Editing Cemetery H culture

{{Short description|Bronze Age culture in the Punjab}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox archaeological culture
|name        = Cemetery H culture
|map         = File:Rigvedic geography.jpg
|mapcaption  = The extent of the [[Swat culture|Swat]] and Cemetery H cultures are indicated; Geography of the Rigveda, with [[Rigvedic rivers|Rigvedic rivers names]] 
|mapalt      =
|altnames    =
|horizon     =
|region      = [[Pakistan]] <br/> North India ([[Punjab]], [[Haryana]], [[Western Uttar Pradesh]])
|period      = [[Bronze Age]]
|dates       = {{Circa|1900}}–1300 BCE
|typesite    = [[Harappa]]
|majorsites  = [[Harappa]]<br/>[[Bhagwanpura, Haryana|Bhagwanpura]]
|extra       = Extensive copper metallurgy<br/>[[cremation]] of human remains
|precededby  = 
|followedby  = [[Painted Grey Ware culture]]
}}
[[File:Cemetery H Pottery.png|thumb|Painted pottery urns from Harappa (Cemetery H period) might correspond to a period of shift towards Vedic culture.]]
[[File:Indo-Iranian origins.png|thumb|Archaeological cultures associated with [[Indo-Iranian migration]]s (after [[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|EIEC]]). The [[Andronovo culture|Andronovo]], [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]] and [[Yaz culture]]s have often been associated with [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] migrations. The [[Gandhara grave culture|GGC]] (Swat), Cemetery H, [[Copper Hoard Culture|Copper Hoard]] and [[Painted Grey Ware culture|PGW]] cultures are candidates for cultures associated with [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] [[Indo-Aryan migration|migrations]].]]
{{Part of History of India}}
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}

The '''Cemetery H culture''' was a [[Bronze Age India|Bronze Age]] culture in the [[Punjab region]] in the northern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]], from about [[19th century BC|1900&nbsp;BCE]] until about [[1300s BC (decade)|1300&nbsp;BCE]]. It is regarded as a regional form of the late phase of the [[Harappan civilisation|Harappan]] (Indus Valley) civilisation (alongside the [[Jhukar Phase|Jhukar culture]] of Sindh and [[Rangpur, Gujarat|Rangpur culture]] of Gujarat), but also as a phase of the [[Indo-Aryan migrations]]{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}<!-- Do the ages meet? -->.

==Origins==
The Cemetery H culture was located in and around the [[Punjab region]] in present-day India and [[Pakistan]]. It was named after a cemetery found in "area H" at [[Harappa]]. Remains of the culture have been dated from about 1900&nbsp;BCE until about 1300&nbsp;BCE.

According to [[Mohammad Rafique Mughal]], the Cemetery&nbsp;H culture developed out of the northern part of the [[Indus Valley civilization]] around 1700&nbsp;BCE, being part of the Punjab Phase,<ref>M Rafiq Mughal Lahore Museum Bulletin, off Print, vol. III, No. 2, Jul–Dec. 1990 [http://www.rafiquemughal.com/MUGHAL_1990_Decline-of-the-Indus_Lahore-Mus-Bulletin.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626135910/http://www.rafiquemughal.com/MUGHAL_1990_Decline-of-the-Indus_Lahore-Mus-Bulletin.pdf|date=26 June 2015}}</ref> one of three cultural phases that developed in the [[Localization Era]] or "Late Harappan phase" of the [[Indus Valley Tradition]].{{sfn|Kenoyer|1991a}}{{sfn|Shaffer|1992}} According to [[Jonathan Mark Kenoyer|Kenoyer]], the Cemetery H culture "may only reflect a change in the focus of settlement organization from that which was the pattern of the earlier Harappan phase and not cultural discontinuity, [[urban decay]], invading aliens, or site abandonment, all of which have been suggested in the past."{{sfn|Kenoyer|1991b|p=56}} According to Kennedy and Mallory & Adams, the Cemetery H culture also "shows clear biological affinities" with the earlier population of Harappa.{{sfn|Kennedy|2000|p=312}}{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|pp=103, 310}}

Some traits of the Cemetery H culture have been associated with the [[Swat culture]], which has been regarded as evidence of the Indo-Aryan movement toward the Indian subcontinent.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=103}} According to Parpola, the Cemetery&nbsp;H culture represents a first wave of [[Indo-Aryan migration theory|Indo-Aryan migration]] from as early as 1900&nbsp;BCE, which was followed by a migration to the Punjab {{Circa|1700}}–1400 BCE.{{sfn|Parpola|1998}} According to Kochhar, the Swat IV co-founded the Harappan Cemetery H phase in Punjab (2000–1800 BCE), while the Rigvedic Indo-Aryans of Swat&nbsp;V later absorbed the Cemetery&nbsp;H people and gave rise to the [[Painted Grey Ware culture]] (to 1400 BCE).{{sfn|Kochhar|2000|pp=185-186}}

Together with the [[Gandhara grave culture]] and the [[Ochre Coloured Pottery culture]], the Cemetery H culture is considered by some scholars as a factor in the formation of the [[Vedic civilization]].{{sfn|Kochhar|2000|pp=185–186}}

