Assessing long-term agricultural practices and land-use impact in northern Gujarat: what can we learn from the Harappans?

Abstract

Northern Gujarat (comprising North Gujarat and Kachchh) is a semi-arid region where resource availability is highly influenced by the intra- and inter-annual variability of the Indian summer monsoon. The study of how human populations dealt with resource scarcity and unpredictability throughout the Holocene is of great importance for understanding the long-term strategies put in place to adapt to adverse conditions. Monsoon-adapted summer crops, such as millets and tropical pulses, have been the staple in this region for the last 5000 years. However, present-day agricultural production is based on high water demanding cash crops, especially cotton and wheat. The extensive ground water mining necessary to irrigate the fields is causing acute ecological degradation. Moreover, the recent construction of massive irrigation canals is changing local hydrological dynamics, as well as threatening the preservation of the archaeological heritage. In this talk we will assess how understanding past land-use strategies and present-day trends of acute anthropic impact can help us 1) better face the current climate change scenario and 2) design strategies to effectively preserve the archaeological heritage. Considering the environmental costs of modern agriculture, re-instating millet agriculture and traditional water storage mechanisms seems the best alternative for palliating ecological degradation in this and other semi-arid regions worldwide.