Journal article
Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur1
Center for Nuclear Technologies, Technical University of Denmark2
Radiation Physics, Center for Nuclear Technologies, Technical University of Denmark3
Birkbeck University of London4
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre5
Imperial College London6
Durham University7
Aarhus University8
Urbanism in the Bronze-age Indus Civilisation (similar to 4.6-3.9 thousand years before the present, ka) has been linked to water resources provided by large Himalayan river systems, although the largest concentrations of urban-scale Indus settlements are located far from extant Himalayan rivers. Here we analyse the sedimentary architecture, chronology and provenance of a major palaeochannel associated with many of these settlements.
We show that the palaeochannel is a former course of the Sutlej River, the third largest of the present-day Himalayan rivers. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating of sand grains, we demonstrate that flow of the Sutlej in this course terminated considerably earlier than Indus occupation, with diversion to its present course complete shortly after similar to 8 ka.
Indus urban settlements thus developed along an abandoned river valley rather than an active Himalayan river. Confinement of the Sutlej to its present incised course after similar to 8 ka likely reduced its propensity to re-route frequently thus enabling long-term stability for Indus settlements sited along the relict palaeochannel.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group UK |
Year: | 2017 |
Pages: | 1617 |
ISSN: | 20411723 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-017-01643-9 |
ORCIDs: | 0000-0001-5559-1862 , 0000-0002-0090-5868 , Thomsen, Kristina Jørkov , Buylaert, Jan-Pieter and Jain, Mayank |