Indus cities and villages were provisioned through a combination of intensive and extensive agriculture, combined with animal husbandry, and supplemented by fishing and hunting. During the Harappa phase, two major crops could have been harvested in some regions provided there was sufficient winter rain and summer flooding or rains. Agricultural fields were watered primarily by annual rainfall and seasonal flooding, but water-diversion channels, and dams for trapping soil and moisture are common along the Baluchistan piedmont and in parts of Kutch. Irrigation canals have been found at the site of Shortughai along the Amu Darya or Oxus River in Afghanistan, but there is no evidence for the construction of large-scale irrigation channels as was common in Mesopotamia at the time. Smaller fields and vegetable plots would have been watered by wells, which are found at most Harappa phase sites, and reservoirs like those found at Lothal and Dholavira. The brick-lined tank at Lothal was filled with river overflow during the monsoons, and at Dholavira a series of interconnected stone-lined reservoirs were filled by a combination of river run-off, and rainfall collected from rooftops and the city wall by an elaborate system of drains within the city itself.
The main winter or rahi season crops in the core regions of the Indus were wheat and barley, supplemented by pulses, sesame, peas, and vegetables. Perennial cotton could have been grown during the winter season and harvested in the spring. The kharif crops, including rice, sorghum, and various millets, would have been sown during or at the end of the summer monsoon and harvested in the fall. Rice was not common in the Indus valley itself and is found only in Gujarat during the Harappa phase. Cotton, mustard, sesame, dates, melon, and peas were also cultivated, possibly as kharifcrops.
The most important domestic animals were cattle (humped Bos indicus and nonhumped Bos taurus) and water buffalo (Buhalus huhalis), followed in importance by sheep and goat. Although domestic pig is found in the cities, it was not a major source of meat. The domestic dog is well attested from animal bones as well as figurines, some of which depict small house pets, while others show mastiffs used in hunting. Many different types of wild animals were hunted and brought to the cities. Large game, such as elephant, rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, and various types of elk, deer, antelope and wild ass were hunted for food or for other products such as horns, antlers, tusks and possibly their hides. Smaller animal may also have been hunted, and numerous terracotta figurines suggest that some of these small animals, such as Macaque monkeys, squirrels, and a variety of birds, were also captured for use as pets. Fishing and shellfish collection was important along the coasts and at the many settlements located along rivers and oxbow lakes. Marine shells were used for making ornaments and some riverine shells were used as tools. At the site of Harappa, which is more than 800 km from the coast, there is evidence for the trade of dried marine catfish, even though local riverine catfish were also being consumed. This trade in salted fish underscores the importance of preserved foods in the subsistence strategies of large urban centers (see Asia, South: India, Deccan and Central Plateau).
World History
