Abstract
Archaeological investigations conducted in the Middle Mahanadi Valley region of Odisha during the last three
decades have brought to light evidence of human occupation ranging in date from the Lower Palaeolithic to
the Early Historic period, without much discernible habitation hiatus. However, compared to the Prehistoric
and Protohistoric settlements, sites belonging to the Iron Age-Early Historic periods are fairly widespread
in the region. A series of test excavations and exploration in the region have brought to light both fortified
and non-fortified types of Early Historic settlements. Studies on the material remains recovered from the
excavated sites revealed that the Iron Age villages were gradually developed into full fledge urban and
semi-urban centers in the Middle Mahanadi Valley region during the Early Historic times. Some of these
settlements have also been found to be associated with evidence for craft specialized production i.e. glass
objects, iron objects besides precious and semi-precious stone beads. One of such craft specialized centres
associated with gem stone beads production have been found in the Harihar stream, a major northern
tributary of the river Mahanadi in the district Subarnapur. The present paper outlines the results of the
preliminary archaeological investigation conducted at these sites during last one and a half decade.
Pradeep K. Behera, Sakir Hussain. (2018) Early Historic Gemstone Bead Workshops in the Middle Mahanadi Valley Region, Odisha, India., Pakistan Heritage, Volume 10 , Issue 1 .
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