The Ochre Colored Pottery or OCP culture: Ancient History of Rajasthan: The Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (OCP) is a Bronze Age culture of the Indo-Gangetic Plain “generally dated 2000–1500 BCE,” extending from eastern Punjab to northeastern Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.
Ancient History of Rajasthan: Artefacts of this culture show similarities with both the Late Harappan culture and the Vedic culture. Archaeologist Akinori Uesugi considers it as an archaeological continuity of the previous Harappan Bara style, while according to Parpola, the find of carts in this culture may reflect an Indo-Iranian migration into the India subcontinent, in contact with Late Harappans. The OCP marked the last stage of the North Indian Bronze Age and was succeeded by the Iron Age black and red ware culture and the Painted Grey Ware culture.
पुरातत्ववेत्ताओं के अनुसार राजस्थान प्राचीन इतिहास पूर्व पाषाणकाल से प्रारंभ होता है। राजस्थान की यह मरुभूमि प्राचीन सभ्यताओं की जन्म स्थली रही है। यहाँ कालीबंगा, आहड़, बैराठ, बागौर, गणेश्वर जैसी अनेक पाषाणकालीन, सिन्धुकालीन और ताम्रकालीन सभ्यताओं का विकास हुआ, जो राजस्थान के इतिहास की प्राचीनता सिद्ध करती है। यह पृष्ठ राजस्थान के प्राचीन इतिहास को 1200 ईसवी तक संग्रहित करता है और इसे दो खंडों में विभाजित किया गया है:
- 900 ईसवी तक
- 900 से – 1200 ईसवी तक
राजस्थान की ताम्र पाषाण संस्कृति
- 3000 – 1500 ईसा पूर्व: अहर-बनास संस्कृति [आयड़, ओजियाना, गिलुंड, बालाथल, पचमता ]
- 2500 – 2000 ईसा पूर्व: गेरू रंग का बर्तनों (OCP) संस्कृति [ गणेश्वर, जोधपुरा ]
ओसीपी सभ्यता की उपस्थिति के साक्ष्य
विदित हो कि हाल ही में उत्तर प्रदेश के सहारनपुर ज़िले के सकरपुर से खुदाई के पश्चात ताम्बे की छः कुल्हाड़ियाँ और कुछ बर्तन प्राप्त हुए हैं। इस साक्ष्य के आधार पर कई पुरातत्त्वविदों का मानना है कि हो सकता है कि गंगा-यमुना नदियों के आस-पास के क्षेत्र में हडप्पा सभ्यता के समानांतर एक अलग सभ्यता भी आस्तित्व में थी। विदित हो कि भारत सरकार के पुरातत्व विभाग द्वारा इस स्थल पर अभी भी खुदाई का कार्य जारी है जिसमें आगे अन्य साक्ष्यों के भी प्राप्त होने की सम्भावना है।
क्यों व्यक्त की जा रही है ऐसी सम्भावना?
- अनेक विद्वानों का मत है कि जब वर्तमान पंजाब, हरियाणा और पाकिस्तान के कुछ भाग में सिन्धु घाटी सभ्यता फल-फुल रही थी ठीक उसी समय वर्तमान पश्चिमी उत्तर प्रदेश के गंगा-यमुना दोआब क्षेत्र में भी एक सभ्यता मौजूद थी।
- सकरपुर में खुदाई के उपरांत प्राप्त हुई ताम्बे की छः कुल्हाड़ियाँ और मृदभांड, गंगा यमुना दोआब क्षेत्र की उपजाऊ भूमि में बसने वाली मानव सभ्यता के अवशेष हो सकते हैं। विदित हो कि इस सभ्यता को ओसीपी सभ्यता (OCHRE COLOURED POTTERY CULTURE) के नाम से भी जानते हैं।
पृष्ठभूमि
- गौरतलब है कि अधिकांश गैरिक मृदभांड यानी ओसीपी के स्थल गंगा के दोआब, जो कछारी मैदान हैं, में पाए जाते हैं। ऊपरी गंगा घाटी के कर्इ स्थानों (नसीरपुर, झिंझाना, बहादुराबाद, इत्यादि) में तांबे के भंडार के साथ-साथ ओसीपी भी पाए गए हैं जिससे दोनों के बीच साहचर्य का संकेत मिलता है। लेकिन इतिहासकारों के अनुसार इस साहचर्य के और पुष्टिकरण की आवश्यकता है, और अब तक उन्हें कामचलाऊ ही माना जा रहा है।
- यह जानना दिलचस्प है कि सिन्धु घाटी सभ्यता की तरह समुचित साक्ष्य न मिलने के कारण ही ओसीपी सभ्यता को पूर्ण सभ्यता के तौर पर प्रमाणित नहीं किया जा सका है। लेकिन इस खुदाई के माध्यम से पहली बार ओसीपी सभ्यता की मौजूदगी के प्रत्यक्ष साक्ष्य मिले हैं।
- अतः यदि इस खुदाई से इस सभ्यता की प्रमाणिकता को मज़बूत करने वाले और भी साक्ष्य यदि मिलते हैं तो निश्चित ही यह एक महत्त्वपूर्ण ऐतिहासिक घटना बनने जा रही है।
Geography and dating
Ochre Coloured Pottery culture during Indus Valley Civilization, Late Phase (1900-1300 BCE)
The ‘Ochre Coloured Pottery culture is “generally dated 2000-1500 BCE,” Early specimens of the characteristic ceramics found near Jodhpura, Rajasthan, date from the 3rd millennium (this Jodhpura is located in the district of Jaipur and should not be confused with the city of Jodhpur). Several sites of culture flourish along the banks of Sahibi River and its tributaries such as Krishnavati river and Soti river, all originating from the Aravalli range and flowing from south to north-east direction towards Yamuna before disappearing in Mahendragarh district of Haryana. The OCP sites of Atranjikhera, Lal Qila, Jhinjhana and Nasirpur are dated to from 2600 to 1200 BC.
