Geochemistry of Harappan potteries from Kalibangan and sediments in the Ghaggar River： Clues for a dying river  

作　　者：Anirban Chatterjee Jyotiranjan S.Ray 

机构地区：[1]Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India

出　　处：《Geoscience Frontiers》2018年第4期1203-1211,共9页地学前缘（英文版）

基　　金：funded by the Department of Space, Government of India

摘　　要：The ephemeral Ghaggar-Hakra River of northwestern India has always been considered to be the remnant of an ancient perennial glacier-fed river（Vedic Saraswati）. The exact reason and timing of major hydrological change of this river remains speculative. The river＇s purported association with the zenith of the Harappan civilisation remains a conjecture because the timings of its fluvial past are still being debated. In this study we have made an attempt to resolve this issue using geochemical provenance of sediments from some dated horizons in the Ghaggar flood plain and that of the material used in the potteries from the Mature Harappan period（4600-3900 yr BP） at Kalibangan. Sampled sedimentary horizons were dated by radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence（OSL） methods. Results of our study from the Ghaggar alluvium indicate that the river did have glacial sources during the early Holocene. However, the data from the potteries suggest that during the Mature Harappan period, the sediments in the Ghaggar as used by the potters did not have a higher Himalayan provenance and hence, were not derived from glaciated Himalayas.These findings imply that during the time of the Mature Harappans the Ghaggar had already become a foothill-fed river.The ephemeral Ghaggar-Hakra River of northwestern India has always been considered to be the remnant of an ancient perennial glacier-fed river（Vedic Saraswati）. The exact reason and timing of major hydrological change of this river remains speculative. The river＇s purported association with the zenith of the Harappan civilisation remains a conjecture because the timings of its fluvial past are still being debated. In this study we have made an attempt to resolve this issue using geochemical provenance of sediments from some dated horizons in the Ghaggar flood plain and that of the material used in the potteries from the Mature Harappan period（4600-3900 yr BP） at Kalibangan. Sampled sedimentary horizons were dated by radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence（OSL） methods. Results of our study from the Ghaggar alluvium indicate that the river did have glacial sources during the early Holocene. However, the data from the potteries suggest that during the Mature Harappan period, the sediments in the Ghaggar as used by the potters did not have a higher Himalayan provenance and hence, were not derived from glaciated Himalayas.These findings imply that during the time of the Mature Harappans the Ghaggar had already become a foothill-fed river.

关 键 词：Ghaggar alluvium Holocene Sediment provenance Mature Harappan pottery GEOCHEMISTRY Vedic Saraswati 

分 类 号：P512.2[天文地球—地质学] P618.510.4