DOI Heft:
Vol. VI : 2 1989
DOI Artikel:Wojtilla, Gyula: The ard-plough in ancient and early medieval India: remarks on its history based on linguistic and archaeological evidence
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49003#0101
THE ARD-PLOUGH IN EARLY INDIA
95
handle, but its longish beam and body (sole)
are conceivable as ard-plough parts (Fig. 2)
(Randhawa 1980, 156 and Fig. 78). A clay
model from Banwali allows us to form a
clearer idea. According to the excavators at
the same site broken pieces of an ard-plough
have been found, too. It is a combined form
of the beam and sole. The beam is curved like
an inverted “S” with a hole at the front end.
The tip of the sole is sharply pointed. Its ex-
tended rear is pierced by a vertical hole to
object from the 3rd-2nd millennia BC (Fig. 4)
that might be considered as an ard-share (In-
dian Archaeology 1971-72, 51 and Plate LXV
B).
A study in rice cultivation in the Jeypore
Tract in south Orissa inhabited by different
tribal groups even today throws some light
on the history of the ard-plough. The antiq-
uity of rice for the Proto-Munda peoples
dates to around 3500 BC (Zide-Zide 1976,
1330). Linguistic data give some idea of the
Fig. 2. Ard-plough, terracotta model from Mohenjo-daro, c. 2300 BC (from Randhawa 1980, Fig. 78). □
Terrakotta-Modell eines Hakenpfluges von Mohenjo-daro, ca. 2300 v.Chr.
receive a curved or vertical stilt, Fig. 3 (Indian
Archaeology 1983-4, 26 and Fig. 21). This im-
plement might have been used to loosen the
soil rather than to make deep furrows.
Objects worthy of examination can be re-
ported from another part of India. Excava-
tions at Kulgara in the District of Purlia in
West-Bengal brought to light a hoard of cop-
per objects. There is an elongated pick-like
Fig. 1. Seeder ard (?) from Lothal, 3rd millennium
BC (after Randhawa 1980, Fig. 79). □ Saepflug (?)
von Lothal, 3. Jahrtausend v.Chr.
agricultural implements used. The verb xs+y
reconstructed for Proto-Munda, could origi-
nally have meant to use a [pre-plough?] till-
age tool instrument x sn+y for purposes of
cultivation. Later the verb could have meant
“to cultivate” (Zide-Zide 1976, 1330). The pe-
riod of introduction of an ard-plough to this
area remains uncertain.
The Aryan invasion in the middle of the
2nd millennium BC brought many changes in
Indian society and culture. The ruling class
was semi-nomadic and its culture and lan-
guage was related to that of Indo-European
speaking peoples, especially the Iranians. A
95
handle, but its longish beam and body (sole)
are conceivable as ard-plough parts (Fig. 2)
(Randhawa 1980, 156 and Fig. 78). A clay
model from Banwali allows us to form a
clearer idea. According to the excavators at
the same site broken pieces of an ard-plough
have been found, too. It is a combined form
of the beam and sole. The beam is curved like
an inverted “S” with a hole at the front end.
The tip of the sole is sharply pointed. Its ex-
tended rear is pierced by a vertical hole to
object from the 3rd-2nd millennia BC (Fig. 4)
that might be considered as an ard-share (In-
dian Archaeology 1971-72, 51 and Plate LXV
B).
A study in rice cultivation in the Jeypore
Tract in south Orissa inhabited by different
tribal groups even today throws some light
on the history of the ard-plough. The antiq-
uity of rice for the Proto-Munda peoples
dates to around 3500 BC (Zide-Zide 1976,
1330). Linguistic data give some idea of the
Fig. 2. Ard-plough, terracotta model from Mohenjo-daro, c. 2300 BC (from Randhawa 1980, Fig. 78). □
Terrakotta-Modell eines Hakenpfluges von Mohenjo-daro, ca. 2300 v.Chr.
receive a curved or vertical stilt, Fig. 3 (Indian
Archaeology 1983-4, 26 and Fig. 21). This im-
plement might have been used to loosen the
soil rather than to make deep furrows.
Objects worthy of examination can be re-
ported from another part of India. Excava-
tions at Kulgara in the District of Purlia in
West-Bengal brought to light a hoard of cop-
per objects. There is an elongated pick-like
Fig. 1. Seeder ard (?) from Lothal, 3rd millennium
BC (after Randhawa 1980, Fig. 79). □ Saepflug (?)
von Lothal, 3. Jahrtausend v.Chr.
agricultural implements used. The verb xs+y
reconstructed for Proto-Munda, could origi-
nally have meant to use a [pre-plough?] till-
age tool instrument x sn+y for purposes of
cultivation. Later the verb could have meant
“to cultivate” (Zide-Zide 1976, 1330). The pe-
riod of introduction of an ard-plough to this
area remains uncertain.
The Aryan invasion in the middle of the
2nd millennium BC brought many changes in
Indian society and culture. The ruling class
was semi-nomadic and its culture and lan-
guage was related to that of Indo-European
speaking peoples, especially the Iranians. A