Reconstructing Fish Consumption Practices in the Harappan Culture: A Lipid Residue Approach

Ahana Ghosh1*, Eleanora Reber2, Ajithprasad P.3, V.N. Prabhakar4, Rajesh S.V.5, Abhayan G.S.5, and Sharada Channarayapatna1

Was fish a marginal supplement or a central component of Harappan subsistence? This paper repositions aquatic resources at the heart of culinary life among the Harappan people through lipid-residue and compound-specific isotope analyses of pottery from six settlements in western and northwestern India: Dhaneti, Surkotada, Karanpura, Ropar, Bagasra, and Shikarpur. Out of 99 analyzed vessels, 66 yielded interpretable lipid residues, producing one of the most substantial biomolecular datasets for Harappan pottery to date. Molecular markers, including highly unsaturated fatty acids and aquatic indicators such as pristanic and phytanic acids, combined with Δ¹³C and δ¹³C values, demonstrate repeated processing of fish and shellfish across settlements. These aquatic signatures consistently co-occur with C₃-derived plant inputs and non-ruminant fats, pointing to mixed and dynamic culinary practices rather than isolated episodes of fish preparation. Significantly, fish residues were identified not only in domestic contexts but also in Early Harappan mortuary vessels from Dhaneti and Surkotada, establishing the symbolic and ritual value of aquatic resources. The predominance of C₃ resources across the Early and Mature phases further indicates the continuity of food traditions despite ecological diversity. By foregrounding biomolecular evidence alongside available Ichthyoarchaeological datasets, this study challenges cereal-centric reconstructions of Harappan diet and highlights riverine and coastal adaptations as foundational to everyday subsistence and social expression in the Harappan world.