NEW CHRONOLOGY FOR MEGALITHIC BURIALS IN VIDARBHA (CENTRAL INDIA): INSIGHTS INTO CONTEMPORARY HYDRO-CLIMATE AND FOOD HABITS
Autor: | Nikhil Patel, Preeti Trivedi, Rajesh Agnihotri, Niraj Rai, Vijay Sathe, Niteshkumar Khonde, Ravi Bhushan, Partha Sarathi Jena, A Shivam, Alok Kumar |
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Rok vydání: | 2022 |
Předmět: | |
Zdroj: | Radiocarbon. 64:1075-1091 |
ISSN: | 1945-5755 0033-8222 |
Popis: | Megalithic cultures of central India provide important links between the southern Neolithic-Chalcolithic cultures and the early Historical period (∼500 BC to ∼AD 700) and reveal knowledge of ancient traditions of early inhabitants. Scientific dating of these Megalithic burial sites is a challenging task due to scarcity of dateable material and alterations. Here, we present multiple accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates from equine tooth-enamel and organic food remains recovered from pots from Megalithic burials of the Vidarbha region. Using δ13CTOC and δ15N values of organic food remains recovered from pots, we deduced past-diet (palaeo-vegetation) that indicates C4 type of vegetation and thus arid climate during life-spans of these burials. We also analyzed stable δ13C and δ18O isotopes of equine tooth-enamel to investigate hydro-climatic conditions of Maharashtra (Vidarbha region). A total of 10 AMS 14C dates of tooth enamel provide a time range of AD 250–874 for two Megalithic burials. Two AMS 14C dates of organic food remains recovered from pots corroborated aforementioned time-range. The average δ13C and δ18O of equine tooth-enamel samples were −5.3 ± 2.1‰ and −2.9 ± 0.8‰, respectively, both significantly enriched compared to their modern counterparts (−13.7‰ ± 0.7 and −4.3‰ ± 1.1), indicating intense arid conditions in the past. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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