Ochre Coloured Pottery culture: Difference between revisions

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The '''Ochre Coloured Pottery culture''' (OCP), is a [[2nd millennium BC]] [[Bronze Age]] culture of the [[Ganga]]-[[Yamuna]] plain. It is a contemporary to, and a successor of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]]. The OCP marks the last stage of the North Indian Bronze Age and is succeeded by the [[Iron Age]] [[black-and-red ware]] and [[painted-gray ware]] cultures. Early specimens of the characteristic ceramics found near [[Jodhpur]], [[Rajasthan]] date to the 3rd millennium, and the culture reaches the [[Gangetic plain]] in the early 2nd millennium.

'''Copper Hoards''' refer to different assemblages of copper-based artefacts in the northern areas of the Indian Subcontinent. These are believed to date largely to the 2nd millennium BC. Few derive from controlled excavations. Different regional groups are identifiable: southern Haryana/northern Rajasthan, the Ganges-Jumuna plain, Chota Nagpur and in Madhya Pradesh, each with their characteristic artefact types. Initially the copper hoards were known mostly from the Ganges-Jumuna doab and most characterisations dwell on this material.

The '''Copper Hoard Culture''' designates 2nd millennium [[copper hoards]] found in northern India. The hoards are difficult to assign to a particular archaeological culture, but in some cases the hoards are associated with OCP. These hoards include copper implements such as [[celt (tool)|celts]], [[harpoon]]s, [[double axe]]s, [[antenna-hilted sword]]s and rings.

Characteristic hoard artefacts southern Haryana/northern Rajasthan and include certain, flat axes (celts), harpoons double axes, antenna-hilted swords etc. The doab has a related repertory. That of the Chota Nagpur area is far different and the finds seem to be ingots.

The copper used is rather pure, and likely originates with the [[Lakker]] mines in the [[Chota Nagpur range]]. The considerable size and weight of the artifacts, combined with the absence of wear from use suggests that they were ritual objects not intended for actual use. Some of the axes are similar in shape to those from the [[Indus Valley Civilization]].

The artefacts seem to be votive in character.

The raw material can have derived from a variety of sources in Rajasthan (Khetri), Bihar/West Bengal/Orissa (especially Singhbhum) as well as Madhya Pradesh (Malanjkhand).

Some scholars regard the OCP culture as late or impoverished Harappan culture, while other scholars see the OCP as an indigenous culture that is unrelated to Harappan culture. V.N. Misra (in S.P. Gupta 1995: 140) regards the OCP as "only a final and impoverished stage of the Late Harappan culture" and designates this phase as "Degenarate Harappan".