There is a strong uneven element in the beginning and growth of agricultural systems in different parts of India. If in the Kachhi plain of Baluchistan wheat-barley cultivation and cattle-sheep-goat domestication date from c. 7000 BC, the first full-fledged agricultural communities of West Bengal are not earlier than the second millennium BC, and there is no date at all from our large north-eastern region. So, while assessing the general range of data from various regional contexts, the basic unevenness of the story and the world of uncertainties behind it need to be kept in mind.
From the beginning of Mehrgarh Period I to the threshold of the mature Indus civilization there is an agricultural history of possibly more than 4000 years stretching from Baluchistan to Panjab–Haryana and Gujarat. This history includes the cultivation, helped by ploughs, of wheat, barley, pulses, vetch, cotton, grapes (from Mehrgarh Period V onwards), mustard (suggested by the furrow-marks of the excavated field at Kalibangan) and possibly millets and rice. Millets were indisputably cultivated in the mature Harappan context in Gujarat, and thus had probably an early Harappan background. Moreover, millet occurs in the mature Harappan context at Shortughai. The presence of both rice and millet in the mature Harappan context at Harappa has been indicated by phytolith studies, which is hardly surprising in view of the possible presence of rice as early as the second half of the third millennium BC in Ghaligai periods II and III. Besides, the mature Harappan levels at sites like Lothal and Rangpur in Gujarat yielded rice. The agricultural history of the pre-Indus civilization context was obviously not dependent on a single crop or a single group of crops like wheat and barley. Millets and rice also seem to be a part of this history. In addition, cotton, fruits like grapes and dates, fodder like vetch, and oilseeds like mustard and linseed (Nausharo) formed parts of the scene.
It is doubtful if there was any major agricultural innovation in the mature Harappan context except the introduction of irrigation by innundation canals in the Indus-Hakra plain. The number of legume types is high now and includes even hyacinth bean (Mahorana, Sanghol). More interesting is the identification of henna (Rohira), jasmine and harsingar flowers (Sanghol and Rohira respectively), a plant substance used in shampooing hair (Dholavira) and a kind of poppy seed (Sanghol). The regional adaptations of mature Harappan agriculture are still imperfectly understood except that there was greater emphasis on millets and rice in Gujarat. Silk and cotton too seem to have been reported only from Gujarat so far. The late Harappan situation seems to be marked by a wider, if not better, amalgam of different crop types, with the cultivation of wheat, barley and millets making distinct inroads in the Doab (cf. Hulas).
It would be wrong to say that the basic crop list changes in the neolithic–chalcolithic contexts outside the Harappan distribution system, but the pattern of their combinations seems to have changed, and although the details are not available, allowance should be made for changes in the agricultural practices too. Rice came to be firmly ensconced in the hill valley of Swat, and an interesting discovery is that of a small ploughed field with furrow marks dating from c. 1300/1200 calibrated BC. It has been inferred that a plough-ard was used, moving earth automatically to one side of the furrow. In south-east Rajasthan, Balathal yields only wheat, barley and millets, but rice occurs at Ahar. Rice seems to have been somewhat later in Malwa, but wheat and barley, perhaps the dominant crops, were present right in the beginning. The Maharashtra situation is better understood. Barley was the principal cereal along with millets. Wheat was grown, but only with the help of irrigation. Rice is reported (Inamgaon) but ‘could have been raised in small carefully tended plots as is the case today’. The ard, if not the proper ploughshare, was used for ploughing. Antler was used as the tip of hand ploughs and hollow antlers possibly served the purpose of seed drills. Millets seem to have been the mainstay of economy in the south, although the antecedence of rice cultivation in the Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri deltas in the historic period deserves a thought. At present the presence of rice is limited to the megalithic context. Areca nut in the first half of the third millennium BC at Watgal is an important find, although only horse-gram and finger millet are reported from the later levels. Eastern India, from Orissa onwards, was possibly dominated by rice; in the neolithic context of Senuar this is said to be the principal crop. The extensive range of crops from these sites including Chirand suggests plough cultivation and a well-ordered agricultural regime. Rice must have been important in the north-eastern areas too, although no evidence is forthcoming. Rice apparently occurs extensively in the protohistoric contexts of the upper Gangetic valley (cf. Atranjikhera).
Whatever may be said about the Chinese and south-east Asiatic origins of rice cultivation, it is difficult to ignore the three early radiocarbon dates from the level bearing cultivated rice at Koldihawa, the calibrated ranges of which are 7505–7033 BC, 6190–5764 BC and 5432–5051 BC. In the context of the find of wild rice in the mesolithic context at the neighbouring site of Chopani Mando, this does not seem to be as much of an anomaly as it has been supposed to be. More work is certainly needed but even if one argues that the neolithic at Koldihawa cannot be earlier than the neolithic level of Kunjhun in the upper Son valley, it needs to be remembered that there is a fourth millennium BC (calibrated) date from this level at Kunjhun, and as far as one can see, there is no way one can explain even a fourth millennium BC date for domesticated rice in India by invoking Chinese and south-east Asian origins. As things stand, an Indian centre of origin of cultivated rice is a clear probability along with Chinese and/or south-east Asiatic centres. Moreover, the important position of rice in Indian rituals, its importance as the breath of life in early Indian literature, its innumerable varieties, its adaptation to different types of land and its wide distribution and varieties in wild form—all this goes a long way to underline the significance of India in the history of rice cultivation.4 Although no evidence is forthcoming, it is sensible to suggest that rice seeds were initially broadcast rather than planted first in nurseries from where they would be transplanted in the fields. The ‘transplantation method’, if the early Buddhist literature is any indication, possibly was entrenched in the middle Ganga valley by the beginning of the early historic period.
The regime of the domesticated animals seems to be fairly uniform at most of the sites: cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo, pig. However, in this case the emphasis should be on the types of uses to which they were put. Not much progress has yet been made in this direction, although butchering for meat and culling of herds seem to have been known.
The transition from the hunting-gathering stage to effective agriculture must have been a long process and varied to a considerable extent. It is important that this is understood in future. It is also important to realize that the history of our ancient agricultural systems should be more than the discussion on the areas and processes of domestication of the major crops including pulses.
Out of over 20,000 higher plant species found in India, only 778, belonging to 96 families, possess edible parts. There are 648 species which have single edible parts, and these include tuberous starchy roots and rhizomes (95 species), flowers or flower buds (46 species), fruits (383 species), seeds, including nuts and kernels (110 species), and other plant parts (14 species). The other 130 species have more than one edible part.5
Even if the problem of finding and identifying all these edible plant species is mind-boggling, attempts should perhaps be made to trace the utilization of tubers like taro and yams at least.