The Jorwe culture was a

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

which existed in large areas of what is now

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

state in Western

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and also reached north into the Malwa region of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

. It is named after the

type site In archaeology, a type site (American English) or type-site (British English) is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and H ...

of Jorwe. The early phase of the culture is dated to 1400-1000 BCE, while the late phase is dated to 1000-700 BCE. Over 200 settlements of the Jorwe culture have been found, ranging from several large and medium-sized farming villages, to many small villages, as well as temporary and seasonal camp-sites used by pastoralists. It likely reflects a

chiefdom A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...

level of social organization. The largest settlement was Daimabad, which had a mud fortification during this period, as well as an elliptical temple with fire pits. Some settlements show evidence of planning in the layout of rectangular houses and streets or lanes. Most dwellings were small, single-room dwellings, but the chiefs lived in large houses with multiple rooms, and had granaries to store grain. The pottery is red and orange, and painted with geometric patterns in black. Agriculture was largely the same as the earlier Malwa culture, including wheat, barley, and legumes, but with the addition of new kinds of

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

. The people traded with

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

for gold and ivory, and with coastal India (

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

) for fish, conch shell, and haematite. Their dead were typically buried with the feet cut off, in urns which were placed under house floors or courtyards. Most Jorwe culture sites were abandoned around 1000 BCE, possibly due to famine or drought, and the remaining sites show signs of increased poverty until their abandonment c. 700 BCE. Sites of the Jorwe culture include Jorwe, Daimabad, Inamgaon, Prakashe, Navdatoli (near Maheshwar), Walki (in Pune District). The Jorwe culture was preceded by the Malwa culture and succeeded by the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

megalithic culture of the Deccan, and the Northern Black Polished Ware culture.

Notes

References

* * {{Cite book, url=https://archive.org/details/citycountryinear0000basa, url-access=registration, title=The City and the Country in Early India: A Study of Malwa, last=Basant, first=P. K., date=2012, publisher=Primus Books, isbn=9789380607153, language=en Chalcolithic cultures of Asia Archaeological cultures of South Asia History of Maharashtra Archaeological cultures in India

See also

Notes

References