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{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Cleanup|date=March 2010}}
'''Balathal''' is an archaeological site located in Vallabhnagar tehsil of Udaipur district of Rajasthan state in western India. It is one of the ninety [[Ahar-Banas culture]] sites located in the Basins of the Banas river and its tributaries. The excavations at Balathal produced evidence as to the origin of the early farming community of Central India and brought about traces of early urbanization.

== Excavation ==
The archaeological site, located 6 km from Vallabhnagar town and 42 km from Udaipur city. It was discovered by V. N. Misra during a survey in 1962-63. It was excavated from 1994 to 2000, jointly by the Department of Archaeology of the Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, Pune and the Institute of Rajasthan Studies, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur under the direction of V. N. Misra of the Deccan College.[1] Balathal is one of the important sites in Mewar region of Rajasthan. The extensive excavations carried out at the site have produced vast amounts of data.

There were various ethnobotanical remains recovered at Balathal and these include wheat, barley, Indian jujube, okra, and Job's tears as well as several varieties of millet, lentils, and peas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Excavations at Gilund: The Artifacts and Other Studies|last=Shinde|first=Vasant|last2=Raczek|first2=Teresa|last3=Possehl|first3=Gregory|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=2014|isbn=9781934536667|pages=5}}</ref> The excavated remains also included domesticated animals such as sheep, goat, and cattle. Archaeologists also discovered several burial sites where the earliest evidence of leprosy in South Asia was found. This was identified in the remains of an adult male buried sometime between 2500 and 2000 B.C.<ref name=":0" />

Balathal was occupied during two cultural periods: the Chalcolithic and the Early Historic.

== Chalcolithic phase ==
Chalcolithic Period (3000-1500 B.C.), also referred to as the Ahar culture is characterized partially by its well-planned structures. For example, buildings had multiple rooms, with structures servings varying functions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=History of Agriculture in India, Up to C. 1200 A.D.|last=Srivastava|first=Vinod Chandra|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2008|isbn=9788180695216|location=New Delhi|pages=344}}</ref> Evidence from this era that was found includes clay, stone, shell, and copper objects, as well as floral and animal remains. Some of the pottery from Balathal was locally produced, while other types found at Balathal came from other sites in the Ahar-Banas Complex. This, and other, evidence show that the chalcolithic communities traded and exchanged materials with other contemporary communities, which may have included settlements like [[Harappan language|Harappan]] in [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Pearson CSAT Manual 2011|last=Thorpe|first=Edgar|last2=Thorpe|first2=Showick|publisher=Pearson|year=2010|isbn=9788131758304|location=Delhi}}</ref>

Available data suggest that Balathal was a well-fortified settlement and underwent a period of economic development and then a decline.<ref name=":0" /> This decline entailed a decrease in population and corresponded with the rise of a contemporary Harappan (Indus) civilization.

== Early Historic phase ==
After the Chalcolithic phase, Balathal was abandoned for a long time until the Early Historic phase (500-200 B.C.) of the site’s activity.<ref name=":1" /> It was discovered that there was a cultural vacuum that persisted from five to six centuries.<ref name=":1" /> This new settlement already had the knowledge of iron, which enabled the inhabitants to establish agriculture practice and production. The excavated artifacts, which included tools such as plows, sickles, knives, spades, hoes, and adzes, among others, revealed that the settlement already produced crops twice a year.<ref name=":1" />

==Meditating Yogi's skeleton==
{{anchor | Yogi | yogi | Skeleton | skeleton }}

A 2700 old skeleton of a meditating [[yogi]] in the cross-legged sitting [[Mudra#Jñāna_Mudrā|jñāna mudrā]] position with hands resting on knees and index finger touching the thumb to form a circle was found at Balthal. This represents the [[Moksha|spiritual enlightenment]] in the [[Indian religions|indian-origin religions]]. Sometimes [[sadhu]]s chose to be buried alive in this yogic [[samadhi]].<ref name=yogi1> Alistair Shearer, 2020, [[The Story of Yoga]]: [https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=Z97QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19&dq=balathal+%2B+sitting+%2B+yogi+%2B+meditating+%2B+skeleton&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiW98aNuMvwAhUbWX0KHc_nBiUQ6AEwAHoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=balathal%20%2B%20sitting%20%2B%20yogi%20%2B%20meditating%20%2B%20skeleton&f=false From Ancient India to the Modern West], [[C. Hurst & Co]], UK, page 19.</ref> This is the oldest archaeological skeletal evidence of yoga.

==See also==
* [[List of Indus Valley Civilisation sites]]
* [[List of State Protected Monuments in Rajasthan]]
* [[List of Monuments of National Importance in Rajasthan]]
* [[Tourism in Rajasthan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* Gogte, Vishwas D. ''Chalcolithic Balathal- a Trading Centre as Revealed by the XRD Study of Ancient Pottery'', Pune: Deccan College, 1996.
* Misra, V.N., and R.K. Mohanty ''A Rare Chalcolithic Pottery Cache from Balathal, Rajasthan'', Pune: Deccan College, 2001.
* Misra, V.N., Vasant Shinde, R.K. Mohanty, Lalit Pandey, and Jeevan Kharakwal ''Excavations at Balathal, Udaipur District, Rajasthan (1995-97), with Special Reference to Chalcolithic Architecture'', Pune: Deccan College, 1997.
* Srivastav, A., R. Balasubramaniam, and V.N. Misra. ''Metallurgical Investigations on a Chalcolithic Copper Nail from Balathal'', Kanpur: Indian Institute of Technology, 2003.
*MISHRA, ANUP RANJAN. "CHALCOLITHIC CERAMICS OF BALATHAL, DISTRICT UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN." Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, 60/61, 2000, pp. 467–472. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42936637.
*Dibyopama, A., (2010). Site Catchment Analysis of Balathal. Ancient Asia. 2, pp.47–57. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aa.10205

{{Coord|24|43|N|73|59|E|display=title}}

[[Category:Udaipur district]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:History of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Chalcolithic cultures of Asia]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in India]]
[[Category:Indus Valley Civilisation]]

Balathal - Revision history

>RussBot at 08:17, 16 May 2021