==Features==
The distinguishing features of this culture include:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/3_1_02.html |title=Cemetery H Culture (Circa 1900–1300 B.C.) |access-date=2009-08-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030161353/http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/3_1_02.html |archive-date=2009-10-30 }}</ref>
* The use of [[cremation]] of human remains. The bones were stored in painted pottery burial urns. This is completely different from the Indus civilization where bodies were buried in wooden coffins. The urn burials and the "grave skeletons" were nearly contemporaneous.{{sfn|Sarkar|1964}}
* Reddish pottery, painted in black with [[antelope]]s, [[peacock]]s etc., [[sun]] or [[star]] motifs, with different surface treatments to the earlier period.
* Expansion of settlements into the east.
* [[Rice]] became a main crop.
* Apparent breakdown of the widespread trade of the Indus civilization, with materials such as marine shells no longer used.
* Continued use of mud brick for building.

Some of the designs painted on the Cemetery H funerary urns have been interpreted through the lens of [[historical Vedic religion|Vedic mythology]]:

For instance, peacocks with hollow bodies and a small human form inside, which has been interpreted as the souls of the dead, and a hound that can be seen as the hound of [[Yama]], the god of death.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=102}}<ref>Bridget and Raymond Allchin (1982), [https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC ''The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225022444/https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC |date=25 February 2024 }}, p.246</ref> This may indicate the introduction of new religious beliefs during this period, but the archaeological evidence does not support the hypothesis that the Cemetery&nbsp;H people were the destroyers of the Harappan cities.{{sfn|Mallory|Adams|1997|pp=102–103}}

==Archaeology==
Cremation in India is first attested in the Cemetery&nbsp;H culture, a practice previously described in the [[Vedas]]. The [[Rigveda]] contains a reference to the emerging practice, in [[Mandala 10|RV 10]].15.14, where the forefathers "both cremated (''agnidagdhá-'') and uncremated (''ánagnidagdha-'')" are invoked.

==See also==

* [[Chronological dating]]
** [[Phase (archaeology)|Phases in archaeology]]
** [[Pottery in the Indian subcontinent]]
* [[Periodisation of the Indus Valley civilisation]]
** [[Ahar-Banas culture]] (3000–1500 BCE)
** Late Harappan Phase of IVC (1900–1500 BCE)
*** Cemetery H culture in Punjab
*** [[Jhukar Phase|Jhukar-Jhangar culture]] in Punjab
*** [[Rangpur, Gujarat|Rangpur culture]] in Gujarat
* [[Vedic period]]
** [[Kuru kingdom]] (1200 – {{Circa|500 BCE}})
** [[Ochre Coloured Pottery culture|OCP]] (2000–1500 BCE) 
** [[Copper Hoard culture]] (2800–1500 BCE), may or may not be independent of vedic culture

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Kennedy |first=Kenneth A. R. |author-link=Kenneth A. R. Kennedy |year=2000 |title=[[God-Apes and Fossil Men|God-Apes and Fossil Men: Palaeoanthropology of South Asia]] |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=University of Michigan Press}}
* {{Citation |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |author-link=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |title=The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |year=1991a |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=1–64 |doi=10.1007/BF00978474|s2cid=41175522 }}
* {{Citation |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |author-link=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |year=1991b |chapter=Urban Process in the Indus Tradition: A preliminary model from Harappa |editor=Meadow, R. H. |title=Harappa Excavations 1986–1990: A multidiscipinary approach to Third Millennium urbanism |location=Madison, WI |publisher=Prehistory Press |pages=29–60}}
* {{Citation |last=Kochhar |first=Rajesh |title=The Vedic People: Their History and Geography |publisher=Sangam Books |year=2000 }}
* {{Citation |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |last2=Adams |first2=D. Q. |year=1997 |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |publisher=Fitzroy-Dearborn |location=London and Chicago |isbn=1-884964-98-2}}
* {{Citation |last1=Parpola |first1=Asko |author1-link=Asko Parpola |year=1998 |chapter=Aryan Languages, Archaeological Cultures, and Sinkiang: Where Did Proto-Iranian Come into Being and How Did It Spread? |editor1-last=Mair |editor1-first=Victor H. |title=The Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Peoples of Eastern and Central Asia |publisher=Institute for the Study of Man |place=Washington, D.C. |isbn=0-941694-63-1 }}
* {{Citation |last=Sarkar |first=Sasanka Sekhar |year=1964 |title=Ancient Races of Baluchistan, Panjab, and Sind}}
* {{Citation |last=Shaffer |first=Jim G. |author-link=Jim G. Shaffer |year=1992 |chapter=The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age |editor-first=R. W. |editor-last=Ehrich |title=Chronologies in Old World Archaeology |edition=2nd |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |pages=I:441–464, II:425–446}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.harappa.com http://www.harappa.com harappa.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060908052731/http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/3_1_01.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060908052731/http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/3_1_01.html journal]

{{Indus Valley Civilization}}

[[Category:Archaeological cultures of South Asia]]
[[Category:Bronze Age cultures of Asia]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Prehistoric India]]
[[Category:History of Punjab]]
[[Category:Indus Valley Civilisation]]
[[Category:Societal collapse|Indus]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures in India]]
[[Category:Indo-Aryan archaeological cultures]]
[[Category:Harappa]]