Chapter 7: Steatite Acquisition Networks | Download PDF
New Introductory Paragraph by Randall Law, 2024
In terms of sheer numbers, objects composed of steatite (talc) are the most abundant type of stone
artifact at Harappa. While most of these objects are beads and bead-related production debris, stamp
seals and tablets are an important sub-category. Steatite deposits are found in most every major region
adjacent to the Indus Valley. In this chapter, geologic samples from over three dozen potential sources
were collected and compared to a large set of artifacts from artifacts from Harappa using Instrumental
Neutron Activation Analysis.
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STEATITE ACQUISITION NETWORKS
Chapter introduction – “steatite civilization”
Steatite – a rock composed primarily of the mineral talc (hydrous magnesium silicate) in its massive form, was undoubtedly a material of tremendous importance at Harappa. Artifacts made from it comprise nearly 40% of the site’s rock and mineral assemblage. This soft (Mohs ≈ 1 – 2.5), easily carvable stone was not only used for the massproduction of common items, notably the ubiquitous wafer-like disc bead (Figure 7.1 A) and the almost impossibly small “micro-bead” (note the human hair on which the bead in Figure 7.1 B is strung), but also for the closely controlled creation of objects with significant political and/or economic value such as stamp seals (Figure 7.1 C) and inscribed tablets (Figure 7.1 D). Steatite artifacts of one kind or another have been reported from practically every excavated Indus Civilization site. It has been observed that the aforementioned beads are so common that their presence alone could almost be considered a marker of a settlement’s “Harappan” character (Vidale 1989c). The archaeometrist and renowned bead scholar Horace Beck even went as far as to characterize Indus society as a “steatite civilization” (cited in Vidale 2000: 59).
In terms of addressing the lines of inquiry outlined in Chapter 1, there are few rocks or minerals in Harappa’s assemblage that hold as much promise as steatite (for a view to the contrary see Asthana 1993: 274). Sources of the stone are found in every major region surrounding the Indus Basin (Figure 7.2). However, in comparison to some of the other widespread rock varieties examined for this study (such as the different types of grindingstone, limestone and alabaster), occurrences of steatite tend to be much more geographically circumscribed within the regions where they are found. Steatite provenience data may, therefore, allow us to more precisely identify the region or regions with which Harappans were interacting (either directly or indirectly) when acquiring this material (Question 1). Furthermore, at different times during its development and existence, the Indus Civilization bordered numerous potential steatite source areas (Law 2002) and, at Harappa, the raw material is present in abundance throughout site’s chronological sequence. This material sub-assemblage is, therefore, particularly well suited for examining diachronic change in inter-regional interaction networks (Question 2). Finally, the production of steatite objects was an activity that took place in each of Harappa’s major habitation areas. In contrast to chert artifacts during the site’s urban phase (Period 3), raw steatite exhibits a great deal of visual variability, which could indicate that multiple sources were used. This makes steatite a potentially excellent material for detecting intra-site variations in source area access that may be evidence of competition between residents of different parts of the site through the control of essential resources (Question 3). It is for all of the above reasons that I placed a great deal emphasis on the investigation of this variety of stone while conducting research for this book.
This chapter is an account of my attempt to systematically identify the geologic sources from which residents of Harappa and certain other Indus Tradition peoples acquired steatite. It is presented in four sections. The first begins with a brief overview of steatite use in the Indus Tradition. I then provide details regarding this material subassemblage at Harappa and relate which samples from it were selected for geologic provenience analysis. I also provide details on steatite artifacts from eight additional archaeological sites – Mohenjodaro, Nausharo, Mehrgarh, Mitathal, Gola Dhoro, Nagwada, Tepe Hissar and an unknown site in the Loralai district of northern Balochistan, which I was very fortunate to have been able to include in this study. In the second section of this chapter, I highlight certain aspects related to the petrogenesis of steatite that are important for understanding where deposits of the stone occur and are also necessary for evaluating the geochemical data produced in the analysis of artifacts and source material. I then provide a detailed, region-by-region review of steatite occurrences in the Greater Indus region. In the third section, I present the results of a geologic provenience analysis the steatite artifacts. One hundred fortyone artifacts from Harappa, along with 38 artifacts from the eight additional sites were analyzed using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). These were compared, using canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) and cluster analysis (CA), to data from 442 geologic samples collected from 37 individual deposits of steatite from around the Greater Indus region. The analyses provided results that were, in many ways, surprising. The source composition of the steatite assemblage at Harappa was far less variable, both synchronically and diachronically, than anticipated. It also became apparent that Indus Tradition craftspeople were, in general, using raw material from a very specific kind of geologic deposit. In the fourth and final section, I provide a summary and discuss the implications of the provenience study results. I also argue that technological-aesthetic considerations (the need for stone that would become white when heat-treated), rather than proximity to sources, dictated which deposits Harappans acquired steatite from. All sites, regions and sources discussed in this chapter are identified on Figure 7.2.