The culture reached the Gangetic plain in the early 2nd millennium. Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India discovered copper axes and some pieces of pottery in its excavation at the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
The Ochre Colored Pottery or OCP culture
The Ochre Colored Pottery or OCP culture is defined by the type of similar Ochre Pottery found at different sites. In 1951, B.B. Lal carried out small digs at Bisauli and Rajpur Parsu villages in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh at spots where copper hoards had reportedly been discovered earlier. While B.B. Lal did not find any new copper objects, he came across weathered ochre-coloured pottery (OCP), and on that basis he suggested a probable correlation between the hoards and this pottery. Since then as many as 950 sites of OCP culture have been discovered from the different parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
- Further, because of their discovery in groups, they have also been labelled as Copper Hoard Culture.
The highest Number of the OCP sites in Rajasthan is found in the district of Sikar followed by Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Alwar and Bharatpur.
Features of OCP Culture:
The hoards comprise a variety of objects like flat axes with Splayed sides and convex cutting edges, shouldered axes, bar Celts, double-edged axes and antenna-hilted swords.
- The pottery is ill-fired, ochrish red in colour, and heavily weathered, with the slip peeling off. The shapes comprise storage jars, vases, basins, bowls, dishes-on-stand and miniature pots; they are considerably similar to the Harappan pottery shapes.
- Occasionally the pottery is decorated with incised designs, graffiti and paintings in black pigment.
- OCP settlements are small in size and have thin habitation deposit. This indicates that habitation on them was of short duration. Because of the small size of excavations very little is known of the economy and material culture associated with this pottery.
- Evidence was found regarding cultivation of rice and barley, domestication of cattle, rammed earth floors, post-holes, baked and unbaked bricks, terracotta human figurines and bangles, and beads of stone and bone.
Important Sites of OCP Culture: In Rajasthan, Ochre Colored Pottery sites have been discovered at Ganeshwar (Sikar) and Jodhpura (Jaipur).
Ganeshwar (Sikar)
Ganeshwar is a village in Neem Ka Thana Tehsil in the Sikar District. Excavations have revealed ancient sites, with remains of a 4000 years old civilization. The site is located at source of river Kantali, which used to join river Drishadwati, near Soni-Bhadra on the north.
Historian R.L. Mishra wrote that, Red pottery with black portraiture was found which is estimated to be belonging to 2500–2000 BC was found when Ganeshwar was excavated in 1977.
Ganeshwar is located near the copper mines of the Sikar Jhunjhunu area of the Khetri copper belt in Rajasthan. It mainly supplied copper objects to Harappa.
- Copper objects, Microlith & pottery were found throughout the deposits.
- Copper objects included arrowheads, spearheads, fish hooks, bangles and chisels.
- Microlith, discovered here, represent a highly evolved geometric industry, the principal tool types being blunted-back blades, obliquely-blunted blades, lunates, triangles and points. The raw materials employed for the industry include qarts, garnet, and occasionally jasper.
- The Pottery found represents OCP culture and includes storage jars, vases, basins, bowls, lids and miniature pots.
Pottery
The pottery had a red slip but gave off an ochre color on the fingers of archaeologists who excavated it, hence the name. It was sometimes decorated with black painted bands and incised patterns. It is often found in association with copper hoards, which are assemblages of copper weapons and other artifacts such as anthropomorphic figures.
Agriculture
OCP culture was rural and agricultural, characterized by cultivation of rice, barley, and legumes, and domestication of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and dogs. Most sites were small villages in size, but densely distributed. Houses were typically made of wattle-and-daub. Other artifacts include animal and human figurines, and ornaments made of copper and terracotta.
According to Kumar, while the eastern OCP did not use Indus script, the whole of OCP had nearly the same material culture and likely spoke the same language throughout its expanse. OCP culture was a contemporary neighbor to Harappan civilization, and between 2500 BC and 2000 BC, the people of Upper Ganga valley were using Indus script.
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