Abstract
The Harappan research in Gujarat although initiated through an accidental discovery of
script bearing ceramic at Vallabipur (Heras 1938), became a major area of research in
Indian Archaeology through a series of explorations and excavations followed by the
analyses of its artefacts through interdisciplinary studies. These researches led to the
categorization of this region as the southern region of the Indus Civilization (Possehl
1999), ordering the cultural changes into different phases of Indus Civilization (Vats
1937; Dikshit 1950; Nanavati 1962; Rao 1963; Wheeler 1959; 1966; Malik 1968) and
identification of its regional variations (Subbarao 1958; Rao 1956, 1963, 1979, 1985;
Mehta et.al. 1971; Nanavati et al. 1971; Joshi 1972; Sankalia 1972; Pandya 1983; Hegde
et. al. 1988; Possehl and Raval 1989; Possehl and Herman 1990; Allchin 1990; Shinde
1992a, 1992b; Dhavalikar and Possehl 1992; Sonawane and Ajithprasad 1994; Herman
and Krishnan 1994; Bhan 1994; Allchin and Allchin 1997; Ajithprasad 2002, 2008,
2011; Ajithprasad and Sonawane 2011). In addition to these the concept of cultural
dichotomy was also put forward to explain the co-existence of ‘classical’ Indus Cultural
sites with that of the regional chalcolithic and Mesolithic traditions (Soundararajan 1980;
Sankalia 1965; Possehl and Kennedy 1979). In the light of the above, explorations
conducted in and around Padri region, an area that falls along the Shetrunji river, close to
the Gulf of Khambhat to determine the intensity of sites along the periphery of a
definable geographical sub-region. It was assumed that this exploration would further
contribute to the understanding of Padri ware within the Chalcolithic context of Gujarat.
RAJESH, S. V., K. KRISHNAN, PRABHIN SUKUMARAN. (2012) Archaeological Explorations around Padri, Bhavnagar District in Saurashtra, Gujarat, Western India, Pakistan Heritage, Volume 4, Issue 1.
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