The rest of Chapter 7 is in the attached PDF below.
Images
Figure 7.1 Various types of steatite artifacts from Harappa. [A] Disc bead. [B] Micro-bead. [C] Stamp seal. [D] Inscribed tablets.
Figure 7.2 Sites, regions, and steatite deposits discussed in this chapter.
Figure 7.3 Spatial and temporal distribution of 2990 unfired steatite artifacts at Harappa.
Figure 7.4 Seven main macroscopic types of raw steatite at Harappa (descriptions made using a Munsell Rock-Color Chart).
Figure 7.5 Special unfired steatite artifacts from Harappa analyzed for this study.
Figure 7.6 Distribution of the unfired steatite artifacts from Harappa analyzed for this study.
Figure 7.7 Unfired steatite artifacts from other sites analyzed for this study.
Figure 7.8 A steatite seal fragment from the site of Mitathal, Bhiwani District, Haryana.
Figure 7.9 A summary of the petrogenesis and character of steatite.
Figure 7.10 Sites, shrines and steatite sources in and around the Las Bela Ophiolite, Las Bela District, Balochistan.
Figure 7.11 A The Shrine of Shah Bilawal Noorani (Shah Noorani) is located within this oasis-like nala in the southern Pab Range, Las Bela District, Balochistan.
Figure 7.11 B Johris at Shah Noori.
Figure 7.11 C Prayer beads carved from Wayaro area steatite.
Figure 7.12 Duddo steatite mine (LBW1), Wayaro area, Las Bela District, Balochistan
Figure 7.13 Thaddi steatite mine (LBW2), Wayaro area, Las Bela District, Balochistan
Figure 7.14 [A] Collecting Shah Noorani/Wayaro steatite. [B] Shah Noorani steatite beads for sale in Khairpur, Sindh. [C] A bead from Balakot that appears to be made from Wayaro steatite.
Figure 7.15 Steatite deposits of the Muslimbagh Ophiolite, southern Zhob District, Balochistan.
Figure 7.16 Direction of talc mineralization (looking north) at Takhahen in the Muslimbagh Ophiolite, Zhob, Balochistan
Figure 7.17 Points sampled along the zone of talc mineralization at Takhahen.
Figure 7.18 Sampling expedition to the upper Daradar Valley steatite deposit, Safed Koh Range, Kurram Agency, FATA.
Figure 7.19 Sampling and X-ray diffraction analysis of the Kund steatite deposit.
Figure 7.20 The Shewan area, Hazara District, NWFP.
Figure 7.21 The steatite deposit at Chelethar, Hazara District, NWFP.
Figure 7.22 Details of regions where multiple steatite deposits were sampled.
Figure 7.23 Painthal steatite deposit, Udhampur District, Jammu.
Figure 7.24 Outcrop of grayish steatite at Painthal.
Figure 7.25 Sampling steatite deposits west of Bageshwar, Uttaranchal.
Figure 7.26 Steatite deposit at Nangalhari-Bairaswas, Alwar District, Rajasthan.
Figure 7.27 Detail of the steatite body at Nangalhari-Bairaswas.
Figure 7.28 The extensive open-pit steatite mine at Deola, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan.
Figure 7.29 The steatite outcrop at Shiv Bola, Udaipur District, Rajasthan.
Figure 7.30 The Dev Mori/Kundol steatite mine, Sabarkantha District, Gujarat.
