The highly organized and integrated nature of Harappan industry is underlined by the existence of villages that specialized in the large-scale procurement and processing of particular raw materials, especially gemstones for beads and shells for bangles.
Padri (Kerala-no-Dhoro). An unwalled village on the southern coast of Saurashtra, Padri is thought to have specialized in the production of salt by evaporating seawater. This site was first occupied in the Early Harappan period when rectangular houses of wattle and daub were constructed. Later in this period, houses with a number of rooms began to be built and there were also workshops. Houses in the Mature Harappan period were generally built of mud with some mud brick, and their floors were plastered with lime and dung. They had storage facilities and hearths for cooking, either in the house or in the courtyard attached to the front or back of the house.
Nageshwar. Nageshwar, situated on a freshwater lake by the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch in an area with very little arable land, was dedicated to the procurement and processing of marine shells. Concentrations of shellworking waste were located in various parts of the mound, each connected with a different activity. The area for processing Turbinella, an evil-smelling activity, was at some distance from the settlement. Pottery was also made in the village. The workers lived in rectangular houses of stone rubble with floors of rammed clay or in one case, of sandstone slabs. The settlement was constructed on ground that sloped gently toward the nearby lake; the Harappans leveled the ground before building on it, using clay from the lake bed.
Nagwada. The inhabitants of Nagwada, on the north Gujarat coast, engaged in beadmaking and shellworking using pre-prepared shells brought in from outside. Structures in the village were built of stone rubble or mud bricks of non-Harappan size and proportions (3 by 16 by 32), as well as bricks in the usual 1:2:4 proportions.
World History
