were found in the area bounded by the [[Ganges]] in the north, the [[Subarnarekha River|Subarnarekha]] River and the [[Bay of Bengal]] in the south, and the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River in the east and the foothills of the Chotanagpur Plateau in the west. Most of their settlements are observed in [[Ajay River|Ajay]] and [[Damodar River|Damodar]] valleys. The settlement area can be divided into three parts according to topography and settlement age, namely - red soil area, old alluvial area and new alluvial area.<ref name="banglapedia"/>

===Red soil region===
Early agricultural communities first settled in this region. The main settlements here are Bharatpur, Mahishadal, Dihar, Haripur and Tulsipur. [[Rice|Rice grains]] have been identified with the domesticated species ''[[Oryza sativa]]'', which indicates early agricultural communities were involved in rice cultivation. Archaeological finds from the settlements prove that hunting was one of the main means of livelihood of the agricultural communities of this region, along with agriculture. Apart from agriculture, animal husbandry was one of the mainstays of their livelihood.

The region's economy remained largely unchanged throughout its thousand-year history. The main reason for the stagnation of the economy is probably the low fertility of the soil, and with it the low rainfall. As a result, the agricultural and hunter-gatherer civilizations developed by the early agricultural communities were able to produce the necessary resources for themselves, but it failed to build up sufficient resources for later stages of development and growth. So naturally the agrarian settlements in this region disappeared immediately before or after the historic period.

===Old alluvial area===
[[File:Ancient site and remains of King Pandu's Mound at Panduk in Purba Bardhaman district 04.jpg|260px|thumb|right|Pandu Rajar ''Dhibi'' (mound); iron [[Sickle|sickles]] used by the Bengal's early agricultural communities have been found here.]]
The soil of this region was very fertile for rice cultivation and the rainfall was fairly good. The agricultural Communities of this area were more focused on agriculture than animal husbandry.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanyal |first1=Rajat |last2=Chattopadhyay |first2=R.K. |last3=Bandyopadhyay |first3=Kumkum |title=Early Village Farming Settlements of Eastern India: A Fresh Appraisal |page=78 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rajat-Sanyal/publication/344805658_Early_Village_Farming_Settlements_of_Eastern_India_A_Fresh_Appraisal/links/5f91412f458515b7cf9386cb/Early-Village-Farming-Settlements-of-Eastern-India-A-Fresh-Appraisal.pdf}}</ref> The residents were engaged in two different occupations. On the one hand their agrarian environment had developed an agricultural livelihood, which on the other hand their semi-urban environment forced them to cater to urban needs. 

The archaeological sites excavated in the region are [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi|Pandu Rajar ''Dhibi'']] (mound), [[Mongalkote archaeological site|Mangalkot]], Baneshwardanga and Pokharna. Iron [[Sickle|sickles]] from [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi|Pandu Rajar ''Dhibi'']] (mound) and [[Axe|axes]] and [[adze]] discovered from [[Mongalkote archaeological site|Mangalkot]] provide evidence of agriculture and [[Agricultural economics|agricultural economy]]. The objects excavated from this area such as [[Vase|vases]], large drinking vessels, small stone beads, ivory combs, [[Lockets|lockets]], beads, [[Earring|ear-rings]], surma sticks etc. clearly indicate the civil life.<ref name="citeseerx1">{{cite web |author1=Asok Datta |title=Subsistence Strategies of The Chalcolithic People of West Bengal: an appraisal. |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=17da17ad940eaa2207328298fa0b47003b748ff2 |website=www.citeseerx.ist.psu.edu |publisher=Department of Archaeology, University of Calcutta |access-date=26 September 2023 |location=Kolkata}}</ref>

===New alluvial area===
This area is part of the plain [[Ganges Delta|delta region]] of Lower Bengal. The soil here was fairly viable for a stable agricultural economy. The settlements were mainly built on the banks of Bhagirathi and [[Rupnarayan River|Rupnarayan]] rivers. The main settlement in this region is [[Tamralipta]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book |author=Dilip K. Chakrabarti |title=Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain: The Lower and the Middle Ganga |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEZe-wAIiKIC&pg=PA125 |year=2001 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-7824-016-9 |page=125 }}</ref>

A [[Chalcolithic]] (Copper Age) farming culture site has been discovered by  [[University of Calcutta]]'s Department of Archaeology at Erenda in coastal [[West Bengal]], which was developed by  Bengal's early agricultural communities.<ref name="Pratna-Samiksha">{{cite journal |last1=Gangopadhyay |first1=Kaushik |last2=Halder |first2=Bidhan |last3=Chowdhury |first3=Saptarshi |editor1-last=Chakraborty |editor1-first=Sharmi |title=Chalcolithic Pottery from Erenda (West Bengal): A Preliminary Assessment |journal=Pratna Samiksha |date=2017 |volume=8 |page=132 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343917381_Chalcolithic_Pottery_from_Erenda_West_Bengal |access-date=26 September 2023 |publisher=Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India, Kolkata |location=Kolkata |language=en |issn=2229 7979}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|20em}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Datta |first1=A |date=1988 |title=Chalcolithic Culture in West-Bengal - A study on Settlement And Transition |url= |journal= |publisher=Historical Archaeology of India, New Delhi |volume= |issue= |page= |doi= |bibcode= |ref=}}
* {{cite journal |last1= |first1= |date=1995 |title=Black and Red ware Culture in West-Bengal |url= |journal= |publisher= |volume= |issue= |page= |doi= |bibcode= |ref=}}
* {{cite journal |last1= |first1= |date=1998 |title=Bengal and South-East Asia - Early Trade and Cultural Contacts |url= |journal= Journal of Bengal Art |publisher= |volume= |issue= |page= |doi= |bibcode= |ref=}}
* {{cite journal |last1= Ray |first1=Amita |date=1991 |title=Chalcolithic Culture in West-Bengal |url= |journal= |publisher=Studies in Archaeology, New Delhi |volume= |issue= |page= |doi= |bibcode= |ref=}}
{{Refend}}

[[Category:History of West Bengal]]