Figure 7.31: All 442 geologic steatite samples from the 37 locations are compared Each locations is evaluated as an individual group
Figure 7.32: All 179 steatite artifacts analyzed for this study are plotted as ungrouped cases in relation to the 442 geologic samples.
Figure 7.33 Average elemental concentrations (PPM) in dolomitic vs. ultramafic steatite sources
Figure 7.34: Select steatite artifacts plotted as ungrouped cases in relation to the 153 geologic samples from 14 ultramafic steatite deposits.
Figure 7.35: Select steatite artifacts plotted as ungrouped cases in relation to the 289 geologic samples from 23 dolomitic steatite deposits.
Figure 7.36 Cluster analysis of 177 steatite artifacts and 442 geologic samples.
Figure 7.37 Predicted group membership (PGM) summary table for four CDAs of the138 unfired steatite artifacts from Harappa belonging to dolomitic sources.
Figure 7.38: Harappan steatite artifacts plotted as ungrouped cases in relation to the geologic samples from 11 dolomitic steatite deposits.
Figure 7.39 CDA comparison of regional dolomitic steatite source areas and Harappan artifacts.
Figure 7.40 Cluster Analysis (Complete linkage / squared Euclidian distance) of 140 steatite artifacts from Harappa
Figure 7.41 Artifact clusters with or more 10 members in each of the first three RDCC levels on the full archaeological/geologic set dendrogram (Figure 7.36)
Figure 7.42 Rescaled distance cluster combine (RDCC) values at which all samples from a given geologic deposit can be encompassed into a single cluster on Figure 7.36.
Figure 7.43 The 13 PGMs for the 141 steatite artifacts from Harappa and their type / contextual associations (surface and off-mound contexts not noted). See text and Appendix 7.2 for source codes.
Figure 7.44: Spatial and temporal distribution of the PGMs for the 141 artifacts from Harappa
Figure 7.45 The two ultramafic steatite artifacts from Harappa compared to select ultramafic sources.
Figure 7.46: Cluster analysis (complete linkage) for the full sets of 177 steatite artifacts See Appendix 7.11 sections A through D for artifacts details
Figure 7.47 Steatite artifacts from Mehrgarh, Nausharo and Loralai compared to ultramafic steatite sources in Balochistan.
Figure 7.48 Steatite artifacts from Nagwada and Gola Dhoro compared to ultramafic steatite sources in southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat.
Figure 7.49 Indus Tradition steatite acquisition networks (provisional)
The Chapter section titles are:
Steatite in the Indus Tradition
The steatite assemblage at Harappa and samples selected for this study
Steatite samples from other prehistoric sites
Identifying potential steatite sources for Indus Tradition peoples
Steatite petrogenesis
Sampling geologic sources
Steatite occurrences of the Greater Indus region
Steatite occurrences in Balochistan
Las Bela District
Kalat District
Zhob District
Steatite occurrences in the NWFP, FATA and Northern Areas
Kurram Agency
Khyber Agency
Peshawar District
Mohmand Agency
Chitral District
Northern Areas
Swat District
Hazara District
Steatite occurrences in the Himalayas
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Uttaranchal
Steatite occurrences in Rajasthan
Northern Rajasthan
Jhunjhunu District
Alwar and Dausa districts
Southern Rajasthan
Dolomitic occurrences sampled
Ultramafic occurrences sampled
Steatite occurrences in Gujarat
A brief note on steatite occurrences in other regions
A geologic provenience study of steatite artifacts from Harappa and seven other sites
Past geologic provenience studies of steatite artifacts
Details and results of the present study
Initial CDA and CA comparisons of all steatite artifacts to the geologic sources
Unfired steatite artifacts from Harappa
Canonical discriminant analyses
Cluster analyses
Interpretation of the results
Type associations
Addressing the three lines of inquiry
Unfired steatite artifacts from other sites
Mohenjo-daro
Mitathal
Mehrgarh and Nausharo
“Unknown” Loralai site
Nagwada and Gola Dhoro
Tepe Hissar
Addendum: Recent findings from Dholavira and Rakhigarhi
Summary and discussion
Indus Tradition steatite acquisition networks (provisional)
Heat-treating steatite and the desire for “white-firing” stone
Chapter conclusion
