 Ochre Coloured Pottery finds ( c.2600 - 1200 BCE ) | |
| Geographical range | North India |
|---|---|
| Period | Bronze Age |
| Dates | c. 2000–1500 BCE |
| Major sites | Ahichchhatra Bahadrabad Bargaon Bisauli Fatehgarh Hastinapur Hulas Jhinjhana Katpalon Kausambi Mitathal Red fort Sinauli  Map |
| Characteristics | Extensive copper metallurgy Burials with pots and copper weapons |
| Preceded by | Neolithic |
| Followed by | Black and red ware Painted Grey Ware culture |
TheOchre Coloured Pottery culture (OCP) is aBronze Age culture of theIndo-Gangetic Plain "generally dated 2000–1500 BCE,"[1][2] extending fromeastern Punjab to northeasternRajasthan andwestern Uttar Pradesh.[3][4]
Artefacts of this culture show similarities with both the Late Harappan culture and the Vedic culture.[5][6] Archaeologist Akinori Uesugi considers it as an archaeological continuity of the previous HarappanBara style,[7] while according to Parpola, the find of carts in this culture may reflect anIndo-Iranian migration into the India subcontinent, in contact with Late Harappans.[6] The OCP marked the last stage of the North Indian Bronze Age and was succeeded by thePainted Grey Ware culture and thenNorthern Black polished ware.[8]
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The 'Ochre Coloured Pottery culture is "generally dated 2000-1500 BCE,"[1] Early specimens of the characteristic ceramics found near Jodhpura,Rajasthan, date from the 3rd millennium (this Jodhpura is located in the district ofJaipur and should not be confused with the city ofJodhpur). Several sites of culture flourish along the banks ofSahibi River and its tributaries such asKrishnavati river and Soti river, all originating from theAravalli range and flowing from south to north-east direction towardsYamuna before disappearing inMahendragarh district ofHaryana.[9] The OCP sites of Atranjikhera,Lal Qila,Jhinjhana and Nasirpur are dated to from 2600 to 1200 BC.[10]
The culture reached theGangetic plain in the early 2nd millennium. Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India discovered copper axes and some pieces of pottery in its excavation at theSaharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.[11]
The pottery had a red slip but gave off an ochre color on the fingers of archaeologists who excavated it, hence the name. It was sometimes decorated with black painted bands and incised patterns. It is often found in association withcopper hoards, which are assemblages of copper weapons and other artifacts such as anthropomorphic figures.
OCP culture was rural and agricultural, characterized by cultivation of rice, barley, and legumes, and domestication of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and dogs. Most sites were small villages in size, but densely distributed. Houses were typically made ofwattle-and-daub. Other artifacts include animal and human figurines, and ornaments made of copper andterracotta.[12]
The termcopper hoards refers to different assemblages of copper-based artefacts in the northern areas of theIndian subcontinent that are believed to date from the 2nd millennium BC. Few derive from controlled excavations and several different regional groups are identifiable: southernHaryana/northern Rajasthan, the Ganges-Yamuna plain,Chota Nagpur, andMadhya Pradesh, each with their characteristic artefact types. Initially, the copper hoards were known mostly from the Ganges-Yamunadoab and most characterizations dwell on this material.
Characteristic hoard artefacts from southernHaryana/northernRajasthan include flat axes (celts), harpoons, double axes, and antenna-hilted swords. The doab has a related repertory. Artefacts from the Chota Nagpur area are very different; they seem to resemble ingots and are votive in character.
The raw material may have been derived from a variety of sources in Rajasthan (Khetri),Bihar,West Bengal,Odisha (especially Singhbhum), and Madhya Pradesh (Malanjkhand).
Artefacts of this culture show similarities with both the Late Harappan culture and the Vedic culture,[5][6] and the OCP may have been infiltrated by anIndo-Iranian migration into the India subcontinent coming into contact with Late Harappans.[6]
Various opinions exist on the origins of the OCP. There are relations with the Late Harappan phase, and some consider it as a token of this culture. Others regard it to be an independent cultural style.[13] Archaeologist Akinori Uesugi dates Ochre Coloured Pottery culture toc. 1900-1300 BCE, considering it as a Late Harappan expansion and archaeological continuity of the previousBara style (c. 2300 and 1900 BCE), which was a regional culture of theGhaggar valley rooted in the Indus Civilization, calling it theBara-OCP cultural complex.[7]
While the ASI-archaeologists conducting the investigation describe the chariots buried as horse drawn chariots,[14] similarities have been noted by Parpola between the use of carts, as attested in burial practices atSinauli, and Indo-Iranian culture.[6][5] Reflecting on these finds, Parpola rejects the identification of these carts as horse-pulled chariots, instead considering them to be ox-pulled carts and part of an early wave of Indo-Iranian settlers, coming into contact with Late Harappan culture:
It seems, then, that the earliest Aryan-speaking immigrants to South Asia, theCopper Hoard people, came with bull-drawn carts (Sanauli andDaimabad) via the BMAC and had Proto-Indo-Iranian as their language. They were, however, soon followed (and probably at least partially absorbed) by early Indo-Aryans.[15]
According to Kumar, while the eastern OCP did not use Indus script, the whole of OCP had nearly the same material culture and likely spoke the same language throughout its expanse. OCP culture was a contemporary neighbor toHarappan civilization, and between 2500 BC and 2000 BC, the people of Upper Ganga valley were using Indus script.[16][13]
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