Ganges Neolithic

Abstract

The geomorphological studies carried out in the Ganges, Yamuna, Belan, and Son valleys suggest that the climate of the region during the early and middle Holocene was wetter and warmer than today, and that late Holocene aridity began during the first half of the fourth millennium b.p. This climatological change began during the tradition’s time period and roughly coincided with the period of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic transition. The present rainfall varies from 990 mm in the Belan valley (Allahabad district) to 1150 mm in the Gangetic plains around the Patna district, near sites like Maner and Chirand. “Effective temperature,” which is a measure of both the length of the growing season and the intensity of solar energy available during the growing season, rises from 16.2° C in the Patna district to 17.3° C in the Allahabad district. As one moves from east to west, the average temperature shows a slight decrease during winter months and a slight increase during the summer. Exact values of annual rainfall and average annual temperature for the period under consideration could not be worked out, but in relation to the present day figures above, the early Neolithic period is estimated to have been slightly wetter and warmer than today.