Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements

Singh, A. et al. (2017) Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements. Nature Communications, 8, 1617. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-01643-9) (PMID:29184098) (PMCID:PMC5705636)

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Abstract

Urbanism in the Bronze-age Indus Civilisation (~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 ~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 ~8 ka likely reduced its propensity to re-route frequently thus enabling long-term stability for Indus settlements sited along the relict palaeochannel.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Mark, Professor Darren
Authors: Singh, A., Thomsen, K. J., Sinha, R., Buylaert, J.-P., Carter, A., Mark, D. F., Mason, P. J., Densmore, A. L., Murray, A. S., Jain, M., Paul, D., and Gupta, S.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
Journal Name:Nature Communications
Publisher:Nature Research
ISSN:2041-1723
ISSN (Online):2041-1723
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 The Authors
First Published:First published in Nature Communications 8:1617
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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